SBD Dautnless Recoved From Lake Michigan 4-24

Information about Pacific Theatre aircraft currently flying or under restoration.

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Joer911
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SBD Dautnless Recoved From Lake Michigan 4-24

Post by Joer911 »

Here's the link to the story: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009 ... -lake.html
For those of you wondering how an SBD ended up in Lake Michigan, here is the short answer. During WWII, Carrier Qualifications Training was established at NAS Glenview, in suburban Chicago, IL. Two sidewheel steamships were converted into training carriers, the USS Wolverine and USS Sable. From 1942 until Sept of 1945, teh Sable and Wolverine trained half of all carrier qualified pilots in the US Navy. They operated in the summer and winter, even when ice developed on Lake Michigan.

The planes used were more likely to be combat veteran aircraft. It's likely that this SBD participated in early campaigns before being replaced by newer versions of the SBD or the SB2C Helldiver. As lake Michigan is fully inside US Boundries, the US Navy has held ownership rights to these aircraft. Anumber have been recovered and restored to museum status including another SBD, a Vultee Vindicator (only known example) and a F4F (an F4F, not an FM2 built by GM) and are now in the Navel Air Museum in Pensecola, FL.

The F4F was traded to a private part and restored to flying condition. I saw it at Oshkosh a number of years ago. One of the youngest pilots to earn his CQTC qualification was an 18 year old by the name of George H.W. Bush. Robert Taylor and a number of other actors served at NAS Glenview during the war. Almost every type of carrier borne aircraft was involved in CQTC training including the SNJ trainer.
Joe

Hollywood
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Re: SBD Dautnless Recoved From Lake Michigan 4-24

Post by Hollywood »

I'm a new volunteer at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola and when my boss gave me the tour of the restoration hanger where I'll be working I thought I'd died and gone to HEAVEN!!!!! There is another SBD there awaiting full restoration that came in a couple of weeks prior to my arrival. Well I got the story that during transport of the remains there
was so much mud still in the fusalage that it stunk to high heaven! I can only imagine sitting on the bottom of Lake Michigan
filling up slowly with all that "crud" with pollution and all........... The driver told of an instance where another driver parked next to him in a truck stop said he'd smelled cattle transports less "stinky" than that Airplane! But it's amazing how smooth the sheet metal is. There are very few wrinkles in the fusalage and the wings were off with one being what seemed to take the brunt of the damage. These guys in the shop are AMAZING in their capabilities and I'm proud beyond measure to be counted as one of them.
Hollywood

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