PBY. 190 ft in Lake Mead~ just recently discovered... And I did my first Trimix dive on it :)
Joel (Silverstein) was my buddy (and instructor).... The dive went off without a hitch (with a minor bout of pre-dive nerves & some "sea"sickness from the boat rocking in the rough lake).. The descent seemed to take forever- mostly because it was DARK down there and you couldn't see the bottom until you almost hit it... Water was cold, vis was low, but finally we spotted the orange line that ran about 300ft away to the wreck.. Even with trimix, I was still feeling some narcosis down there- most likely because I was cold and my earlier case of nerves. The wreck came out of the gloom and into sight finally... and for a moment I did not move.. When you encounter a "real" wreck for the first time (not an intentional sinking), the reality of it stops you...(and I was hoping I wouldn't see the 2 bodies that have never been discovered). We moved around the plane slowly, but after 15 min or so, the temperature of the water was beginning to get to me and I moved back to the line to wait for my buddy.. The gas switches went flawlessly on the ascent, and since we both had Mp3 players, the deco time was almost fun (almost because I was freezing, even with argon).. My camera's housing wasnt rated or that depth, so I wasn't able to take it down and get pics :(
But I do get the title of being the 1st female to ever dive the PBY Here's Steves post on sdtech to prove it:
Re: PBY Catalina Found in Lake Mead -
Guess which pink wearing diver did her first mixed gas dive and was the FIRST WOMAN ever to dive the PBY up here in Lake Mead? Nasty day out, very hard conditions, terrible visibility... but she did fine. Congratulations Missy!!!!! Nice job.
An article on the PBY:
IN PLANE SIGHT?
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Actually, this section of a Navy PBY-5A Catalina flying boat (see picture of intact aircraft) has been hidden 190 feet below in the murky waters of Lake Mead for nearly 60 years. Divers are fascinated by its sterling condition since its 1949 crash. The plane rests in two major sections and is parallel to the Boulder Beach section of the Boulder Basin. It has quite a tale to tell. See story below. (Photo: National Park Service)
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Missing Plane Discovered
At Lake Mead
BOULDER CITY, NV - The National Park Service (NPS) announced yesterday a submerged PBY Catalina flying boat that crashed 60 years ago in Lake Mead has been located. On October 24, 1949, the Navy PBY-5A Catalina flying boat, converted for civilian use by the Charles Babb Company of Los Angeles, took off from the Boulder City Airport for a test flight. The aircraft was attempting a water landing in the Boulder Basin area of Lake Mead. Unfortunately, the landing gear was still down, causing the plane to flip and burn.
The occupants of the aircraft were pilot Russell Rogers, mechanic Charmen Correa and Clarence Masters, all from Southern California. Boulder City Airport Operator Tom Swift and his associate George Davis were invited to join the group on the test flight. Swift and Masters were thrown clear of the plane; however they never regained consciousness and later died at the hospital. George Davis, the only member of the group that was strapped in his seat, survived the crash but did have a broken leg, cuts and bruises. Rogers and Correa went down with the plane. Body recovery operations were conducted shortly after the crash, but researchers are unable to confirm if the bodies were ever retrieved.
PBY Catalina was the United States Navy designation for an American and Canadian-built flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s. PB stands for Patrol Bomber, with Y being Consolidated Aircraft’s manufacturer identification. When used by the military, it could be equipped with depth charges, bombs, torpedoes and .50 caliber machine guns and was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. All weaponry was removed from this aircraft when it was converted for civilian use by the Babb Company.
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