Article

2012-12-10 Science & Technology

World War II fighter plane retrieved from Lake Michigan

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Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2012-12-10 15:06|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [336071 views ] Top

#1 My friend Tom Camp has a fully restored, flyable FM2. He has kept it factory original including the manual landing gear lowered and raised via a crank in the cockpit connected to a series of chains and pulleys.

See pictures here

Thumbnail pictures can be expanded by clicking on them.

Here is the FM2 in flight.

Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2012-12-10 15:22|| 2012-12-10 15:22|| Front Page Top

#2 I believe there is another one on the floor of the USN Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola. If I remember correctly, it sits just as it was pulled from the bottom of Lake Michigan and still had air in it's tires.

Posted by Besoeker 2012-12-10 15:30|| 2012-12-10 15:30|| Front Page Top

#3 Was it from the Wolverine?

Time for a second look at side-paddle attack carriers.

Posted by Shipman 2012-12-10 16:12|| 2012-12-10 16:12|| Front Page Top

#4 Thirty-one World War II planes have been recovered from Lake Michigan, said Taras Lyssenko, a partner in A&T Recovery. The recovery process involves the approval of various state agencies, the Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. Lyssenko estimated that 70 to 80 airplanes are still in the lake. Finding them, he said, gives him reason to use the "needle in a haystack" expression.

The Wildcat retrieved Friday was one of many planes used during the war to train pilots for landing on aircraft carriers. It rolled off a converted steamship Dec. 28, 1944, and sank about 45 miles southeast of Waukegan after the engine failed during its third takeoff.

Posted by tu3031 2012-12-10 17:49|| 2012-12-10 17:49|| Front Page Top

#5 To paraph Perts + veteran Pilots on the History Channel, Japan designed the A6M Zero-sen as a Paper Kite wid an Engine.

The Wildcat was outperformed by the more contemporary = "modern" Zero, yet the former was still able to destroy 6.9 enemy aircraft for every one Wildcat lost.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2012-12-10 19:20|| 2012-12-10 19:20|| Front Page Top

#6 THAT was due to armor and the Thatch Weave...

Ironic that a nation of individuals won in the air with a tight team structure while a nation of rigid structure fought as individuals...

Orion

Posted by Orion 2012-12-10 21:18|| 2012-12-10 21:18|| Front Page Top

#7 What? No Messerschmitt?

Posted by European Conservative 2012-12-10 22:06|| 2012-12-10 22:06|| Front Page Top

#8 IMHO, until the Tomcat, the Wildcat was the last good looking military airplane built by the Iron Works. No way can you say the Stoof, the Greyhound, Hummer, Prowler or Intruder are pretty. Functional, yes, but pretty? they are in a 'the girl you take home from the bar at 2 A M' kind of way.....

Posted by USN,Ret. 2012-12-10 23:19|| 2012-12-10 23:19|| Front Page Top

23:54 JosephMendiola
23:49 JosephMendiola
23:42 JosephMendiola
23:19 USN,Ret.
22:57 Grunter
22:18 gorb
22:13 RJ45ACP
22:10 European Conservative
22:09 European Conservative
22:07 European Conservative
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21:44 Uncle Phester
21:38 SteveS
21:33 Barbara
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20:26 Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division
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