SBD-5 Lake Recovery - Michigan

[Paul Krumrei]

[peter]

Was this recently raised or??

[ZuluEcho]

where have i seen this before? mmm.. is it one of those taken back by the Navy?

[Warbird Kid]

Him and many brothers like him. Greedy Navy! Bah!

Thankfully they've been recovered, but they'll never see the sky again.

[ZuluEcho]

maybe one day the Navy will put one together to fly..

[Warbird Kid]

I've wondered about that too.

What if the national policies for the military and vintage designated aircraft changed? I mean, since the Navy has so many SBDs for instance. 15 or 16 were raised right? Either way, most of those aircraft have been restored and are on loan to other museums, or are displayed in a crash diorama or unrestored state.

But I believe there are a few still sitting in the storage facility at Pensacola. But then for me what I wish the military would do, would have the US Air Force base museums start a program to put one aircraft each back into flying condition. Though who would start such a program, as well as finding the money to start it? It would be a compeition between bases. Maybe a morale booster.

But what aircraft? And what museums?

[tom d. friedman]

it must have been plenty deep. or buried in mud or silt, as i don't see any crusty zebra mussels on the sbd!!! quite surprising.

[Steve Nelson]

I think most of the SBD recoveries were done in the early '90s, before the Zebra Mussells took over the lakes. Also, don't they live mainly in shallow water? I don't know about the one in the picture, but the Air Zoo's SBD-3 was recovered from about 250 feet of water. The only really bad corrosion was where the metal was in contact with the lake bottom (although most of the magnesium parts had disintegrated.) I understand the cockpit was filled to the rails with mud, silt, beer cans, and other assorted debris.

SN

[Glen]

Is one of these recoverd planes at the WW 2 Museum in Fredericksburg Texas ? If so they did a pretty good job of cleaning it up.

[tom d. friedman]

bummer, i thought it was a recent recovery. i knew it was to good to be true, but i always hope. that explains the absence of the zebra mussels. oh what those little crusty cruds have done to the great lakes, the sport fishing, & wrecks...... unrepairable damage. you can't fight mother nature.

[Canso42]

[quote="Glen"]Is one of these recoverd planes at the WW 2 Museum in Fredericksburg Texas ? If so they did a pretty good job of cleaning it up.[/quote]

Nope, at least not the SBD. That aircraft now flies at Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Tx.

Canso42
vol. LSFM

[Paul Krumrei]

it must have been plenty deep. or buried in mud or silt, as i don't see any crusty zebra mussels on the sbd!!! quite surprising.

Sorry didn't mean to tease you guys. I just thought it was a cool picture to share!