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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:57 pm 
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cooper9411 wrote:
gary1954, we can talk about what type aircraft we want! So what if we get side tracked, a lot of topics on WIX get side tracked now and then! :lol: :lol: :lol:


yes......it is indeed it is eggsighting to see all the "lost" airframes coming into the light :supz:

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:59 pm 
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PbyCat-Guy wrote:
I have a ROV that I built for this purpose if someone wants to borrow it.


Man that is quite an offer there and mighty darned nice of you :drink3:

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 7:55 pm 
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There are a couple of people on the wreckchasing message board well versed in Florida B-17 crash sites, you might try over there.

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 9:14 pm 
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gary1954 wrote:
PbyCat-Guy wrote:
I have a ROV that I built for this purpose if someone wants to borrow it.


Man that is quite an offer there and mighty darned nice of you :drink3:


I used to live in New Jersey and heard about P-47 wrecks in some of the lakes, that's why I designed and built it, I'm kinda embarrassed that I did this sort of a thing. Soon I'll be acquiring a metal lathe and hope to build a better version I have designed.

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 9:45 pm 
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Location: Oviedo, Florida
OK- I'll throw one out probably nobody has heard of...

My father was 17 during WW2, and worked at the Army Base in Orlando as a Soda Jerk durng it. This base later became the Naval Training Center. When I was about 15 or so, we were driving past one end of it and it slowed down and told me that during the war, there was a set of cables mounted over a certain small lake, and a B-17 was hung beneath it. He said air crews were taught how to ditch a plane by using it a a training device. He said the plane would be winched up to one end, crew loaded in and it was allowed to free fall into the lake and sink. Then it would be pulled back up and used for the next crew. He said he remembered going by to work one day when the set-up was being taken down; and the B-17 was just ditched in the lake and the cables and poles were taken down and removed.

Many years later I asked him about it, and he repeated the same details and wondered whatever happened to the plane. He passed a couple of years ago so I can't ask again. The lake would have been on the northeast corner of the base at the time.


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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 10:30 pm 
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PbyCat-Guy wrote:
gary1954 wrote:
PbyCat-Guy wrote:
I have a ROV that I built for this purpose if someone wants to borrow it.


Man that is quite an offer there and mighty darned nice of you :drink3:


I used to live in New Jersey and heard about P-47 wrecks in some of the lakes, that's why I designed and built it, I'm kinda embarrassed that I did this sort of a thing. Soon I'll be acquiring a metal lathe and hope to build a better version I have designed.



I wish you well with that :drink3: and hope it is profitable for you as well

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 10:48 pm 
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RandolphB wrote:
OK- I'll throw one out probably nobody has heard of...

My father was 17 during WW2, and worked at the Army Base in Orlando as a Soda Jerk durng it. This base later became the Naval Training Center. When I was about 15 or so, we were driving past one end of it and it slowed down and told me that during the war, there was a set of cables mounted over a certain small lake, and a B-17 was hung beneath it. He said air crews were taught how to ditch a plane by using it a a training device. He said the plane would be winched up to one end, crew loaded in and it was allowed to free fall into the lake and sink. Then it would be pulled back up and used for the next crew. He said he remembered going by to work one day when the set-up was being taken down; and the B-17 was just ditched in the lake and the cables and poles were taken down and removed.

Many years later I asked him about it, and he repeated the same details and wondered whatever happened to the plane. He passed a couple of years ago so I can't ask again. The lake would have been on the northeast corner of the base at the time.


Ok... so from your story, does this sound like the base?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Army_Air_Base

If so, none of the lakes around that base have beed dreged (due to all the construction), which means if your story is true, It's stil there.

Does anyone know which lake they would have used?

PbyCat-Guy wrote:
gary1954 wrote:
PbyCat-Guy wrote:
I have a ROV that I built for this purpose if someone wants to borrow it.


Man that is quite an offer there and mighty darned nice of you :drink3:


I used to live in New Jersey and heard about P-47 wrecks in some of the lakes, that's why I designed and built it, I'm kinda embarrassed that I did this sort of a thing. Soon I'll be acquiring a metal lathe and hope to build a better version I have designed.


Do you have plans for that? I have a GoPro I could put on a stick if all else fails...

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 12:48 am 
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PbyCat-Guy wrote:
I have a ROV that I built for this purpose if someone wants to borrow it.



