PBY Wreck

The Tofino wreck is RCAF Canso A 11007. The PBY-5A that was scuttled in the Infernillo Reservoir whilst drug running was N5583V and this occurred on 19/3/1974. To the best of my knowledge, it is still there. Mention of Lake Mead reminds me that there is a sunken PBY wreck there – this is a civilian US-regd Catalina that crashed many years ago and remains unidentified although it may be N67134. A diver recently lost his life whilst searching the site.

The wreck at Daru could well be PBY-5A VH-WWC which sank there on 26/4/1962 although I have the cause as ‘hitting an object on water’. I would be interested to know more about the scam theory – is it an urban myth?

There are numerous high ground and under-water PBY wrecks – some from crashes and, in the latter case, some from deliberate scuttling.

PBY

😀 Hi folks;
Thanks Tom and all,where can i get more info on your arctic search?
Do you know of any wrecks one check out in central ONT or near
by,I never been to anything like that.I’ll do a photo survey to record
site like Parks Canada does on the Franklin sites.By the way I heard
there is a CF 101 diveable in Lake Ontario is this true?

keep up the good work.
Wolfgang.

In 1978 I was in a Dinghy going on a fishing trip with a local from Daru Island in the Torres Straits, PNG. Just off shore we were going over some sandbanks and he told me there was a Catalina underneath where we were at no great depth.He said it had been deliberately sunk as part of an Insurance scam. I made some enquiries and found out that it had belonged to an Australian outfit but I can’t remember now who they were. There was some correspondence about this aircraft in one of Air Britain’s mags about 10 years ago.
Jim

There are two PBY wrecks mentioned on this page:

http://www.ruudleeuw.com/search116.htm

Thanks for posting the link Peter

By the Time I find my pics it would have rotted away!

Shes as I remember…parts and damage

Tom H

In a similar vein to the Lake Mead B-29, isn’t there a PBY in a resevoir in the USA. I think it is mentioned in David Leggs superb ‘Peacetime record’ which i do not have handy at the moment.
I beleive from memory it was scuttled whilst on a drug ferrying flight.
Does anyone know of the condition of this ‘Cat’ ,is it still there for one thing and if it is is it worth recovering ?

To say that removal would a nightmare has got to be the understatement of the century.

Scroll down on this page for links to pics of the wreck.. would be very expensive not to mention the logistics involved.!

http://www.pinetreeline.org/other/other43/other43ad.html

With anything aviation related cost is always a large part of the equation. I think that it is the major factor in deciding whether a project is viable or not.

Hi there

I am going by memory…but as I recall the one you are referring to is around Tofino BC.

The aircraft was a takeoff accident and there is not much left as it is accessible by easy hike from Tofino airport.

Again if I remember correctly it crashed shortly after take off and parts were salvaged, since then it has been trophy huntered over really badly. Might be a source of some parts, but not an airframe per say.

I used to have pics, if I turn them up I will try to post them.

There are a surprising number of PBY’s lying around wrecked, the problem is recovery…they tend to be in very expensive places to reach and get them out of. That is flatly what is holding up our attempt on one in the Arctic.

For what it appears it will cost to recover we could likely buy and undamaged non flyer. I would rather have the one up north, but we are currently dollar stalled.

Thanks

Tom H