Sunken Plane Is Matched to Crash Report
A World War II Avenger torpedo bomber found just months ago in the Salton Sea crashed five days after Christmas in 1947 and sank as its crew members stayed afloat with life rafts until being rescued, researchers learned Tuesday.
Navy researchers matched the plane’s serial number to the official record of what happened to the Avenger at 10:21 a.m. Dec. 30, 1947. No. 53477 was found Monday on the instrument panel of the bomber 37 feet below the water’s surface after a Riverside County sheriff’s dive team spent four hours scraping away mud, barnacles and rust.
The pilot was Navy Reserve Ensign Richard F. Culver. A gunner, Navy ARM2 Myles A. Nelson, was the only other crewman aboard the plane. The aircraft lost power on a navigation training flight from San Diego and plunged into the water, said the crash report located Tuesday by Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research in Healdsburg, Calif.
“The pilot and crew followed standard ditching procedure and were picked up by a civilian boat,” the report said.
The research center said it had no current information on Culver and Nelson.
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