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Re: Warbirds Recovery in Oz

Posted by Tracey Smiley on Tue Jan 22, 2002 02:54:41 AM

In reply top Warbirds Recovery in Oz posted by Tulio on Tue Jan 22, 2002 01:53:32 AM

Tulio,

Under the terms of the Lend-Lease agreement, aircraft that were retained by the British Fleet Air Arm at the end of hostilities had to be paid for, or returned to the U.S. The U.S., already ?overflowing? with surplus aircraft did not want the aircraft back, and the British did not want to pay for them. The result being that the aircraft, primarily Corsairs & Avengers, were dumped into the sea some way off Sydney, and further up the eastern coast of Australia off the state of Queensland. Some were also flown off the carriers to Williamtown AFB. Here they were crushed, bulldozed and buried.
In 1995, during the 50th Anniversary year since the end of WWII, local professional diver, Don Dennis, acting on rumours, began an exhaustive search for the aircraft, finding around 50 of them.

The dumping ground of fifty years earlier was established as being off the Queensland coast, 50km seaward from the town of Maroochydore, located in 390 metres ( 1280 ft ) of water.

Don Dennis claimed salvage rights to the aircraft. He and partners, engineers, Chester Malin and David Cassell, established a Melbourne-based company, International Aircraft Recovery (IAR), who then had sole rights to salvage and restoration of the aircraft, if this proved a possibility, under the laws of discovery and recovery inherent in the Marine Navigation Act pertaining to deliberately discarded items.

I believe that several examples were raised.

Tulio, I will email you a photo of one of the Corsairs that was brought to the surface. As you will see, the 50 years underwater had taken it's toll.

With regards,
Tracey Smiley
Historical Aircraft Restoration Society,
Sydney, Australia

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