WIX Archives

"Fight rages on over WWII wrecks"

Posted by I Spy on Wed Jul 16, 2003 02:58:15 AM

From bangornews.com (saves you having to register to read the article) Tues 15th July


U.S., British oppose firm that wants to salvage planes in Sebago Lake


SEBAGO LAKE - A lawyer for a company that wants to salvage World War II planes from the bottom of Sebago Lake said he would turn over any remains of the pilots so they could be properly buried. But that assurance doesn't appease U.S. and United Kingdom officials, who are embroiled in a legal fight over the remains of two British Royal Navy pilots, who were both 19 when their planes collided and plunged into the lake on May 16, 1944.



An adventurous wreck hunter and a wealthy aircraft collector have found at least one of the Corsairs at the bottom of Sebago. The fate of the two fighter planes and the pilots' remains is the subject of an international legal dispute over ownership and a philosophical clash over how to best honor the men.


"We still plan to go recover two Corsairs from Sebago Lake and, if any human remains are encountered, to treat them with all respect and dignity and turn them over to the local authorities and would expect them to be buried with full military honors," said Peter Hess, lawyer for the Historic Aircraft Restoration Corp.


But Hess will first have to persevere in U.S. District Court in Portland, where the government of the United Kingdom is protesting the effort. The governments of Maine and the United States are supporting Britain's effort to prevent the war grave from being disturbed.


"I don't know of another situation where any court has allowed commercial exploitation of a military grave site," said James Gould, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer representing the British.


The pilots, 2nd Lts. Vaughan Reginald Gill and Raymond Laurence Knott, were both from Leigh-on-Solent, Hampshire, and were among a group of pilots training in Maine, many of whom would later serve in the Pacific on the British aircraft carrier HMS Vengeance.


For decades, the crash site attracted little or no attention. That changed in the last 15 to 20 years as side-scan sonar allowed private searchers to locate objects in the depths. Some salvagers claimed to have found the planes, but never provided proof.


Last year Alfred Hagen, owner of a construction company and a restaurant in the Philadelphia area, became interested in finding the planes. Hagen, 45, is known as an expert on finding forgotten World War II wrecks including a wreck in New Guinea involving his uncle.


His partner is well-known "war bird" collector David Tallichet. Tallichet is an 80-year-old California businessman who flew a B-17 bomber out of London during World War II. He owns Specialty Restaurants Corp. in Anaheim, operator of a national chain of 35 restaurants, and is said to have the world's eighth-largest private collection of restored fighters and bombers.


The Corsair found late last month is standing on the lake floor on its nose, apparently weighted down by the engine. Its wings are no longer attached to the fuselage.


It's not clear if the second Corsair is intact, and neither Hagen nor Hess would confirm whether it has been located.


The recovery company is expected to file more details on its search in the Portland court soon. It has applied for a warrant of arrest, effectively seeking ownership of the abandoned wreck.


On Friday, Assistant Attorney General William Laubenstein filed a motion to block the company's claim, saying the wreck belongs to the state.


Gould, who represents the United Kingdom, said he is preparing a claim that Britain has jurisdiction over the wreck.


Relatives of the two pilots have not been involved in the case and apparently are not aware of the dispute.

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