Harvard IV wrote:
Another comment: I don't think the U.S. Navy has jurisdiction in Australian waters. In addition if they are in Australian waters. Austrailian ownership would go into effect based on maritime and territorial laws. Ie. They were the Navy's planes, but since they are on so and so's property to bad so sad...
I don't think it works that way. The Navy's position is based on the precedent established by shipwrecks. The policy on shipwrecks is that they are the ownership of the government that operated them in perpetuity. For example, Germany maintains control of all of the German u-boats from WWII as the
successor state. Takes this quote from an
article on the discovery of a u-boat on the Eastern Seaboard:
NOAA said the German government still owns the U-boat and has asked the United States to protect the site. The U.S. recognizes German ownership and has pledged its protection, NOAA said.
Unless you have a record of
that particular aircraft being given up (e.g a bill of sale), not to mention an unbroken record of ownership since then, then I think
you're the one that would be out of luck.
Broken-Wrench wrote:
Dude I was in the Airdale Navy and a mechanic for years. When they go in the Sea stick a fork in them because they are done. Even if you pull them right out it is almost impossible to arest the cemical reaction that results in corrosion. While in the service a H-3 went in and was upside down still floating, we pulled it out and opened the panels and flushed it with fresh water but you can't get all of the salt out. It gets between the ribs, stringers, skin , and Lap joints and just sarts eat'in.
I have to second this, I heard a story from our museum president that just so happens to be about a Corsair ending up in salt water. IIRC, the short version is he had engine trouble and landed just short of the runway - which happened to be in the ocean near the beach. They ended up building a coffer dam and hauling the plane back to the hangar and started immediately hosing it down. Even with a restored, airworthy plane they weren't able to prevent the corrosion. They had the exact same problems with the hard to reach areas that Broken-Wrench describes above.
The one chance you
might have is if a) you were going for static display, and b) you had access to some serious conservation equipment. Just
look at what it's taking the RAF Museum to save that Do 17.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I just realized I replied to a post from 2004. Whatever. I still think it's a pretty good explanation on the subject, if I do say so myself!
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