WIX Archives

Re: San Nicholas Island/China Lake Hellcats

Posted by bdk on Wed Feb 13, 2002 07:15:21 PM

In reply top Re: San Nicholas Island posted by Mick on Wed Feb 13, 2002 05:48:52 PM

It is interesting that you should ask about these!

What was considered restorable in the early 1990's may be quite different from what would be considered restorable now...

I am aware of one museum that is arranging to have a look on San Nicholas Island in the near future. I'll post if I hear anything more. I also told this same museum about China Lake, so they will look into this as well. With the USN policy as it is now, these recoveries will be much more difficult politically than they were in the past, and probably impossible for a non-accredited museum (or an individual) to recover.

: I asked about these months ago on the WW forum but never g
: ot an answer.
: This is what it says in the 1992 Michael O'Leary book Grum
: man Cats...........
:
: "As we go to press, restorer Roy Stafford has recovered ov
: er half a dozen damaged F6F-5K airframes from San Nicholas
: Island off the California coast where the Navy has a larg
: e drone base. It is hoped that at least one of the aircraf
: t can be rebuilt into a flyer."
:
: It also says on the next page on the bit about the Bradley
: air Museum Hellcat recovered from China Lake in 1976.....
:
:
: "Several wrecks are still on the China Lake range and may
: eventually yield a few more parts for other restorations."
:
:
: Now given that the Navy were still denying all knowledge o
: f B29's at China Lake as little as 3 or 4 years ago, and t
: hen lo and behold at least two more turn up, one of them v
: ery suitable for flying.......I should think it is highly
: probable that there are still Hellcats and other aircraft
: still at San Nicholas and China Lake.
: In fact I asked about China Lake stuff a couple of weeks b
: ack and didn't get an answer to that either (!).
: There is an article in Classic Wings mag that shows a burn
: t-out Hellcat wreck out in the sticks, and a burnt-out B29
: , it also mentions that there are approx 300 aircraft wrec
: ks at China Lake.......so is anyone looking to do a deal w
: ith the navy over them ?
:
: Acoording to the story from the CAF and their finding of a
: ll the B29's 30 years ago, the navy denied they had any B2
: 9's because they had long ago been logging them as targets
: instead of aircraft, so the pen-pushers were not aware th
: ey actually had any aircraft there, and the same is probab
: ly true of San Nicholas Island......hopefully.
:
: I don't have the third edition of the WW directory so are
: these Roy Stafford Hellcats listed in it, I've never seen
: them listed or mentioned anywhere else at all ?
: Perhaps Mr O'Leary spoke too soon about them being recover
: ed and that something maybe went wrong with the deal and t
: hey are still there waiting for someone else......?
:
: TaTa
: Mick
:
:
:

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