Sonar Image Led Divers To The Discovery

The remains of an F4F Wildcat have been found at the bottom of the St. Johns River in northeast Florida that is believed to have gone down sometime between 1943 and 1945.

Television station WJXT reports that the airplane was first noticed on a radar image by a local fisherman about three years ago. The fisherman contacted the Underwater Criminal Investigators, which dove on the site.

The team is keeping the exact location of the aircraft a secret, but UCI diver Thomas Keisler told WJXT that the team has made several dives on the wreck over the past three years, and recovered multiple artifacts from the plane. Those include a 50-caliber machine gun feeder as well as engine parts stamped with serial numbers.

The cockpit and canopy were intact when the aircraft was found, Keisler said.

Among the most interesting thing recovered was the pilot's knee board on which writing was still legible. That allowed investigators to recreate the pilot's flight on the day of the accident.

Keisler said there are two potential pilots who have been identified who may have been at the controls of the plane when it went down. Their investigation is continuing.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report