TIGHAR
To Save a Devastator => Expedition news => Topic started by: Vahe Demirjian on December 25, 2012, 02:29:17 PM
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To all members of TIGHAR:
While TIGHAR still wants to retrieve the two Devastators from Jaluit Atoll in cooperation with the US Navy, it might also be logical to retrieve the two Kawanishi H8K flying boats from the lagoon (if inspection indicates that the Japanese aircraft are in good condition to be recovered). When the H8Ks are recovered, the US Navy should loan them to a museum in Japan.
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TIGHAR's plan is to recover only one of the Devastators in Jaluit lagoon. The H8Ks are not candidates for recovery.
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TIGHAR's plan is to recover only one of the Devastators in Jaluit lagoon. The H8Ks are not candidates for recovery.
Ric is this due to their condition or the fact that the plan is only to recover one of the Devastators?
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Of the two submerged H8Ks wrecked at Jaluit, one is substantially intact (though inverted), while the other is very badly broken up and scattered over a wide area.
Recovering an enormous four engine maritime patrol bomber like the "Emily" would be extremely daunting .. even more so than the already challenging TBD-1 effort.
And, while extremely rare, the Kawanishi H8K Type 2 (unlike the Devastator) is actually represented by a fine preserved example that was sent to the US for evaluation immediately post WWII and then later returned to Japan (in 1979). Today that aircraft can be seen on the grounds of the Kanoya Naval Airbase Museum.
http://www.kamikazeimages.net/museums/kanoya/index.htm