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Author Topic: Who owns the Electra Today ?  (Read 32365 times)

Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #15 on: July 10, 2012, 11:20:39 AM »

see link bluebird wreckage.

That article says that it took them four years to locate the wreckage.

In a lake.

With photos and lots of eyewitnesses to help focus the search.

I don't know.  I'm feeling some needle-in-a-hastackiness all over again about the odds of Niku VII finding part of the Electra.  :(
LTM,

           Marty
           TIGHAR #2359A
 
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Anthony Allen Roach

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #16 on: July 10, 2012, 11:26:47 AM »

"I'm feeling some needle-in-a-hastackiness all over again about the odds of Niku VII finding part of the Electra."

I agree.  This has been the topic of discussion with friends of mine who are curious about TIGHAR's expedition, and why my office is filled with stuff right now that has nothing to do with law.

If the Electra, or pieces of the Electra came to rest in the reef edge not far from the surface, I wonder if coral and biological debris would obscure it.  I actually think it would be safer if it were in a deeper part off the reef.
"Six the Hard Way."
 
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Bill Roe

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #17 on: July 10, 2012, 07:05:24 PM »

  I'm feeling some needle-in-a-hastackiness .............

The nice thing about looking for a needle in a haystack -

That needle is all you'll find.  It's the only thing you look for thus you'll miss all the hay around it.
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Chris Johnson

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #18 on: July 11, 2012, 08:25:28 AM »

Don't Panic!!!

With the Blue Bird they just didn't have the resources that TIGHAR have even for such a small search.

If memory serves me rightly the wreckage was actualy found soon after the crash but nothing done about it.  Think were talking about a couple of scuba divers in a low vis environment searching weekends and holidays without any serious technology's
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Colin Philip Cobb

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #19 on: July 11, 2012, 07:04:06 PM »

Your correct Chris, when campbell was killed in 1967 royal navy divers were dispatched and found the bluebird the next day. Nothing difficult really.
And that was with flash lights, no sonar and diving only on 8 mins bottom time.
Bluebird was mostly intact but the cockpit was gone as it took the full force of the collision.

After weeks of searching Campbell's body was not recovered and the navy concluded that he must of disintegrated on impact. I've been a member of Donald Campbell's speed club for over 20 years now and go coniston every year to pay tribute to the worlds greatest speed king.

Campbell was my childhood hero when growing up.
It was eventually bill smith who raised the bluebird boat in 2001, it didn't take him four years to find it, it took a few visits with the sonar to pin point the debris field at 125 ft of water and bingo there it was. 34 years at the bottom and bluebird was raised.
But where was Campbell?  Well two months after raising bluebird bill smith using sonar finally located donalds body, not at the wreckage but about 100 ft or more further back at the impact point of after the bluebird  had done a somersault , impacted the surface and cartwheeled on a further distance.
The royal navy divers at the time got the point of impact wrong and with poor equipment just missed donalds body. Donald had been shot out of bluebird at the moment of impact, into the lake, his body drifting off at an angle.
Donald rather than in bits was found on his back, still in his bluebird overalls, one glove on his hand, car keys beside him, and some coins in his pocket. He even had his st Christopher medal around his neck that his father sir Malcolm gave him as a boy.
Donald had lain in the same spot for 34 years undisturbed.
Sadly the impact was so violent at 190mph that donalds head was never recovered from the lake. Gina , donalds only daughter waited on the pier for Donald to be brought back.
It was a very emotional day.
September 12th 2001 and with the world still reeling from sept 11th the previous day, Donald Campbell was buried at coniston in the english lake district.
It was an awful wet and miserable day, I attended the funeral and saw the man I had admired for so long get the funeral he deserved, a horse drawn carriage with thousands of mourners  and soaked school children lining the streets holding aloft yellow and blue ribbons as the coffin passed by.
In america Earhart is the icon, in Great Britain it's men like Donald campbell that our country was made from.
In 2000 I joined Donald campbells nephew Don Wales and his team to break the electric land speed record on pendine sands in Wales, with a speed of 123mph, we raised this record to 138mph a few months later.



Campbells bluebird is being restored and will return to coniston in the near future.
Just typing this has brought back a lot of memories.
       
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #20 on: July 12, 2012, 10:28:38 AM »

Just typing this has brought back a lot of memories.

Thanks, Colin.

Much appreciated.
LTM,

           Marty
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Randy Reid

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #21 on: July 12, 2012, 10:00:56 PM »

Colin,
I have to ask, are you related to John Rhodes Cobb?
Randy
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Gus Rubio

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #22 on: July 19, 2012, 02:55:19 PM »

Wow, Colin, fascinating story- and chilling, and deeply sad.  Thanks for sharing.
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Colin Philip Cobb

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #23 on: July 20, 2012, 04:56:48 PM »

Sorry randy no relation to the great John cobb.
Cobb the worlds fastest man on land, holding the land speed record at 394mph from 1947 until 1963.
Sadly killed in an attempt on the water speed record in 1952 at loch ness in his jet boat crusader k6.  I've visited the site at drumnadrochit , loch ness.
Cobbs boat nosedived at 200mph+ destroying the craft which has never been raised.
Cobbs body was violently hurled out of the cockpit, skimming the surface like a pebble for hundreds of feet.
His life jacket stayed on and cobb floated, when the rescue boat arrived it was clear cobb was dead, a broken neck and severe damage to his leg.
Cobb was such a big bloke that they could not lay him down properly in the small motorised boat that they had to prop him up in the boat which gave the onlookers on shore the impression cobb was alive.
Hence why the first reports and even to this day , that cobb survived the crash but died of shock on the shore still continue.
Cobb was killed outright as I did some studies into his crash and managed to obtain rare colour footage from castrol of his time spent at loch ness.
I actually hold one of the largest collections of rare footage of land and water speed records breakers from the 1920's to the 1970,s.
Finding the earhart footage in Derry was new territory for me.
If anyone is interested in footage let me know. .
It's not free of course as some of this footage cost me thousands of pounds to obtain from pathe and movie tone.

Thanks
Colin cobb
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Chris Johnson

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #24 on: July 21, 2012, 02:32:55 PM »

Ugh!!!

I'll never be able to skim stones again  :o
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Chris Johnson

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #25 on: July 22, 2012, 03:43:38 PM »

I was sooooo tempted to hit the report to moderator button  ;D
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Tom Swearengen

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #26 on: July 23, 2012, 07:39:33 AM »

Fascinating Colin. My father was abig Campbell and Cobb fan. You bring up some interesting things about finding Donalds body. One day, we may find AE and /or Fred. what to do? Thats would be an interesting discussion. Obviously, the Kiribati govt would have to be involved. But I doubt that people would travel to the middle of the Pacific to see their resting places.
 
Tom Swearengen TIGHAR # 3297
 
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Chris Johnson

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Re: Who owns the Electra Today ?
« Reply #27 on: July 23, 2012, 03:53:40 PM »

If you can't beat them join them!
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