WWII Fighter Plane Recovered: BIG PIC

[Adsos Letter]

SOURCE: DISCOVERY News

A World War II fighter plane was recovered from the depths of Lake Michigan, more than 60 years after it crashed during a training exercise.

Cranes lifted the F6F-3 Hellcat out of 250 feet of water in Waukegan, Ill., about 40 miles north of Chicago, on Tuesday.

The plane had been submerged since Lt. Walter Elcock, the pilot who survived the crash, was practicing landing on the U.S.S. Sable aircraft carrier on Jan. 5, 1945. As he was coming to the deck, Elcock recalled he brought the plane in too low, lost his lift and crashed into the water, according to an interview with the Daily Mail.

He is now 89 years old and lives in Atlanta.

The plane will eventually be displayed at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida.

LINK: http://news.discovery.com/history/world-war-ii-fighter-plane-recovered.html
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A couple of EXCELLENT photos at the link; must see.

[Crabby Appleton]

1. Cool pics & story!

[tekisui]

2. The shot of the dash is a great pic.

Really tells a story. I immediately sent it off to my grandfather, a WWII pilot.:hi:

[surrealAmerican]

11. That's a whole lot of zebra mussels there.

[petronius]

21. I wondered if that's what those are

The plane's in great shape, that deep cold water must be a good preservative...

[intheflow]

18. Almost looks like a face.

Crawling with flies. Creepy!

[flvegan]

3. Local news says a diver is going back to try and find the propeller.

The instruments all appear to be in very good shape under the marinelife and mud (again, per the guy talking to the reporter). This plane is fairly significant as it has combat service history in WWII.

[Withywindle]

4. Yes! This was on the local news here in Chicago.

Wasn't it a grandson of the pilot who participated in the recovery mission?

[dogmom2]

5. that plane won the Pacific war.. it could out perform the Japanese Zero, in a specific maneuver used...

to shoot down underpowered US fighters.. sucker them into following a climbing escape, the US plane would follow and stall due to its weight. the very light Zero would just shoot em down. the F6F looked like a Wild cat F4F but with a better new motor that could out climb the Zero. the Zero would stall first an we shot him down. apparently no Zero ever survived to warn the others.. we wiped out their fighter planes with better armour power and greater maneuverability.. the bombers had no support and their air fields no defense.. we gained air superiority very fast. a major factor in winning the pacific war

http://aviationartstore.com/F6F%20Hellcat%20History.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F6F_Hellcat

[mrcheerful]

6. The sad thing is if you noticed was the zebra muscles covering the plane

when it went down there were no zebra muscles in the Great Lakes. Sadly because of relaxed EPA rules in the 80's the Great Lakes now have a pest that the Lakes have no defense against. Another accomplishment of the republicon party.

[Obamanaut]

16. Did they use cadaver zebras to provide the muscles, or live donors? nt

[mrcheerful]

23. oppppps mussels not muscles lol

[rhett o rick]

7. My question is, How did they get an aircraft carrier into Lake Michigan? nt

[mrcheerful]

8. The same way they got zebra muscles into the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence seaway

[A Simple Game]

10. Nope. No St. Lawrence Seaway in 1945.

[TransitJohn]

9. Uh....they steamed in?

Just a guess.

[NoPasaran]

12. They were converted paddlewheel excursion ships

Wartime conversions for training purposes only.

http://ix-carriers.blogspot.com/

[rhett o rick]

19. thank you. Very interesting. nt

[Doc_Technical]

13. The Navy use two converted side wheel steamers.

These ships were used for training pilots for
carrier take off and landing.

http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org12-6i.htm

[rhett o rick]

20. Thanks. Very interesting. nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. WOW

[sakabatou]

15. Davy Jones' hidden air force

[semillama]

17. no, tis the submariners' secret weapon

in their ongoing struggle against the zeppelinists!

[MinM]

22. Nova: B-29 Frozen in Time

This...

reminded me of this:

http://www.amazon.com/Nova-B-29-Frozen-Time-VHS/dp/6304096739

"B-29: Frozen in Time" is a great, great story. But why? Being an aviation buff, I would obviously be partial. However, this story can appeal to many more people. It is more than just your average, "boring" feature. It's a story of adventure, of risks and shows that even the best of plans can go awry. It is also very bold and involves people who may be perfectly sane or who may be half-nuts (Some spoilers).

The story revolves around a B-29 bomber named "The Kee Bird". In 1947, this plane crash-landed in the Arctic Circle. The crew survived and were rescued days later. But the plane was abandoned, lost but not forgotten. Though it was known where it was, no body attempted any recovery. It would be too risky and expensive and would require an eccentric and bold risk taker. However, one person could do it. Meet Darryl Greenamyer.

A former test pilot, Greenamyer flew the U-2 and SR-71 aircraft for Lockheed. In the 1970's, he built an F-104 Starfighter jet from scrap and set a low altitude speed record. The plane that will be used for shuttle flights on this mission will be another of his wonders: A Caribou transport. After the Caribou and the team arrives, the documentary goes into a brief flashback about the Kee Bird's last flight. The jubilance the modern day crew feels far contrasts to what the original people there felt. Two crewmembers are interviewed, providing details about how it felt afterwards as they waited for help. During their interviews, we see footage of the plane's interior and archive footage taken after the crash.

Greenamyer and his team were trying to beat the clock and thus took many risks. The first one, when the tires lose air from falling off, is to use propane to refuel them. The second is to fly in a bulldozer, even though it is dangerously overweight. Also, as the weather worsens around the site, the decision to try to keep shuttle flights going to Thule Air Force Base...