The Navy and buried Aircraft question

[camshaw]

If the owners of the land will sell the p38,lets go get it, I'll bring the bulldozer and truck and trailer and shovels,you bring the cash to buy it,I'll do it for free...sounds like a blast! Plus I'm in california, the EPA could care less,nor would they know....

[warbird1]

The son of my boss is at NAS PAX river and has told me of an ME262 that was pushed into a large hole and semi covered up along with other axis aircraft, and they also have an AR234 sitting on the edge of the shore half way in salt water corroding away into mush! I've seen pictures of the 234! So it is for real!!!!

I have heard the PAX river birds mentioned here before.

Do you have any pics?

I've seen pictures of the 234 that were taken back in the 70's. As I recall, it was in pretty rough shape, even then. It would be a daunting project, to say the least. It would, however, make a nice pattern to make a series of 234's in the same vein that the 262's were made using the Willow Grove a/c as a pattern. How hard would that be to make? After all, the engine modifications of converting the CJ610 engines into fake Jumo's have pretty much been accomplished with the 262 project. The only thing left is just the basic structures. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Ar-234 structure is pretty basic and straightforward.

[Saabmeister]

Here are some pictures taken in 1976 on flickr of the Ar234 and the XFL-1:

http://flickr.com/photos/keleivis/2486054947/

To see more, click on his "Aviation" set.

[TAdan]

Those pictures are just mind blowing...



Sad to think that there still may be remains there that are still rotting.

I know it is not as exciting as a complete aircraft but I would enjoy seeing a piece of the Airbonita in a museum rather than nothing at all.

[mustangdriver]

Wow ummmm yeah hard to believe that no one has done something with ummmm that. That is a mess. I am not sure there is even anything left to use as original there. It sucks that they did that at all, but remember that it was just a junk airplane when they dumped it there.

[F3A-1]

In the late 70's I approached a Congressman in Illinois (my home at the time) and he was unable to get any form of cooperation from the Navy that would have allowed the recovery of these historic planes. I had original photos (who has them now I don't know) and as I recall there were two Arado 234's, the Airobonita and one Me-262 that were exposed partially, and probably many more that weren't.

Sooner or later I am going to have to tell the entire Pirate vs. U.S. Navy story.

Pirate Lex
http://www.BrewsterCorsair.com

[mustangdriver]

I would love to hear all of it man. They can be pretty dumb. Just looking at the pics I just wonder if anything could have been done with these two.