Interesting UK IJN warbird recovery link

[Kaigun Fan]

See below:

http://www.gjdservices.co.uk/html/solomon_s.html

This was posted on the FlyPast BBS. Hopefully, they will be saved.

Ron W.

[Robbie Roberts]

Interesting photos- I'm sure the Betty could be restored, or at the very least, used as a pattern for a reproduction...

Robbie

[n5151ts]

somewhere down the line!

[DoraNineFan]

What's the justification for leaving these relics where they are again?:shock:

They are being hacked to bits for scrap, as shown in the photo of the Zero where the entire tail section has been crudely sawed off. They also appear be a magnet for both corrosion and falling trees. I doubt much would be left in another 10 to 15 years.

The last photo shows a freshly fallen tree crushing the aircraft. Could this be an accident during brush clearing or a deliberate act from someone against their removal?

Getting them out was a good move, in my opinion.

Last edited by DoraNineFan on Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[daveymac82c]

If I'm not mistaken, aren't those the ones that were extracted from the Solomon's in when Justin Taylan and his group happened to stumble upon the wrecks being removed?

I'm pretty sure I'm right, but please correct me if I'm wrong. It's just that the name of the island is right, and I believe the airplanes shown in those pictures are the same that they mentioned were removed from Ballale. Right now most, if not all of those airframes are in Australia, or on their way there.

Great pictures. Thanks for posting.

Cheers,

David

[warbird1]

Yes, those are the same ones that were involved in the Justin fiasco. My only question is why a company that specializes in commercial aviation with big Boeing products is dealing with warbird aircraft recovery. That just seems weird, if you ask me. I'm not complaining though, as I hope they are able to recover many more airframes!

[daveymac82c]

ya know, I was thinking the very same thing. When I went to other pages of the linked website I only found commercial airliner stuff. Strange, yes?

-David