Good work Blue_2 – the old girl will be lit up like a Christmas tree soon. 😀

Well as someone has asked elsewhere regarding the wreck then run a tape measure over it. That’ll confirm whether it’s a Lockheed 10 or instead one of its larger descendants. I can’t understand why they didn’t do that in the first place. No need for $200,000 that could have done easily on the first dive seeing as how the wreck was being investigated to see if it was Earhart’s Electra. That’s the problem with most of these claims, they all seem to be more interested in the media 15 seconds of fame rather than the solution to the puzzle.

It is sadly becoming a cliche to have to say that there are some very misguided idiots amongst us. I can’t even imagine what the people who do such things are hoping to achieve.

MkVII .303 was pretty standard fodder for all .303 MGs and was used basically wherever these arms were used. I have half a box of the stuff which I am slowly working through. And yes it could have come from the Lancaster wreck.

Two updates in one day – my cup runneth over. Good work Blue_2.

That video of the crashed B24 is interesting but really tells us little of what the condition of a Norseman would be after nearly 75 years in the Channel. As has already been noted the only fabric covered surfaces on the B24 were the ailerons, elevators and rudders. The jacket in the wreck appears to be post-war. I’m curious about the light fabric appearing material – I wonder if that is actually snagged fine fishing nets.

The Miller aircraft had a fiscal 1944 serial number. The sketch of what the fisherman claims to have recovered shows the early style US insignia of white stars (without white bars) on a blue ground applied in four positions on the wings (upper and lower port, upper and lower starboard). In early June 1943 that was changed to a style with white bars and a red surrounds applied to the upper port and lower starboard only. Following problems in the Pacific with red in national markings, it was changed at the end of 1943 to delete the red surround and replace it with blue – the positioning remained the same.

National markings and serials were applied at the factory when the aircraft was manufactured so an aircraft with a fiscal 1944 serial number will have the later style star and bar with a blue surround on the upper port and lower starboard surfaces*. National markings on aircraft are important for identification – I cannot imagine a unit commander allowing an aircraft to be repainted with national markings that had been superseded nearly 18 months before. The only permitted modification of national markings would be to update them if ordered to a later style.

Regardless of the survival of the wooden structure and fabric of the wings, if the fisherman was correct in his sketch of what he found then it cannot be a Norseman from fiscal 1944. I wonder if he did recover an aircraft, then could it be a Lysander which was the same size as the Norseman, had a radial engine, big wheel spats and most importantly an all metal fabric covered construction.

*A further note is that some US aircraft carried the post 1943 stars and bars on both the lower wing surfaces as a measure to prevent friendly fire on ground attack missions – the P47 for example.

Blue_2 a merry Christmas from me to 788 and to the fine team bringing the old girl back to life. Most enjoyable thread on here for a long time and may the new year see more excellent and interesting progress.