I had a blast diving on the (perhaps misnamed) B-29 today with Jeff Turbitt. We agreed while waiting out a rainstorm prior to the dive that Hilary should be pilloried (I am lying...about Hilary, not the rain squall). We did, however, solve many of the world's social and political problems while sipping (okay guzzling) frozen margaritas blessedly contributed by Jeff.
I've heard from various sources that the B-29 is actually a large 4 engine Japanese seaplane bomber and not a B-29 at all. I sure know what a whole Superfortress looks like and the wing on the wreck in the lagoon could be from one but without seeing the fuselage, it's tough to say really.
If you haven't dove on that site, the wing is pretty much intact, but the entire fuselage is just a debris field a couple of hundred yards long. Only the tail cone survives. So I am off to look at some detailed tail cone pics of B-29s to see if the cone there matches. Also a part of the flight deck remains so I'll check that too. I know you are waiting in breathless anticipation for the answer.
Sorry, no pics were taken as neither Jeff nor I brought a camera. I'll take one next time I go so you can see what's there. Better yet, go and check it out for yourself. It's a great dive with several nearby coral outcroppings and the plane itself is a lot of fun to explore.
I've heard from various sources that the B-29 is actually a large 4 engine Japanese seaplane bomber and not a B-29 at all. I sure know what a whole Superfortress looks like and the wing on the wreck in the lagoon could be from one but without seeing the fuselage, it's tough to say really.
If you haven't dove on that site, the wing is pretty much intact, but the entire fuselage is just a debris field a couple of hundred yards long. Only the tail cone survives. So I am off to look at some detailed tail cone pics of B-29s to see if the cone there matches. Also a part of the flight deck remains so I'll check that too. I know you are waiting in breathless anticipation for the answer.
Sorry, no pics were taken as neither Jeff nor I brought a camera. I'll take one next time I go so you can see what's there. Better yet, go and check it out for yourself. It's a great dive with several nearby coral outcroppings and the plane itself is a lot of fun to explore.
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4 comments:
I'm not a Hillary fan, but it is the closest we can get to Bill's third term. I miss the days where a blowjob was our biggest concern.
I had a blast as well. Check out the comedian Doug Stanhope Bruce, and your quest on the B-29 might be a safer version of Shadow Divers, a great book.
I thought our biggest concern was that Hilary would bankrupt the country and ruin the world's best health care system by socializing it, with Bill's help. (By the way I think the President should get extra rating points for blowjobs).
It must be said that he kept his finger off the trigger better than his successor and only started brushfire wars instead of conflagrations like W. I don’t recall any major invasions without provocation as we have seen with Bush and the Halliburton crew.
I'm longing for the days of budget surpluses again though I think you will agree that the credit (or blame) for that belongs with the congress which holds the purse strings, not with the executive branch whose job it is to spread the ill gotten loot.
Thanks for the referral to Doug Stanhope, Jeff…I’ll check him out. Thanks also for the book suggestion. I haven’t read it but will find a copy and do so.
Let’s go diving again sometime soon! The 2 dive trip we talked about to the Naftan dive sites would be great. We have room for 2 or 3 more divers.
As a old dive guide working with Rick Northern of Sting Ray divers, I was told the 4 engine plane wreck is a japanese WW II Kawanishi H8K "Emily" also nicknamed "The flying porcupine" at least that is what we told the "punters" (dive clients)
One item of interest, I found some electrical fuses on the wreck (they should still be there) and the writing and model numbers were in english!!!!
I have ruled out the Emily as the tail gunners position is different from the one found at the wreck site. The Emily was a 4 engine flying boat but I don't think that the wreck in question is one of that type. Still researching.
Thanks for the tip about the fuses.
We may be loooking for an American plane after all.
Still open for suggestions if anyone has a clue, please let me know.
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