April 22, 2014 at 11:05 pm
Hello All,
I am working towards the potential recovery of a Hawker Hurricane that ditched in salt water and am seeking advice from the experience on the forum. The aircraft was put down into fairly shallow water with a sandy bottom close to the beach and has not washed ashore, wind and waves are consistently forcing the water towards the beach in the area. From what I have seen, tidal activity tends to quickly bury objects in the sand and preserve them quite well. Has anyone been involved in such a recovery that can prove or disprove this for me? I am also curious if the Hurricane could have been drawn out away from the beach despite the consistent forces of the waves.
Best regards,
Ian
By: Alloy - 23rd April 2014 at 00:30
Thanks Martin,
That’s my fear when we get to the initial survey of the area, if the water’s surface is forced towards the beach; maybe water on the sea floor is actually pulling it away. In both cases, if objects tend to settle quickly in sand my hopes are that it was buried quickly. I seem to recall some images of a P-38 off the coast of the U.K. that surfaced in great shape after being buried in similar conditions.
By: D1566 - 22nd April 2014 at 23:29
It is difficult to generalise about the action of water, tides, currents etc. if the wind and waves are constantly forcing water towards the beach, it must return by some route too.