Airplane Was Lost In 1944 In A Training Accident

An FM-2 Wildcat that had lain on the bottom of Lake Michigan since December 28th, 1944 has been recovered and will soon become a restoration project at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, FL.

The airplane was lost during training exercises near the end of WWII. The pilot had been practicing carrier landings on a converted steam ship when it experienced an engine problem on its third takeoff and went into the water. The online site 'The Local Glenview' reports that the pilot was rescued from the plane as it sank about 45 miles southeast of Waukegan, IL. He went on to complete his training.

The plane was towed underwater by A&T Recovery of Chicago to Waukegan Harbor, and re-emerged from the lake on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7th.

The website reports that a local group hopes that after it is restored, the plane can be returned to Illinois and placed on permanent display at a proposed museum on the site of the former Naval Air Station Glenview.

The recovery was paid for by 78-year-old Charles Greenhill, a pilot from Mettawa, IL. The first stop for the airplane will be Greenhill's hangar in Kenosha, WI.

(MF-2 Wildcat image from file)

FMI: www.navalaviationmuseum.org