LONG BEACH, California: A B-17 bomber that lay in a New Guinea swamp for decades after it was shot down during a World War II combat mission has been returned to the United States.

Salvagers displayed the forward fuselage of the ''Swamp Ghost'' at Long Beach in California in an emotional ceremony attended by family of the aircrew.

Shot down... a World War II bomber recovered from a Papua New Guinea swamp. Credit:AP

The B-17E Flying Fortress went down during a raid on Japanese forces at Rabaul in New Britain on February 23, 1942. The now-dead crew survived the landing and escaped the swamp.