Well, the accompanying photos prove conclusively that the wreckage in the Saipan lagoon commonly called the B-29 Dive Site is not a B-29. The control yoke is quite different from the one at the wreck site and the tail cone/rear gunner position is totally different. Finally, the 'spinner' at the prop hub is not the same at all. Now I'm off to search for photos of Japanese seaplanes to see if I can find a match.
So now it's official. Interesting though the dive site is, you will not be diving on a B-29. Stay tuned while I search for what kind of plane really lies there.
Should we reprint all the dive maps?
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3 comments:
It's not a B-29. The tour guides tell the Japanese tourists that because they know the plane.
I got that from a former dive guy named Ed Comfort. He left island a few years back and had the model version of the Japanese plane hanging from his ceiling.
During his moving sale I asked to buy it but he said it wasn't for sale.
Apparently he loved to dive that site as well. So much so that he ordered the model kit, put it together, and brought it back to the states with him.
So what aircraft type did he think it was, Brad, and what model did he build? I am doing some photographic comparison research to try and find the answer and so far don't have an exact match.
Do you have an email address for him?
Well, if the top photo is of the aircraft on the dive.., then it most certainly is a B-29.
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