Warbird Information Exchange

Possible recovery of Catalina and occupants.


http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/ar ... ng-pattern

Neat to see some local news. Thanks for posting, JOE

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Joe Amend - YAM Restoration

Regrettably it is highly unlikely that they will find human remains on this aircraft. IT has been underwater for 70 years.

Think about it... Robert Ballard found the Titanic 73 years after it sank...this plane was found 70 years after it went down. There were no organic remains found on Titanic and, unfortunately, the same will be the case here.

At best they may find dog tags, and those will be buried with all honors.

JPAC has enough trouble getting to land oriented sites let alone one that is underwater. It took them over 60 years to get to a land site less than 30 miles from their building on their own island. Sad to say I wouldn't hold my breath on this one.

Parks Canada should document the site and attempt to identify possible occupants in situ on their own. This is done based on finding things that a person might wear. Dog tags are the best identifier. Weapons, commo gear and other non organic material that might survive a marine environment. If they wait for JPAC to sync up with them it will be decades before they go back to do anything that looks like a recovery. Interestingly enough press reports that keep this story in front of the public will actually move JPAC to do something...JPAC tends to be reactive rather than pro-active.

Actually whether or not there are organic remains aboard would be determined by local conditions. A case in point would be HMS Victory which was lost in 1744. Locacted by Odyssey Marine Exploration just a few years ago, they did in fact find human remains at the site. I will agree that it would be good if Parks Canada got permission to survey the site to determine if in fact there are remains at the site. That might help push the process along and make it possible to bring these men home at long last.

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It's you and me against the world.

We attack at dawn.

Interesting story - don't often hear about recovering a whole aircraft to recover human remains.

Is this particular PBY a seaplane or an amphibian?

And what's the determining factor as to whether human remains (bones) still would be found? Salt/fresh water, temperature or depth? I remember the story of a Japanese pilot's skull being found at Pearl Harbor recently, and I've also seen the Titanic images of nothing more than a pair of shoes where the victims had come to rest.

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

I stand to be corrected on this, but as I understand it, the presence of remains is more dependent upon consumption than dissolution... the remains of the unfortunate Titanic passengers and crew were consumed by organisms living at that extreme depth. There aren't too many aquatic organisms which will consume bone material as well, apparently- witness the finding of skeletal remains aboard the Mary Rose and Vasa when those ships were recovered after several hundred years. So the probability is very good that there will be skeletal remains aboard the aircraft.

Having accomplished that and brought the unfortunate crewmen home, my question would then be, what will be done with the aircraft? It sounds as though it may be in really good condition otherwise, being in fresh water... any thoughts on that?

Lynn

Likewise with the Hunley. When this aircraft was first found and identified, the local news channels had broadcasts from Fremont. To the residents of Fremont it is a big deal. I agree, there should be some remains to be recovered.

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A&P/I.A., A.A.S./Aviation Maintenance technology
Warbird salvage/recovery
One day I'll get that P-40!

Lynn

From what I recall seein the video and speaking to Boris, there was very little remains for the pilot of the Bell P39Q-15 now being preservd for display in Buffallo. All the remains were in the foot well and there was not a lot. This was in cold fresh water at about 4-5m depth?

regards

Mark

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'Coups De Foudre'
(511FS, 405FG watering hole), St Dizier, France 1944/45

I have an old video of divers exploring the wreck of a ship that sank in Lake Superior in the 1920s. They found some skeletal remains after 70-odd years after she went down, so it's definitely possible that there could be ramains in the PBY.

SN