Um yeah. PM me and lets talk. I have a couple cameras with 60 ft. cable and infrared lights. I'm going to Florida and I'll get one of those abandoned aircraft :drink3:

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 1:05 am 
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Ok... so from your story, does this sound like the base?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Army_Air_Base

If so, none of the lakes around that base have beed dreged (due to all the construction), which means if your story is true, It's stil there.

Does anyone know which lake they would have used?



That would be the base. I only remember it as a Navy Training Center...but the lake Dad mentioned may have been in the upper right hand corner of this photo. I only moved back to the area last year....and there is now a housing tract of annoyingly bad houses where this all used to be. I'd have to drive around a little to see if the lake is even still there...! Looking on Google Maps, it appears to be Lake Spier.


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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 1:11 am 
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The B-17 in Orlando AAF was taken out right after the war. I've seen photos of it being removed from a vet who helped close the base out for the Army. Forget there being that B-17 still there, they used it for ditching training, pretty well documented if you know where to look.

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 12:16 pm 
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Sooooo, we really don't know if there are any there or not? :roll:

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 2:34 pm 
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I'm positive the Sebring B-17's are there.

The Orlando B-17 may have been dragged or pushed into the lake...

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 2:56 pm 
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Updated information; There is a plane in Crystal Lake (Keystone Heights), not a P-39 but unsure as to what type. No public access though.

Probability of a B-17 in Lake Okeechobee - zero. There are however fighter types in there.

There is documented B-17 in Tiger Lake near Kissimmee which was allegedly dynamited for being a navigation hazard, years ago an attempt was made to recover it but the conditions were terrible, the suction of the mud, and from what is being said the gators are plentiful!

Strong rumor of a B-17 in Lake Arbuckle (on the border of Avon Park Air Force Range) which is protected.

B-26 in Lake Livingston, Avon Park/Sebring area. Conflicting reports on whether or not this one was salvaged. Just about all information indicates it's still there.

"said Floridas the place you oughta be, so we loaded up the truck and headed for Okeechobee" :lol: :lol:

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 3:11 pm 
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tom d. friedman wrote:
cooper9411 wrote:
p51 you are correct. A lot of the aircraft are well documented and others are not. Here lately been hearing a rumor about a P-39 in northern Florida, around the Keystone Heights area (Crystal Lake)? I don't know if this is true or not I have not been there to check it out and I would think that someone would have taken pictures of it by now! The rumor also says the lake is surrounded by private property and the only way to get to the lake is with permission from a local.
Then theres the rumor of a B-17 that ditched in the eastern end of Lake Erie. It's possible as that is the deepest part of the lake. But once again, just rumors and until there is some type of proof I will be very skeptical. :roll: :shock: :drink3:





i'm a life time buckeye as you are coop!! :supz: i'm on the lake just east of sandusky & i've never heard that rumor on the 17!! & i know some real authority / pro lake erie wreck divers & they've never mentioned a fort, but they have mentioned some other wrecks that are documented & some that are speculated. how far east are you talking?? the further east you go the deeper the lake gets.



Tom, when I was doing research on a particular aircraft in Lake Erie (yes, I found it) I spoke with quite a few divers from this area as well as from the Cleveland area. Most of them shared information with me about known aircraft as well as not so known wrecks.
The one diver I spoke with indicated that years ago (late 80's, early 90's) there was a story that ran in the Plain Dealer about a diver who dove on an intact B-17 somewhere in the eastern part of the lake. This diver said that he spoke with the diver who allegedly dove on the B-17, but the guy would not disclose the exact location for fear of it being hunted for souvenirs. I will not post these divers names on here but if you want PM me and I'll tell you who they are. I don't know how much or if any of this is true. I called the Plain Dealer to see about their archives, they said I would have to go there and search myself through the microfiche reels! That would take a long, long time and would probably turn up nothing.
Anyways, this particular diver wants to be my diver for the plane I found over this way if/and when we get through all bureaucratic hassles.

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 Post subject: Re: Florida B-17s!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 5:36 pm 
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hi coop, yes, please pm me the names. when you mention all the govt red tape you ain't kidding brother!! some years ago i wanted to go to mouse island to find a couple of missiles that were fired from camp perry in port clinton to mouse. the island is now a bird sanctuary, while still being totally uninhabited. i went through all the proper channels, epecially the odnr and was given a firm no. i felt like giving them a bird of my own! :evil: i would be most happy to help you, just let me know. i don't dive but i can help in other ways.

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