SB2C 'Helldiver' wreck at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands.

[kwajwreckdiver]

Hi all,

Thought you might like to see a few pictures I shot of a SB2C in the aircraft graveyard off Roi-Namur. I'm not sure what variant of the Helldiver this is- as you can see, the dive brakes/flaps are missing, and that would have been a big clue for me. If anyone looking at these pics can tell the variant, let us know!

I dived this wreck the day before yesterday, and here's 5 pics from the 15 total I shot of this wreck...











Yesterday, on another dive, I shot 24 pictures of some Wildcat wrecks, but those are going over to Dave McDonald at Classic Wings magazine. He'll choose which ones he wants to publish, and later on I'll post what he doesn't use.

Today's plan is to dive a PBJ/B-25 wreck, maybe two of them. We'll see what happens.

Cheers!

Dan

[Mark Nankivil]

Nice way to spend a day Dan! How deep was the wreck and are those shell casings laying on the wing? I do see some sort of exhaust piping laying there too.

Looking forward to more pics!

Enjoy the Day! Mark

[tom d. friedman]

i note a folded wing..... was this shoved off a carrier deck?? or did the wing fold upon ditching & sinking??

[retroaviation]

Yeah, that doesn't seem like a crash so much as it seems more like it was just pushed overboard. As mentioned, the folded wing makes it seem suspect for "walking the plank," along with the missing engine cowlings, tail section, and spare parts laying on the center section. Still, it must be neat to dive on something like that though.

Gary

Last edited by retroaviation on Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Django]

Great photos! Thanks for sharing.

I would "guess" that the wing folded on the way down. The other one looks perfectly fine. If it was shoved over the side, I wouldn't think it would end up looking like it was locked down. My hpyothesis anyway...

[retroaviation]

Those are big, honkin' wing lock pins on that airplane. I reckon it could happen, but it's pretty unlikely that they'd just break off clean like that and not tear up the rest of the wing. My guess is that if it had hit hard enough to break a wing fold pin, that wing wouldn't still be attached at all.

My hypothosis too.

Gary

[Django]

Well your hypothesis is smarter than mine... Hahaha!

[ZRX61]

What's that box under the right wing??

[kwajwreckdiver]

Hi guys,

Glad you like the pics. I should have explained a couple of things when I made the post, but I kinda spaced it off. It was about 1:30am local when I posted those, so my brain wasn't quite working completely.

This plane was one of many American aircraft that were loaded on a barge on Roi-Namur, and taken out into the lagoon and intentionally pushed over the side. After WWII, when the planes weren't needed any more, it was determined that it was cheaper to dump them in the lagoon, than it was to take them back to the U.S.

There's an estimated 150 American aircraft dumped in the lagoon west of Roi-Namur. The planes are mostly in a 3 to 4 square mile area near Mellu Island.

I've dived on SBD's, PBJ-1H's, Avengers, a Corsair, a R5C (C-46), Wildcats, and the Helldiver you see above. It's said that the aircraft graveyard holds one of the most complete collections of WWII American naval aircraft anywhere in the world.

I'm headed back out there again today. We're looking for another PBJ-1H, or whatever else we can find. I'll post more pics if we find anything.

Oh- and those are indeed 5" shell casings on the wing. Not sure what's in the box, though. Could be spare parts maybe.

Cheers all,

Dan

[kwajwreckdiver]

Oops- nearly forgot. This 'Helldiver' is about 85 feet deep.