fully intact betty found in jungle needs to be saved

[CDF]

Wouldnt it be nice to see this repatriated to Japan and remain conserved rather than be restored and become a memorial shrine to the japanese airmen??

Agreed. Similar to the D017 recently found in the UK. Return it to Germany as a memorial to the Luftwaffe crews

[RyanShort1]

Throwing my vote in with Ryan... this machine belongs in a place of honor in Japan.

Lynn

I'm not even sure it needs to return to Japan. I'd say a joint Japanese / native group ought to preserve it. I'm ok with it ending up either place so long as it's properly preserved. I just think we need to avoid being TOO US centric and thinking that some US entity has to do the work.

Ryan

[RyanShort1]

Wouldnt it be nice to see this repatriated to Japan and remain conserved rather than be restored and become a memorial shrine to the japanese airmen??

Agreed. Similar to the D017 recently found in the UK. Return it to Germany as a memorial to the Luftwaffe crews

Warprize and on English soil = fair game for the Brits to keep.

Ryan

[Bcook]

Japan don't deserve it. Most of the newer Japanese folk don't even know a thing about ww2. They are taught that the U.S. attacked THEM first.

[CDF]

Warprize and on English soil = fair game for the Brits to keep.
Ryan

Yeah I guess gestures like that are wasted aren't they.

[RyanShort1]

Japan don't deserve it. Most of the newer Japanese folk don't even know a thing about ww2. They are taught that the U.S. attacked THEM first.

That's exactly why they need some warbirds there...

Ryan

[Jollygreenslugg]

G'day folks,

Japan don't deserve it. Most of the newer Japanese folk don't even know a thing about ww2.

Well, if popular knowledge is the criterion for 'deserving' such items, I don't think too many countries would 'deserve' warbirds. Ask twenty teenagers from your own neighbourhood about the Second World War and you just despair at the answers you receive.

Ignorance of history isn't unique to any one nation.

Cheers,
Matt

[gary1954]

G'day folks,

Japan don't deserve it. Most of the newer Japanese folk don't even know a thing about ww2.

Well, if popular knowledge is the criterion for 'deserving' such items, I don't think too many countries would 'deserve' warbirds. Ask twenty teenagers from your own neighbourhood about the Second World War and you just despair at the answers you receive.

Ignorance of history isn't unique to any one nation.

Cheers,
Matt

Man have you got that right. I think that George Washington is down to a paragraph. Soon, President Washington will merely be a footnote.

[Chappie]

I vote for a Jerry Yagen recovery.

Any idea where or when this video was taken?

Chappie

[DoraNineFan]

That Betty matches the aircraft in a video from the Ballalae salvage operation in the Solomon Islands several years ago, which is the operation where J. Taylan was arrested.

The question is, was the Betty removed along with the Zeros?

[DaveM2]

We did an article on the Solomon recoveries back in issue 64, Pete Floatplanes and Zeros were involved. Included was a photo showing a tree that had fallen on (and into) a Betty, but I am not sure if it is the same aircraft, could well be as the recoveries were in 2008 and the video is earlier.

Bcook-that statement is as ignorant as the younger generations (of most nations) are about their modern history - how are they to learn with that sort of attitude??

[DoraNineFan]

We did an article on the Solomon recoveries back in issue 64, Pete Floatplanes and Zeros were involved. Included was a photo showing a tree that had fallen on (and into) a Betty, but I am not sure if it is the same aircraft, could well be as the recoveries were in 2008 and the video is earlier.

Here is a video feature the Ballalae aircraft recovery. The jagged hole in the nose seen at 3:39 below is a spot-on match.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKbV4sSPHvc

[cwmc]

I was once at the Air Force Museum and a bunch of early twenties Japanese kids were looking over Bockscar. A buddy and I were looking over the George there under it's wing, and the Japanese group kind of sidled up to us and listened to our conversation for a bit, then one asked in understandable English about the B-29, was it the real thing, etc. We told them what we knew, and the rest of the group got a translation. They were very excited to know it was the real thing that dropped the bomb, that we restored the George and set it right out there, and they asked a ton of questions and were very interested in things we knew and kind of took for granted.
There are always going to be those that are interested in historic reality, all isn't lost!
Chris...

[Chappie]

Bcook-that statement is as ignorant as the younger generations (of most nations) are about their modern history - how are they to learn with that sort of attitude??

Dave- I was going to say something to that effect, but did not want to drag the thread from the subject. Well said.

Taylan was arrested during this time. What was the charge?


Chappie

[oz rb fan]

Dave has anything been heard of about these recoveries since?
pretty sure it's the same betty,the video talks about tourism to see the war relics but these days there a shrinking market for that,but on the other hand look at the beaches ans blue seas,that is a marketable resource.
and in the long term unless these relics are put inside they wont last much longer.
just a couple of those pete wrecks would look great as projects to bring back another lost type.