Thunderball007
Guest
Last year I had previously posted a message regarding two planes which had crashed in Lake Muskoka during WW2 during training exercises. We were able to patch together a few stories regarding this issue, but nothing definite until now.
I took a look at the Muskoka Sun newspaper when I was up at the cottage on the weekend and there is a front page feature story regarding these planes. Recently, a local diver discovered a wheel drum, hydraulic lines, torque link and a piece of fuselage from one of the crashed planes which has been confirmed to be a Norwegian Air Force Cornell PT-19 which crashed in 1943 during training exercises. A large unidentified piece is still at the bottom of Brydon's bay near Gravenhurst in approximately 25 feet of water. These findings have justified a search and recovery effort which is now underway for one remaining Cornell PT-19 Fairchild which was never located. Local divers and historians are planning a search and recovery effort later this fall which has been offered funding assistance by the Norwegian Government for the acquisition of a Sidescan sonar unit and ROV to help locate and raise the plane. Artifacts already recovered from this wreck will become a focal point for display at the Norwegian-Canadian Cultural Centre to be constructed at the Muskoka airport, where many RNAF pilots trained during the war.
After speaking directly with the collaborators of these search efforts this evening who are pursuing this strictly out of historical interest, it was also discovered that two RCAF Harvard planes which have been confirmed by military records to have crashed in 1941 off Browning Island after their wings clipped during a training exercise. Of the four pilots who died in the crash, only one body was recovered and the planes have never been located and are reportedly resting in 100-180 feet of water.
Unfortunately this local paper does not have an online version, but this story was taken from the Thursday August 25th issue, and an update on this story will be published next week. If anyone has any first hand knowledge of these incidents, please email me and I will pass it on to the appropriate channels.
I took a look at the Muskoka Sun newspaper when I was up at the cottage on the weekend and there is a front page feature story regarding these planes. Recently, a local diver discovered a wheel drum, hydraulic lines, torque link and a piece of fuselage from one of the crashed planes which has been confirmed to be a Norwegian Air Force Cornell PT-19 which crashed in 1943 during training exercises. A large unidentified piece is still at the bottom of Brydon's bay near Gravenhurst in approximately 25 feet of water. These findings have justified a search and recovery effort which is now underway for one remaining Cornell PT-19 Fairchild which was never located. Local divers and historians are planning a search and recovery effort later this fall which has been offered funding assistance by the Norwegian Government for the acquisition of a Sidescan sonar unit and ROV to help locate and raise the plane. Artifacts already recovered from this wreck will become a focal point for display at the Norwegian-Canadian Cultural Centre to be constructed at the Muskoka airport, where many RNAF pilots trained during the war.
After speaking directly with the collaborators of these search efforts this evening who are pursuing this strictly out of historical interest, it was also discovered that two RCAF Harvard planes which have been confirmed by military records to have crashed in 1941 off Browning Island after their wings clipped during a training exercise. Of the four pilots who died in the crash, only one body was recovered and the planes have never been located and are reportedly resting in 100-180 feet of water.
Unfortunately this local paper does not have an online version, but this story was taken from the Thursday August 25th issue, and an update on this story will be published next week. If anyone has any first hand knowledge of these incidents, please email me and I will pass it on to the appropriate channels.
