Post by ppat324 on Nov 8, 2010 17:41:58 GMT -5
A specialized team recovered a World War II fighter plane from Lake Michigan today, nearly 70 years after a Navy pilot missed a signal officer's warning to slow down and crashed during a training exercise.
The F4U-1 Corsair Fighter emerged rusted, its underbelly coated with zebra mussels, but otherwise remarkably intact after sitting beneath 250 feet of water nearly 33 miles off the Waukegan shoreline for decades.
"It's in wonderful condition," said Taras Lyssenko, general manager for A&T Recovery, a Chicago-based company that recovered the plane. "Keep in mind, it crashed and broke in half on the aircraft carrier."
Dozens of people snapped pictures and gazed in awe at the hulking, dripping plane, described as a rare early model of its kind, commonly called the "Birdcage Corsair." The plane will be transported to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla., where it will be restored for a potential exhibit.
A private citizen, Chuck Greenhill, 76, of Mettawa, donated money to help pay for the plane's recovery. On Monday, he beamed as he stood aboard the cockpit, giving the thumbs up.
"He restores history," said his daughter, Stacey Greenhill of Wheeling. Her father, a tool and die maker and Korean War veteran, "just eats this stuff up, she said..
During World War II, pilots left from the former Glenview Naval Air Station in Glenview to train over Lake Michigan. On June 12, 1943, the Corsair's pilot, Ensign Carl H. Johnson, was attempting to land aboard the USS Wolverine during aircraft carrier qualification training.
Johnson survived the crash but was killed later that year while serving in the Pacific.
The Corsair was among many that crashed during training exercises. About 80 planes remain underwater, Lyssenko said. A&T Recovery has recovered about 40 planes for the U.S. Navy.
Hundreds of people, including divers, participated in the recovery effort, Lyssenko said.