Fullbore Friday
are there recovery options for the aircraft?
USS Lexington (CV-2), lost at the Battle of Coral Sea, was found in 2018 at around 9,800 feet under the water.
At those depths, it takes a long time for things to degrade, and that is what makes the video below so incredible.
Remember that the Battle of Coral Sea was fought in May 1942, just six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was so early in the war that her airwing still had the pre-Pearl Harbor livery and roundel. You know, the OG one with the red circle in the center and includes the vibrant red and white strips on the vertical stabilizer.
Take a moment to watch the below to appreciate the condition of the aircraft that were found around the ship.
They actually found Admiral Noel Gayler’s Wildcat, and the historically important TBD Devastator torpedo bomber, T-12.
Final fun detail about the USS Lexington (CV-2) at the Battle of Coral Sea. Future Admiral Harry Harris’s father, then a Chief, was on the ship at the battle and rescued as she sank.
Some of those aircraft are in such good shape, and so historically significant, I would wonder if we have the technology today to recover them?
When CV-5 Yorktown was found in 18,000' of water, its douglas fir flight deck was still completely intact.
Where is Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt when we really need them?
We ought to have more colorful aircraft again! At least for the less stealthy ones.
That deep? I’d love to recover but I’m afraid the seawater has preserved them the least worst, and they’re out of reach of salvage pirates.
Down there, at over 9,000 feet? It’s well outside of typical submarine operating depths by almost an order of magnitude. 272 atmospheres of pressure. The only way to work at that pressure is through ROVs, and I’m concerned about things breaking as they come up. Let them lie where they rest.