World War II fighter pulled from Lake Michigan
After more than 60 years below the surface of Lake Michigan, an F6F-3 Hellcat fighter plane was lifted from the cold water Monday morning.
The second World War II-era plane to be recovered this year - a Douglas SBD Dauntless U.S. Navy plane was pulled out in April - the aircraft was pulled by cranes from about 250 feet of water onto dry ground at Larsen Marine in Waukegan.
Piloted by Lt. Walter B. Elcock, the plane crashed into the lake during a training exercise on Jan. 5, 1945. Elcock, now 89, survived the crash and now lives in Atlanta.
His grandson, Hunter Brawley, watched the recovery on Monday.
"I was just amazed. It was like a Spielberg movie," Brawley said. "To see the parts intact and the detail, it's just unbelievable."
Brawley, 36, called his grandfather back in Atlanta from the scene. "He's thrilled and excited. I'll be posting pictures on Facebook so the whole family can see them," Brawley said.
Florida-based National Naval Aviation Museum officials say more than 17,000 pilots based at Naval Air Station in Glenview trained in the area during the 1940s, including former President George H. W. Bush. They often flew from a pair of old paddle wheel steamers decked out as practice aircraft carriers. The tops were cut off and replaced with 600-foot landing decks.
Brawley said Elcock was training on that January day, coming in for landing, but lost his lift at the last second.
"His tail hook caught the wire, but the plane was hanging off the edge, nose down," he said. "The wire snapped and the plane plunged into the icy water."
A U.S. Coast Guard ship quickly rescued Elcock.
And now with the help of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the Navy is rescuing his aircraft. The project was paid for through a donation by Enterprise CEO Andy Taylor in honor of his Navy veteran father, Jack Taylor.
The fighter is one of an estimated 60 to 70 World War II planes resting on the bottom of the lake, according to Taras Lyssenko of Chicago-based A&T Recovery.
"Over the past several years the Navy's effort in the recovery of World War II aircraft from Lake Michigan has yielded some of the rarest aircraft finds ever from the war," said Bob Rasmussen, director of the Aviation Museum.
Rasmussen said that before Monday, there were only five World War II Navy carrier aircraft in existence that participated in and survived World War II combat operations. All of them came out of Lake Michigan. The Hellcat is the sixth.
After restoration, the plane will eventually be put on display. The site hasn't been chosen yet, according to Navy officials.
Getting the chance to sit in the cockpit, Brawley said, was an emotional experience.
"This is larger than life," he said. "Christmas has come early for me."
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=288908">WWII-era dive bomber pulled from Lake Michigan <span class="date">[04/24/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>