C-47 (or variant) wreck underwater in Subic, Philippines - help to ID it plz

[devondiver]

Compare your find with this one found on Yap:

The internal view of the tail section looks identical to what I saw (didn't get video of that bit).

These tubes/holes really interest me. I saw two holes on the external fuselage, on the lower section, towards the tail. On the inside were two 1m(ish) tubes. What I saw looks very similar to these, except these don't have the internal tubes on. Any clues?

 

[Airframes]

At a guess, I'd say they might be flare chutes.

 

[devondiver]

At a guess, I'd say they might be flare chutes.

That was my guess. Would they be standard on the L2D? What about other (Allied) variants? Or indicative of a specialized search/rescue function?

 

[A4K]

Great pics mate!

Don't know if the L2D had a starboard entry door, but the Li-2 did. Definitely think it's one of the two.

 

[Airframes]

Flare chutes weren't normally fitted to the Douglas aircraft, but don't know about the Japanese or Russian aircraft. I'd guess there's a good chance they had them, and probably used in multi-roles.

 

[devondiver]

L2Ds were flying out of near-by Clark Air Base during WWII. There's reports of several Japanese aircraft shot down into Subic Bay... it's likely that an L2D could have been one of them.

C-47s also flew in the area, but only 2 remain unaccounted for in this area, that I can see. One shouldn't have been anywhere near Subic. Another may have (dropping supplies on nearby Bataan Peninsula), but I've not found any reports of an Allied aircraft being downed in the Bay. Several PBY's were strafed and sunk by the Japanese during the invasion, but these were in a known location, not near where we found this wreck.

I've not heard of any Li-2 flying in the area, either during or after the war... although many C-47s and variants did end up in civil aviation use post-war. Having trawled various databases online, I can't find any reference to a C-46 or variant crashing in the Bay post-war though...

So, the L2D is definitely the most 'obvious suspect'...

 

[devondiver]

Great pics mate!

I'll try and get the video (they stills came from) edited and uploaded later this week (diving all through Easter). That may offer some further clarity.

Video/pics did turn out nice considering the depth (45m/150ft).

 

[Airframes]

That depth is around 149 feet deeper than I'd want to go Andy!

 

[vikingBerserker]

The pics are excellent, the amount of damage is incredible.

I envy you, that must have been a real blast!

 

[A4K]

Would love to dive that wreck (or any wreck!) myself, though she's considerably deeper than I've ever dived!

Be great if you upload the video!

 

[devondiver]

Video is now uploaded: