national naval aviation museum

World War II Divebomber Lifted From The Depths

Filed under: Wings

Finding new exhibits for the National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida isn't like sourcing objects for other museums. Sometimes you have to dig deep, about 90 feet in the case of a recent find. The AP's Chris Carlson reports that a rare World War II dive bomber was hoisted from the deep this week. The SB2C Helidiver was lifted from the bottom of a San Diego reservoir and brought to land for the first time since it met its watery grave 65 years ago. It crashed in 1945 and the two men in the aircraft survived and swam to shore.

It has been spotted last year in the Lower Otay Reservoir by a couple of men using a fishfinder. Divers from Chicago-based A&T Recovery, experts in pulling planes from the depths of Lake Michigan, were on the scene and spent several days cleaning the aircraft of heavy mud and silt before it was hauled up. The plane will be dried out, taken apart and sent to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. The recovery was paid for by the donation of a former volunteer at the aviation museum who left money to cover the cost of haul.

Tags: national naval aviation museum, San Diego, sb2c helidiver, World War II history, World War II plane