willysmjeeps.com

Were any of you Great Lakes Residents there for the raising of
the FM-2 Wildcat on Dec 07, 2012?
You gotta wish you were there.. Wes K, Tim J, i know you guys are somewhere in the vicinity and with your aviation backround and all..
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 6897.story

That's a fairly common event around Milwaukee/Chicago. The Navy had old ships converted to flat tops for training on Lake Michigan during WWII. A truly beautiful rescue and restoration came out of there around 99 and showed up at Oshkosh a fully restored and flying unit several years later. The same time it was retrieved a SBD Dauntless was also retrieved.

The problem with the recovery of any US Navy equipment is the Navy never relinquishes ownership of any equipment lost at sea or through any action. Those naval aircraft recovered over the years since WWII have all remained under the control of the US Navy with civilian owners able to strike deals with the Navy to rent or trade other equipment the Navy may want for the found aircraft and quite often the Navy simply retains ownership and authorizes the civilian entity to restore, display and/or operate it as a loaner.

It's sad that these relics are abandoned but retained in ownership
by the navy. You really gotta admire those who put forth time, effort
and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to retrieve/restore these aircraft, with the
possibility of ownership reclaimed. (Think of finding/restoring
a jeep w/o a valid title)

really neat story. I googled more to see a corsair, as well as a dive bomber.

I also found an interesting story developing about some crated never flown spitfires mark iv that are supposedly buried at an old air base in Burma. Guesses are there is approximately 16, and they are to be excavated this spring. Incredible if true.

I wonder if there's a warehouse on this airbase holding the mythical crated unused $50.00 MB!

In my other life as a shipwreck explorer I've gotten to meet the guy who's found many of the lost naval aircraft. There are quite a number down there whose location is a closely kept secret subject to future "negotiations."

I've seen a couple that have been returned to flying status and they are simply incredible.

Of interest is the fact that one of the passenger ships converted to an aircraft carrier for Great Lakes service was a side wheel steamer. Makes a great factoid for a bar bet.

One of the highlights of my diving career was to be able to dive on Japanese WWII shipwrecks and airplanes in the mid-pacific atoll of Truk. Aircraft long submerged in salt water aren't candidates for return to flight status but they were neat to see.

Tim

Anytime you go after former guvmint property, it is perilous. Toward the end of the War between the States, a riverine fort on the Roanoke River was about to be taken. The defenders dumped their fieldpieces over the bluff into the river. In the 1970's, a fellow got a barge and related equipment, and recovered all but one tube. As soon as he finished, the State of NC showed up and claimed its property. There was a court fight, as I recall, but the answer was fairly straight-forward. Last I saw them they were in a building there at Ft. Branch.

Another fellow recovered a USN fighter from the swamp near the airport in Wilmington. It had been an unofficial landmark near the airport for years. Again, once the guy dragged it out, up pops the Navy and claimed their property.

Dave

Tim, shipwreck explorer?
I worked as a diver and salver on the wreck of the Whydah.

Whydah, eh? Arrrr.... Captain Black Sam Bellamy's pirate booty. That must have been an exciting project to work on.

The majority of my shipwreck adventures have been in the Great Lakes. No treasure but the fresh cold waters do a wonderful job of preserving ships. My partners and I have discovered and documented a few ships and been invited to aid in the exploration of others. From all that we've produced a number of video programs and written a couple of books which have helped support our "hobby".

In Michigan waters the state claims ownership of anything that has been on the bottom for 25 years or more. There are also a number of underwater preserves which are designed to protect shipwrecks and other sites as well as promote recreational diving.

Tim