Hey everyone,
Not sure if this link has been posted before, but my first thought was what a great diorama this would make beside a pristine B25 model!
http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/b25_airplane_pulled_out_from_lake_murray,_south_carolina.htm
-Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks for posting the link, it looks as though it could be salvaged, at least for static display! I’ll watch this one, for sure!
Brian [C):-)]
The recovery of this bird was the subject of a program on the History Channel or Discovery a few months ago.
Reminds me of a couple B-25 parked at the end of a small airship in Jennerette, La. back in the mid 60’s. I crawled in them about “66” or “67”. One was missing the engines and sat on it’s tail. Someone was going to use them as crop dusters! One actually had the plumbing under the wings and a tank in the bombbay. I never had a camera back them to take pictures. I think I ended up with a “dome” light out of one of them but don’t know what ever happend to it. We used to sit in the pilots seats and crawl into the nose compartment. I was told the airline pilots back them could see them from the altitude they were crusing at and used them as landmarks. Don’t know if they were cut up for scrap or bought and used for parts, the were gone in the early 70’s.
I live about 45 minutes from Lake Murray, in Aiken, sC. The old B-25 resting all these years on the bottom has been a well-worn tale in these parts. Mentioned in the article is “Bomb Island,” which, as mentioned, was used as a bombing target to practice ship attacks for the B-25 pilots-in-training out of Columbia. It is a large island out in the middle of Lake Murray and is popular spot for boaters and fishermen. We used to enjoy pulling up there and having a few cold ones.
For years there was the warning for boaters to stay off the island because of potentially unexploded ordnance! Naturally, few ever heeded such warnings and it was a favorite place for rebellious types of all kinds to camp, fish, light fires and generally muck about. Not a few went searching for any sort of war souvenirs, too, hoping to find a bomb or two. Not that I myself ever looked for anything like that…
The old B-25 has been known to the locals ever since the war and I’ve fished over it once or twice - at least where it was reputed to be. I’m glad they resurrected the old bird, even if a new fishing spot will have to be found!
There was an article in one of my Air and Space mags about that recently, can’t seem to remember where I put the mag tho, [%-)]
I cant wait to see if they will ever recover the B25 that crashed in Baden Lake in NC. A few years ago several divers reprted that they had spotted it and that it appeared intact. However they refuseed to give its location or provide anykind of proof that the found it. I hope that it can be recovered in one piece like this one was.
Awesome. Does anyone know of a search engine that we could use to look up the numbers on her tail to find out where she had been?
Well yee hah, but that puppy is gonna suck up a staggering amount of money to bring back. I hope it’s a labor of love and not an alternate investment to T-bills or tax-free muni bonds…
cool imagine there was skeletons in there… na I’m only kiddi’n if there was it probably taken out many years ago
Actually, David, it’s happened before.
I read last year about a P-39 recovered from a Russian lake with the pilot still inside. He was, naturally, retruned to his home and given a state funeral.
Regards,
The crew of the above B25 actually managed to bail out before she crashed. They were on a bomb traing mission when the engines began to fail. Sadly the pilot and co-pilot (only ones on board) of the Baden Lake B25 were not so lucky. I do not if the bodies were recovered or not.
If I am not mistaken this B 25 is now about 45 min from me in Birmingham AL. The southern museum of flight is going to restore it. I plan to go up sometime and see it if I can.