Darwin divers find WW2 US Navy PBY wreck

Darwin divers find WW2 US Navy wreck

Updated May 30, 2008 18:59:55

In Australia's north, divers working for a Japanese gas company have
found the wreckage of a US Navy Catalina flying boat from the second
world war.

It's the last of six American Catalinas wrecks to be found in Darwin
Harbour.

Japanese resource company Inpex is surveying the seabed in Darwin
Harbour for a proposed gas plant.

A Darwin based dive team were in the East Arm area when they found
the underground wreck.

Diver Sue Sultana was the first on the scene, 18 metres below the
surface.

"Sticking up a few metres off the seabed was all the framework for
that," she said.

"So that's pretty unusual."

The divers said they knew immediately that they'd found the Catalina.

Its location has been mystery for 66 years.

US Catalinas were brought to Darwin during the Second World War.

This is one of three struck during air raids in 1942.

The Territory government says the site will now be considered for
heritage listing.

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Syscom3 said:

The Territory government says the site will now be considered for heritage listing.

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Does that mean they won't try to salvage it ?

Charles

One of those PBYs was being flown by a young officer who later became the CNO, name of Moorer, I believe.

ccheese said:

Does that mean they won't try to salvage it ?

Charles

Click to expand...

its in salt water which corrodes it badly so its kinda pointless

renrich said:

One of those PBYs was being flown by a young officer who later became the CNO, name of Moorer, I believe.

Click to expand...

Lt Thomas Moorer's PBY of Patrol Wing 22 was the first a/c shot down in the raid when he was attacked by 9 Zero's. I believe all his crew survived the attack and forced landing. I don't think he put down in the Harbour, so it's probably not his a/c.
PatWing 10 lost 3 PBY's when they were strafed on the water in Darwin Harbour during the Feb 19 raid.

Thanks WC, good info. I was not sure about the whereabouts of his ditching.

Moorer at Darwin is an interesting story. His a/c took off from there early morning of Feb 19 1942 on routine patrol to Ambon 675 miles away. It ran into the main airstrike from the Japanese carriers headed to Darwin, 50 miles off Melville Island. The PBY reported 9 Zeroes attacked, but from the Japanese side just one peeled off from the formation to actually attack, that of PO1c Y Nagahama of Kaga's fighter sdn. Having downed the flying boat (wounding 4) Nagahama missed the inbound rendezvous and arrived over Darwin before any other Japanese a/c. He sighted and attacked the P-40 patrol of 5 a/c, downing 3 outright and another was wrecked on crashlanding, pilot WIA, back at base. Many pilots have been credited with achieving 'ace in a day' but relatively rarer are those cases where opposing accounts unambiguously confirm it. Nagahama also claimed a PBY destroyed on the water; Hiryu Zeroes claimed 2 more and strafing Soryu divebombers a fourth, v. 3 Patwing 10 a/c actually lost on the water.

Moorer's crew was rescued by the Philippine merchant ship Florence D. which was cutting across the Timor Sea from the DEI on a blockade running mission to the Philippines. But later in the day she was attacked and sunk by Hiryu divebombers; this time one of Moorer's crew was killed. The rest eventually reached land to be rescued by the corvette HMAS Warrnambool which was then also attacked, by a Japanese flying boat, but reached Darwin safely, a few days later.

Joe

Great story folks - Moorer was actually with VP-22. He passed away in 2004 at the age of 91.

Good info Joe, especially from the Japanese side of things.