wrecks that need to be saved now

[43-2195]

Tom D. Friedman, Whilst I tend to agree with your post. I strongly disagree with PNG being uncharted. It is very well charted and you can buy the maps on line. I am writing this from Port Moresby and have flown over most of the country in the last 30 days. And all of it(many times) in the last 24 years.

[Chris Brame]

I'll toss in my usual mention of the O-38 in Lake Huron off Oscoda, MI...

(from niagaradivers.com)

[cooper9411]

I'll toss in my usual mention of the O-38 in Lake Huron off Oscoda, MI...

(from niagaradivers.com)

Isn't there other types in Lake Huron around Oscoda? For some reason I seem to recall either reading or hearing a rumor about aircraft in that area.

[camshaw]

i heard a bunch of p40s went swimming in huron from an old ww2 pilot who lived up there. thats all i heard and cant verify.

[cooper9411]

i heard a bunch of p40s went swimming in huron from an old ww2 pilot who lived up there. thats all i heard and cant verify.

I have a couple accident reports of P-40's that did go into Lake Huron. Unfortunately they went in at high angles from high altitudes at high speed. If anything is found its quite certain it wouldn't be much more than a few twisted pieces. There were P-47's that went in along Long Island sound, P-40's throughout the Florida swamp/lakes. My personal opinion is that the aircraft that are in lake St. Clair should be someone's focus of attention. A few different types went in there, or how about the 3-4 planes in Tampa Bay?

[ProudKerman]

Theres possibly a couple of thousand aircraft off the coast of Aus. All were dumped so they would be in nice condition aside from the salt water

[camshaw]

remember that squadron of corsairs-they were brand new and being ferried and they all got lost and ditched right next to each other somewhere I think by Australia? I heard they were located and they were in very deep water and in great shape? anybody heard of that?

[gemmer]

A bit of a stretch, but there's a B- 17D that was ditched of the coast of Zamboangar, Mindiinao, PI,
Dec. 1941.

Duane

[ProudKerman]

thats what im talking about canshaw, sunshine coast bout 800 aircraft

http://www.ozatwar.com/ozatwar/dumped@sea.htm

[43-2195]

Proud Kerman , Canshaw is probably referring to a USMC F4U squadron lost due bad weather and Navigation errors on a ferry flight from the New Hebrides to Guadalcanal. They all ditched. Only some survived.
The RN FAA aircraft you refer to off SE Queensland and Sydney include; Seafires, Corsairs, Barracudas and Avengers. The national archives website will give you the co-ordinates of the dumping grounds. Large quantities of explosives, ammunition and chemical weapons(mustard gas) were also dumped in these areas.

This thread is rather silly. Anyone can own(save) a warbird, either through recovery and restoration or outright purchase. It just takes a great deal of money. You see large numbers of airshow attendees, aviation magazine consumers and historic aviation forumites, but only an extremely small percentage are prepared to open their wallets or invest their savings in warbirds.

In Queensland we call it, "Big Hat, no cattle".

[Jagan]

Also I believe the Bf 109E from India was days or weeks from getting scrapped before it was saved.
.

Incorrect. It was weeks from getting taken over by the Indian Air Force before it was shipped out clandestinely by a middleman (who got into a lot of hot water legally and politically).

[TheBigBadGman]

I second all the calls to save a TBD but I must insist on the recovery/restoration of a PBM Mariner.

Its significance in the war is criminally underrated and deserves a place of pride in Pensacola. The navy museum has long suffered from bias against larger aircraft (the Marlin was moved indoors only after a campaign from the Marlin/Mariner Association) but the recent restoration of the Coronado shows they know rarity when they see it. It would be nice for them to restore their Privateer and bring it indoors, just as it would be nice for the Smithsonian to move Pima's Mariner to Florida. Don't get me wrong, it's in better hands in Pima as Pensacola doesn't seem too interested in housing its collection indoors. (Or to arrange it by era as in Dayton, for that matter.) In terms of preservation, the Air Force often makes the Navy look sad.

One can't help but wonder how many Dauntlesses and Corsairs we really need in light of those TBD wrecks we keep hearing about. But I digress. A Mariner would be nice. (It'd be even better if Pensacola's Coronado and Pima's Mariner still had their turrets, but that might be wishful thinking.)

[tom d. friedman]

anything out of the late walter soplata's collection!! a preverbial treasure trove!!

[Woodsy Airfield]

Tom - check...I think the XBT2D falls into the aircraft save priority list with the F7U-3 on the outside, B-36 remains are iffy. No news on how the family is thinking right now...

[cooper9411]

anything out of the late walter soplata's collection!! a preverbial treasure trove!!

Nothing new to report. Mrs. Soplata still wants everything to remain where it is for now.