E14Y1 'Glen' wrecks identified at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands...

[corsairfreak]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my latest project I've been working on out here at Kwajalein Atoll. I've been doing several dives on one of the WWII Japanese shipwrecks out here that has aircraft parts in at least three of the cargo holds.

The ship has six cargo holds- at this point, aircraft parts have been located in holds 1, 2, and 6. Holds 3 and 4 remain to be explored by me, and hold 5 has no aviation artifacts.

I've been posting the images over at J-aircraft.com, and here's the list of threads on the topic, complete with my dive shots-

First up, a thread on the aircraft wings on level 1 of cargo hold No.1-

Rare Submarine-Borne "Glen" Found On AKIBASAN-Maru, KWAJALEIN Atoll! *PICS*

Next up, a thread on the floats on level 1 of cargo hold No.2-

aircraft float from Akibasan Maru, Kwajalein Atoll...help needed on ID *pics!*

These 3 threads deal with the fuselage remains found at the bottom of the well of cargo hold No.2- plus, the last thread has the wings found on level 1 of cargo hold No.6-

aircraft fuselages on Akibasan Maru, Kwajalein Atoll...help needed on ID *pics!*

aircraft fuselages on Akibasan Maru, Kwajalein Atoll...(part 2) *pics*

http://www.j-aircraft.org/smf/index.php?topic=5594.0

I also posted a question on J-aircraft, that I'll ask here as well- besides the two 'Glen' wrecks on the shipwreck out here, does anyone know of any remaining 'Glen' artifacts anywhere?

Cheers!

Dan

 

[wilbur1]

That is just incredible! I read through all your posts man you are so lucky to be able to dive there. Have you gotten into holds 3 and 4 yet? wow i wish i was there

 

[syscom3]

I envy you!

 

[Micdrow]

Great Job corsairfreak, many thanks for sharing your experince with us. Wish I was there with you. Looks like great fun.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Pretty cool! The only thing I've ever seen about the Glen were models in museums. AFAIK that's the only airframe in existance.

 

[corsairfreak]

Glad you like the pics and the discussion. Since I posted last here, I've been able to confirm that these two 'Glen' wrecks in cargo hold 2, are the ONLY ones known to exist anywhere.

I haven't had a chance to get into holds 3 and 4 yet, nor finish exploring hold 1. I'll probably get that done over the next week and a half, working around my schedule here at the fire dept. I'll keep you informed as to what I find.

Cheers all!

Dan

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Good luck Dan, let us know how it turns out and lastly TAKE PICTURES!!!

 

[wilbur1]

YESSSS PLEASSSSSEEEEEE!!!!!!

 

[Heinz]

Awesome stuff Thanks!

 

[A4K]

Great photos Dan! Thanks for posting !
I'd love to join you in a few of those dives..!

 

[Wayne Little]

Man, this is fantastic stuff!! Thanks for sharing...

 

[corsairfreak]

Hi again everyone,

I was able to do two more dives on the Akibasan Marushipwreck. As I mentioned previously, I still needed to explore cargo holds 3 and 4, and finish exploring cargo hold 1.

Yesterday afternoon, one of my dive partners, John Hadley, and I went out and did the two dives. On dive #1, we looked into cargo holds 3 and 4. On the second dive, we looked into the rest of cargo hold 1, plus did some photographing of the shipwreck itself. We found no additional aircraft parts of any kind in holds 3 and 4, and no other parts in the rest of hold 1.

So, here's the final summary-

Cargo hold 1
Level 1- a set of 'Glen' wings
no other aircraft parts in this hold

Cargo hold 2
Level 1- several floats ID'd by experts (i.e., NOT ME! ) as 'Glen' floats
Bottom of the well- two 'Glen' fuselages, plus two metal prop blades

Cargo holds 3, 4, and 5
No aircraft parts of any type in these holds

Cargo hold 6
Level 1- a set of 'Glen' wings
No other aircraft parts in this hold

The E14Y1 had a two-blade wooden prop. Those two prop blades are definitely metal- I lightly tapped on one with the butt of my dive knife.

So, it raises an interesting question...what type of plane do those props go to? Other Japanese plane types that I've dived on out here are two H6K's, an F1M2, a E13A1, a A6M2 Type 21, and now of course the two Glens. There were also Rufes out here, Bettys, and other types I can't think of off-hand.

I think it would be interesting to sit down and look at some profiles, and see if I can't come up with a match for those prop blades. I'll do that when I get a chance.

All for now. Cheers all!

Dan

 

[Gnomey]

Very cool Dan, thanks for sharing.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Hi Dan;

With regards to the prop - what part of it did you tap to reveal it as being metal? Somtimes the leading edges were covered with a metal layer, just a guess.

Great info!

Joe

 

[corsairfreak]

Hi Joe,

I tapped the middle of the prop, then up towards the top, but not all the way. Definitely a metal ring to it, no matter where I was tapping.

Gnomey- thanks for the compliment, glad you like the pics.

That prop raises an interesting question, and I've yet to start looking at profiles. All my books are at home, and I've been at the FD for the last two days. I'll let you know if I find anything.

Cheers guys!

Dan

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Hi Dan!

Everything I've found on the Glen says it had a wood prop but for the most part that's a minor question as a metal prop probably could of been fitted - perhaps this was a planned change for the configuration? Anyway I'll keep searching, in the mean time good luck and be safe!

 

[corsairfreak]

Hi again everyone,

Just a quick update- as of early June, a couple of my dive partners and I located the cowling attached to the partially upright fuselage in hold 2. We had to dig away the built-up silt and mud to expose part of it. We didn't dig it all the way out, just enough to expose part of it and verify the very distinctive bulges. I did shoot a number of pictures too.

However- due to an agreement now in place between myself and a couple of authors, I am not posting any pictures of the cowling just now. Here's why-

Two aviation authors were already in the process of writing a book about the 'Glen'. Once they caught wind of what was happening with the discovery of the two 'Glen' wrecks, they got in touch with me. In short, I'm writing a chapter for the book, and it will have several of my underwater pictures of the 'Glen' parts, plus the story of the dives and how the ID's came about. I've finished the chapter and sent it to them, and a CD of my dive shots is on the way to them in Japan as well.

The book, Kugisho E14Y Glen, is due out from Mushroom Models Publications at the end of this year. Here's a link to Mushroom's forthcoming page where the book is listed. You'll have to scroll down a bit to get to the listing-

forthcoming

Also, for those of you who read Aviation History magazine, I've written a short piece for the Briefing section, and sent a couple of my dive shots, and those will be published in this coming November issue. I was limited to 300 words for the Briefing, so it's more of a summary than anything detailed.

Let me know if you have any questions. This has been a great time doing all this, and many people have been involved with me on this project- from fellow Kwajalein divers, to several experts on WWII Japanese aircraft. It's taken the participation of everyone to make the project a success, and my deepest and most heartfelt "THANKS!!" go out to everyone who had a hand in this.

Cheers everyone!

Dan