Lake Michigan recoveries?

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Sun Jan 01, 2017 12:58 pm

Will there ever be another plane recovered from Lake Michigan?

cooper9411 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 01, 2017 1:36 pm

Probably when the navy needs one for another "museum"! :roll:

seabee1526 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:18 pm **Posts:** 459

cooper9411 wrote:

Probably when the navy needs one for another "museum"! :roll:

Yankee could use one, only a 4 hour trip from Chicago :supz:

TOM WALSH · **Posted:** Tue Jan 03, 2017 10:43 am

I believe a Grumman Wildcat or an Avenger is in the mix for eventual display at the Yankee Air Museum. Beyond that, no other information at this time.

Cheers,

Tom Walsh.

old iron · **Posted:** Tue Jan 03, 2017 3:35 pm

Does anyone know how long it now takes to dig through the Zebra mussels before you can get to an airplane?

seabee1526 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:18 pm **Posts:** 459

TOM WALSH wrote:

I believe a Grumman Wildcat or an Avenger is in the mix for eventual display at the Yankee Air Museum. Beyond that, no other information at this time.

Cheers,

Tom Walsh.

That is interesting Tom, I hadn't heard that before.

menards · **Joined:** Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:46 pm **Posts:** 543

A cool article from 35 years ago....

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/19/us/hi ... y-fbi.html

shepsair · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:32 pm

I thought an SBD veteran from the Torch landings was on the cards at some stage?

This was at the same time the FM-2 was recovered. It was a possible alternative.

regards,

Mark

Nathan · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2017 9:51 am

can someone post a list of the aircraft recovered recently from the great lakes? It seems most were FM-2's, and SBDs?

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

One Hellcat and one Corsair were recovered and I think there are a bunch of SNJs and TBMs still down there.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37573&p=413410&hilit=lake+michigan+losses#p413410

ALOHADAVE · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2017 11:51 am

According to one article:
"Through ship’s logs and Aircraft Accident Cards we know that of the aircraft listed as lost were 41 TBM/TBF Avengers, one F4U Corsair, 38 SBD Dauntless, four F6F Hellcats, 17 SNJ Texans, two SB2U Vindicators, 37 FM/F4F Wildcats and three experimental drones known as TDNs"
"The aircraft assemblage in Lake Michigan represents the largest and best-preserved group of U.S. Navy, sunken, historic, aircraft in the world. From a historical perspective, the assemblage provides a wealth of knowledge about the history of naval aviation. Individually they are physical pieces of our past linked to significant people and events. Vast amounts of information can be gleaned from and memorialized through these special objects."

So if you take the above numbers and subtract the below list, then you get a pretty close number of what is still available. The NAVY would like to see them recovered, but they are NOT going to pay for it AND they must be restored to static condition AND any aircraft recovered must go to an approved Museum because they still claimed ownership. There just are not too many places that have the money, time and facilities to do the job.

Overall, Taras from AT&T Recoveries has said the airplanes in the Lakes are now:

1) Vindicator
2) Bird-cage Corsair
3) Many SBD's
4) Many Wildcats
5) Many Avengers
6) Many SNJ's.

RECOVERED LISTs ATTACHED and where they ended up.

ALOHADAVE · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:16 pm

FM2 Wildcat photos shortly after it arrived at Kalamazoo
This is an example of what you get after the plane has been underwater for more than 70 years.

Russ Matthews · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2017 1:20 pm

The single F4U-1 "Birdcage" Corsair was recovered more than six years ago ...

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20101108/news/711099997/

And, if I recall correctly, some of the overall list of planes lost in the lake includes aircraft that were subsequently recovered by the Navy a short time later (presumably from much shallower water). It seems to me that was the case with the second SB2U Vindicator (though somebody here probably knows for sure).

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2017 1:45 pm

Such a shame the remaining aircraft aren't opened up to the general public for salvage.

JohnB · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2017 3:51 pm

Warbird Kid wrote:

Such a shame the remaining aircraft aren't opened up to the general public for salvage.

Pity the Navy is more interested in keeping the wrecks under its bureaucratic control instead of preserving history by letting approved groups recover and restore the aircraft.

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Lake Michigan recoveries?

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