Kate for sale!

[262crew]

Check this out!
http://www.huntaircraftrecovery.com/nak ... 2_kate.htm

[Django]

That's pretty neat. The Oscars and the Russian Hurricane is cool too.

[Warbird Kid]

What id like to see happen....

Some group with enough money come and purchase the wreck. Reverse engineer and completely restore the bomber to flying original condition. (No easy task) Then with the completed drawings produce new builds. Hmmm what say 10 to 12 examples? Yeah much like Flug Werk!

What do ya think?

[warbird1]

Check this out!
http://www.huntaircraftrecovery.com/nak ... 2_kate.htm

Yea, that aircraft has been for sale for quite some time. I'm surprised that Paul Allen hasn't bought it yet, as he supposedly has a very secret (undisclosed to the outside world) Kate that he got from the South Pacific.

[warbird1]

What id like to see happen....

Some group with enough money come and purchase the wreck. Reverse engineer and completely restore the bomber to flying original condition. (No easy task) Then with the completed drawings produce new builds. Hmmm what say 10 to 12 examples? Yeah much like Flug Werk!

What do ya think?

Yes, that would be fantastic, but there are several problems:

1) There are significant portions of that aircraft that are missing. I don't know if there are enough parts or surviving blueprints to make a complete flying airplane. The Kate is one of the rarest Japanese aircraft out there.

2) The amount of money it would require to make a new build, a' la' Flug Werk, or TAF would be huge and probably cost much more than it's resale value.

3) I don't think there would be much demand for it. Other than the Zero, there just isn't much interest in W.W.II Japanese aircraft by owners. Proof of this are the unsold Oscar replicas which have been for sale for quite some time. I think most owners are more worried about the "cool" factor of a Corsair or Mustang than an obscure Japanese aircraft that probably won't have a great deal of resale value unless it was original authentic and with the original engine.

[Curtis Block]

I know the location of a relitively intact Kate. Unfortunatly it is located in salt water near the outlet of a raw sewage dump , and it would be illegal to recover.

[Curtis Block]

And no I didn't dive that one.

[warbird1]

I know the location of a relitively intact Kate. Unfortunatly it is located in salt water near the outlet of a raw sewage dump , and it would be illegal to recover.

If you are at liberty to say, where is it in general terms?

[Curtis Block]

Truk Lagoon.

It was actually moved during the expansion of the old Moen bomber strip (now the only active airstrip in Truk). Unfortunatly it was repositioned near the outlet of the sewage dump.

[warbird1]

Truk Lagoon.

It was actually moved during the expansion of the old Moen bomber strip (now the only active airstrip in Truk). Unfortunatly it was repositioned near the outlet of the sewage dump.

Wow, if they went to all the trouble to move it, why didn't they just raise it to the surface to recover it? Given it's rarity, I would have thought that they would have.

[Curtis Block]

In the intrest of "Preservation."

I think this was done in the '80s.

[warbird1]

In the intrest of "Preservation."

I think this was done in the '80s.

Ah, it must have been the Naval Historical Center (NHC) claiming that aircraft since it was in the Navy, albeit the Japanese Navy!

[JDK]

2) The amount of money it would require to make a new build, a' la' Flug Werk, or TAF would be huge and probably cost much more than it's resale value.

I'd agree with the rest of you assessment with the exception that it's certain that any resale or insurance or ticket 'value' would be below cost to get there.

Wow, if they went to all the trouble to move it, why didn't they just raise it to the surface to recover it? Given it's rarity, I would have thought that they would have.

Sadly with Axis aircraft 'rare' doesn't equate to 'valuable'.

Cheers

[Curtis Block]

I'm pretty sure the issue then was the same as it is now. It is illegal to remove artifacts. On the plus side, it wasn't buried or distroyed in the runway expansion. It's just too bad they didn't pick a better spot to relocate it to. As it sits it is considered almost undivable due to helth risks. Unfortunatly there was not then, nor is there now, or are there future plans for a museum facility to accomidate large endangered artifacts.

I'm sure I have lat. long. for the site somewhere.

I might even have some stuff on the actual move. if I can dig it up I'll try to post it.

[warbird1]

I might even have some stuff on the actual move. if I can dig it up I'll try to post it.

Thanks, Curtis, I would love to see it, especially any photos you might have.