European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 8, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday april 8, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 9bombs found in dig for Wii plane by Peggy Davidson Kaiserslautern Bureau Dahn Germany a Uwe Benkel has helped unearth 37 world War i planes but those excavations were never As harrowing As the one last week. Danger replaced curiosity tuesday when a Backhoe clanged into the first of two 500-Pound bombs buried amid the remains of an american p-47 fighter plane. The Contact sent Benkel and others scurrying from the excavation site about 12 Miles Southwest of Pir Masens. Miles 10 20 Kaiserslautern we Brucken Dahn excavation site France after German demolition experts defused the bombs Benkel returned to the pit looking for pieces of the plane that crashed sometime during the final months of Adolf hitlers reign. A crowd of about 20, including some . Soldiers from the a 20th Ord co looked on As Benkel went Back to work. Benkel a Kaiserslautern businessman and his partner Otto Schmitt unearth War ii aircraft As a pastime. Humanitarian and environmental concerns motivate the pair. They believe that world War ii pilots deserve Well marked Graves whatever their nationality. In addition Benkel and Schmitt Hope to minimize water and soil contamination caused by gasoline leaks from ruptured aircraft fuel tanks. In previous digs the two were sometimes Able to clean plane remnants such As engines and donate them to museums and veterans groups. But tuesdays work produced mostly Small grim reminders of War a bits of a leather jacket a sole of a shoe and Parachute shreds. Benkel and Schmitt advertise their activities in local newspapers a telling people what we re looking for and what we re doing a Benkel said hoping that readers will provide clues to where aircraft Are buried. Such efforts paid off when a Dahn area resident told them of seeing a . Aircraft explode near the town in december 1944 or january 1945. He said he remembered . Soldiers coming to the site to retrieve the pilots body which they found about 500 feet from what remained of the p-47. According to the witness area residents tossed remnants of the plane into a pit that later filled with water. A Farmer later slowed the pit Over and planted a Bush. Shrapnel found As Benkel and others sifted through the soil indicated that a bomb exploded when the plane crashed scattering wreckage Over several Yards Benkel said. Benkel and Schmitt have said they have located other aircraft which they plan to unearth later. These interested in helping with their project can Contact Benkel by writing to him at 86th svs Box 1805, Apo a 09009. His Telephone number is 063151398. A amps 88 Piggy div son Uwe Benkel holds up shreds of a Parachute unearthed near the p-47 crash  shield May rupture scientists warn London apr the Ozone shield has thinned markedly Over the Northern hemisphere in recent months and May tear unless governments quickly ban harmful chemicals european scientists say. A a we re running out of time a said Neil Harris of the Cambridge based european Ozone secretariat. He announced tuesdays release of a 17-nation study funded by the european Community that looked at Earth a screen against dangerous ultraviolet rays. The european Arctic stratospheric Ozone Experiment concluded that the Northern Ozone layer decreased by 10 to 20 percent in december and january and 5 percent to 15 percent in february. Many monitoring stations reported their lowest Ozone measurements for Winter months the study said. A it confirms that we Are taking risks with the environment a said British scientist Joe Farman who in 1985 announced the discovery of a Hole in the Ozone Over the Antarctic. Farman urged governments to accelerate the phaseout of Ozone eating chemicals chlorofluorocarbons which Are commonly used As refrigerants and fire retarding halons. The  environment program on monday proposed speeding the phaseout of Ozone depleting chemicals by moving the deadline for Banning chlorofluorocarbons from 2000 to 1995. The . Program was responding to a warning from scientists last month of an alarming rate of Ozone destruction Over densely populated areas of Europe and North America in addition to the growing Hole above the Antarctic. . Officials said speeding up the ban would prevent 4.5 million additional cases of skin cancer and 350,000 cases of blindness. Harris said people should avoid the midday Sun. But he was More alarmed by the implications for the worlds climate and for Plant and Marine life neither of which can Cope Well with increased ultraviolet rays. Although scientists did not find an Ozone Hole in the North like the one Over the Antarctic they say one May eventually appear because Levels of Man made Ozone destroying chemicals arc expected to increase for the rest of this decade. Russians recapture whale that touched turkish hearts Gir Sun Turkey a a russian ship has ended a fugitive White whales frolic in Freedom that delighted children and Fisherman along turkeys Black sea coast. A ship from the Sevastopol Institute caught the 1-ton whale off Espye Turkey on monday and took it aboard for return to the crimean water Park from which it escaped two months ago the Anatolia news Agency said. Quot our pretty guest should have remained free a said Serai Olgun soy head of the Fisherman a cooperative in the Black sea town of Gerze. The Beluga whale was known affectionately in Turkey As Aydin which Means Bright. It quickly became a favorite in Turkey approaching jetties to accept offerings of food and allowing people to Pat its head. Travel companies organized special Tours to Gerze for tourists who wanted to meet Aydin. Thousands of turks demonstrated against returning the whale to Russia where rumours denied by russian authorities said it was used for military purposes As a mine Detector. A we know How much you love Aydin but he will be More Happy there with his wife Marsa a a russian spokesman said. The whales russian name is Trichka. Senior airman found guilty of stealing $25 from coat Span Dahlem a Germany a amps a a Span Dahlem airman has been found guilty of stealing $25 from a coat hanging in a lunchroom but innocent of pilfering $5 from an office Kitty. Senior airman Joseph Miller 29, of the 52nd medical so was also convicted of dereliction of duty at a special court martial thursday said Span Dahlem spokesman capt. Michael j. Rein. Miller pleaded guilty to stealing the $25 and not guilty to the two other charges. He has been restricted to the base for 60 Days Given a letter of reprimand and reduced to the lowest enlisted Grade rein said. On March 5, a surveillance camera in the lunchroom at the Span Dahlem medical clinic videotaped Miller removing a Money Pouch from a coat and stealing $25, rein said. The dereliction of duty charge stems from Millers failure to get a new identification card to reflect a demotion that was effective Jan. 31. Millers rank was reduced from staff sergeant to senior airman but rein could not discuss the matter because the demotion was an administrative action. Millers commanding officer ordered him three times to update his card and even once gave him administrative leave to make the change rein said. In that Case Miller left the office and returned later claiming he made the revision but he had not rein said. Miller who joined the air Force in november 1980, works in the medical clinics patient administration Section