<h3>Russ Matthews reports:</h3> <p style="margin: 0px;">“We arrived in Majuro this morning <em>[Friday in Majuro time, Thursday our time]</em> after an uneventful flight from Honolulu. Van was there to greet us and we hit the ground running.” <br /> <br /> Running is right. The team immediately began inspecting vessels based in the port of Majuro </p> <p style="margin: 0px;">as potential recovery support ships.<br /> <br /> The next day (Saturday in Majuro) was another busy and productive day. Russ reports, “Van was on the go meeting with government officials and a seemingly endless stream of friends. I spent the day with Al and Peter. We got all the components we needed for ‘MacGyvering’ a system to assist us in quickly locating and examining the sling points on each wing.<br /> <br /> “In the afternoon we hooked up with Brian Kirk (our local guide and dive boat captain) to inspect the potential framing material and talked our way onto the dock where USS <em>Safeguard</em> tied up in 2006.<br /> <br /> “At various points during the day we crossed paths with Van and fell into an impromptu </p> <p style="margin: 0px;">planning session.We studied the video we shot in 2004 and I’m actually quite encouraged </p> <p style="margin: 0px;">about the potential for getting good sling placement under the wings (let’s hope things </p> <p style="margin: 0px;">haven’t changed much in the last five years). </p> <p style="margin: 0px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px;">“We shove off for Jaluit at 7:00am tomorrow morning.”</p> <p style="margin: 0px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px;">The voyage to Jaluit involves crossing over a hundred miles of open ocean in Brian’s </p> <p style="margin: 0px;">38 foot boat. It will take them between ten and twelve hours. Tomorrow (Sunday for</p> <p style="margin: 0px;"> us, Monday for them) they plan to dive the shallow TBD.</p> <p style="margin: 0px;"><br /> The next satphone report is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon our time.</p>
<h3>Russ Matthews reports:</h3> <p>“We arrived in Majuro this morning <em>[Friday in Majuro time, Thursday our time]</em> after an uneventful flight from Honolulu. Van was there to greet us and we hit the ground running.” <br /> <br /> Running is right. The team immediately began inspecting vessels based in the port of Majuro as potential recovery support ships.<br /> <br /> The next day (Saturday in Majuro) was another busy and productive day. Russ reports, “Van was on the go meeting with government officials and a seemingly endless stream of friends. I spent the day with Al and Peter. We got all the components we needed for ‘MacGyvering’ a system to assist us in quickly locating and examining the sling points on each wing.<br /> <br /> “In the afternoon we hooked up with Brian Kirk (our local guide and dive boat captain) to inspect the potential framing material and talked our way onto the dock where USS <em>Safeguard</em> tied up in 2006.<br /> <br /> “At various points during the day we crossed paths with Van and fell into an impromptu planning session.We studied the video we shot in 2004 and I’m actually quite encouraged about the potential for getting good sling placement under the wings (let’s hope things haven’t changed much in the last five years). “We shove off for Jaluit at 7:00am tomorrow morning.” The voyage to Jaluit involves crossing over a hundred miles of open ocean in Brian’s 38 foot boat. It will take them between ten and twelve hours. Tomorrow (Sunday for us, Monday for them) they plan to dive the shallow TBD.</p> <p>The next satphone report is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon our time.</p>
<p> and </p> tags. Since the main message was broken into paragraphs with <br /> tags, the editor wrapped all of that in <p> and </p> tags. to a plain space (for legibility of code!).Moral of the story: try a different path for copying and pasting messages from e-mail into the editor.
