ME-109 Recovery Video

[JimH]

This may have been posted here already...its heartbreaking to see it mistreated like this...guess they don't have airbags?

http://www.namdalsavisa.no/Nyhet/article5126536.ece

jim

[warbird1]

I heard that was the same crew that recovered the U.S. Navy PBM up at Lake Washington.

[JDK]

Maybe we aren't as informed as we might be. See:

http://luftfart.museum.no/Engelsk/default.htm

To paraphrase the Sandhurst maxim, plans don't survive contact with the enemy.

[Sutts]

Please tell me the guns weren't blown to pieces (as usual) by the over-zealous EOD.

It really irritates me that these guys are allowed to destroy rare air weaponry that should be deactivated and installed in museum aircraft.
Look at the time team A-26 dig. Multiple guns plus entire remote turret needlessly destroyed, even though declared clear of ammunition.
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lait/site/Time%20Team.htm

I think the same happened to the Archer field quarry haul in Oz.

I can understand having to dispose of bombs and rockets etc. but these aircraft guns are too rare to destroy like this. How many museums are having to install fakes these days?

Rant over.

[DaveM2]

Please tell me the guns weren't blown to pieces (as usual) by the over-zealous EOD.

It really irritates me that these guys are allowed to destroy rare air weaponry that should be deactivated and installed in museum aircraft.
Rant over.

The guns are being conserved-never known the Norwegians to destroy anything other than bombs or ammo from the many exceptional recoveries they have pulled off.

Dave

[Sutts]

Thanks Dave, that's a relief . Glad some countries know how to treat artifacts.

[groundpounder]

Thats brutal !!! I guess there were no engineers around that day. Duuuhh.

[bdk]

Personally, after reading the story I think they did a great job. It was their planning that kept the wreck from being torn to shreds upon lifting off the sea bottom.

[The Inspector]

NO, the PBM in Lake Washington was picked @ by recreational divers after the local news organizations (TV, papers, word of mouth, scrawled over the paper roll in the third stall) splashed the discovery all over the media stating how 'pristine and well preserved' it was, and of course, every knob head in 16 Western states with a set of tanks had to view this aviation Grand Canyon first hand and also be sure to take home a piece of it to preserve the wonderful memory of the 'dive to adventure' all 75 feet of it. Some idiots tried with a cable and boat, to remove the nose turret. When the Navy underwater recovery team finally showed up months later, they did a pretty fair job of not doing the prep correctly and about pulled the wings off trying to lift the aircraft without first trying to get 60 years (and a few feet) of Cedar River silt sediment out of the airplane which had settled on the bottom of the Lake on it's back. They pretty much turned what remained into junk , said 'OOPS' our bad-er.......gottagoseeya'

Considering that the 109 sat in salt water (perhaps even brackish water, even worse) for well over 60 years I'm surprised they got that much out in one piece. Stop acting like all this thing needed was an oil level check and a wipe of the windshield before flying away to wherever. If you recall, the FW-190 recently lifted out of Norwegian waters also had the tail tear off while it was being lifted, something to do with aluminum and salt water not getting along Imagine what, if anything may come of any attempt to recover any of the TBD's lying in tropical or sub tropical salt water 'here, this small bucket of gray soup is your recovered airplane'.

[TimAPNY]

I'm very glad to see someone is recovering these aircraft. Always nice to see another 109 come to the surface and someday be on display.

I want to agree with the little girl that starts crying when the structure failed. I wanted to cry also. But it is up and can be repaired.

Tim