<h3>Russ Reports:</h3> <p>As Al has already stated, today was exceptionally successful and productive one for the field team here in Jaluit.<span style=""> </span>Peter was able to overcome the equalization problems that plagued his ears the first day and made his first decent on the deep TBD.<span style=""> </span>Later, during the long surface interval, Al suited up for a dive on the shallow Devastator (and there was much rejoicing).<!--StartFragment--></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The morning was spent with Van and myself each taking a wing (I went left, he went right) and documenting the lagoon bottom where legs and footpads supporting the lifting frame will someday rest while the lifting straps are attached.<span style=""> </span>Peter made a complete circuit of the aircraft, familiarizing himself first hand with the wreck he has so long and exhaustively studied through photos and video.<span style=""> </span>In the meantime, Brian shot some 80 new images of the plane and the work.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">10 minutes of bottom time flew by all too quickly and the team made the long ascent to the surface, followed by an even longer period of “off gassing” the nitrogen absorbed into their bloodstream at 120 feet.<span style=""> </span>The hours were put to good use, downloading and reviewing the fresh photos, comparing them to those collected on previous expeditions, and planning the next series of tasks.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The mission for the afternoon involved Van and myself testing the procedure for positioning a lifting sling under the left wing, while Peter focused on closer examination of the more significant damage to the plane (primarily a prominent “tear” outboard of the right wing fold point and a large piece of skin peeled back along the bottom of the fuselage under the radioman/gunners position that has been noted on all three known Devastator wrecks).<span style=""> </span>Brian, as before, documented important aspects of the wreck and the team (adding another 60 photos or more to our growing collection).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We’ve learned a tremendous amount about the deep plane, it’s relationship to the surrounding environment, and what challenges (and possible solutions) lie ahead.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some of the most interesting and surprising things we’ve noted so far include…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">*We are in some ways, luckier than we thought in the way the plane came to rest on the bottom.<span style=""> </span>Much more of it is clear than we previously thought.<span style=""> </span>Part of it is due to the Devastator’s unique construction (the oil cooler and main gear wheels protrude beneath the fuselage and help prop in up.<span style=""> </span>In addition, the nose landed on small coral outcropping that should permit lifting straps to be passed beneath the engine with relative ease.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">*The left side bomb aimer’s door has vanished (presumably torn away in the ditching) and the mount for the Norden bombsight is pushed up and back into the compartment (perhaps from the sudden inrush of water through the missing door).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">*There is no sign of the torpedo director.<span style=""> </span>I do not believe that it was looted, as there is no damage visible and the gunsight is undisturbed.<span style=""> </span>At this point I would speculate that the director was not installed for the Jaluit mission as the plane was set up in level bombing configuration.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">*Corrosion rates do NOT appear to have accelerated recently.<span style=""> </span>New data gathered today on previously measured sections shows little or no change.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">*Similarly, coral growth does NOT appear to have altered significantly (neither hastened nor abated).<span style=""> </span>Review of earlier videotape by the whole team lead to the opinion that what I took for coral was actually a form of marine vegetation.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">*For some reason, the “marine vegetation” that previously obscured the right wing fold point has vanished (perhaps a seasonal cycle, but most likely not attributed to coral “dying off”) As a result, we are now afforded a much better look at the area – and the true extent of the significant “tearing” on the upper wing surface forward of the inboard edge of the aileron (again, this feature has not grown, we are just now able to see much more of what was once hidden from view).<span style=""> </span>What’s more, Peter’s trained eye immediately detected that this damage was not caused by corrosion, but by “mechanical” means.<span style=""> </span>Some unknown force pushed up through the aluminum skin, tearing and bending it upwards (yet the bottom surface of the wing remains unaffected).<span style=""> </span>For the moment, this feature remains a mystery!<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">*Peter surfaced from the second dive of the day to report that the bottom of the airplane is “gone.”<span style=""> </span>To be more precise, he examined the fuselage forward of the “hanging piece” and saw a void extending at least one body length into the darkness towards the nose.<span style=""> </span>Subsequent review of archival materials showed that he may have been looking into the recessed compartment designed to accept the aft end of the Mark XIII aerial torpedo.<span style=""> </span>Our current speculation is that during a ditching, water hits this area with enough force to “peel” back the vulnerable lower aft portion of the fuselage skin.<span style=""> </span>Peter will attempt to re-examine the spot tomorrow with a more powerful flashlight and fix it’s position accurately in relation to the radioman/gunners station.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">*A flashlight dropped on the final dive of our 2008 expedition, thought to have been lost for good – has been found!<span style=""> </span>The culprit appears not to have been another diver (as we first suspected), but rather a trick of the current or a hungry and disappointed fish.<span style=""> </span>The light was found by the sharp, experienced eyes of guide Brian Kirk – resting on the sea bottom aft of the left inboard trailing edge (and not in the flotation bag stowage bay where it landed, still shining, nearly 16 months earlier).<span style=""> </span>4 spare “AAA” size batteries were scrounged together by the team and an impromptu experiment was conducted at the kitchen table after dinner this evening.<span style=""> </span>Amazingly, the flashlight was found to be bone dry – and, with fresh batteries installed, actually shone brightly!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Time to cut this off, Ric.<span style=""> </span>There’s lots to do tomorrow and precious little time to do it in.<span style=""> </span>Please edit this as you see fit (I’m much to tired to do it now myself) and use as much or as little as you see fit in the “News Blog.”)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The team is doing a great job – and I feel like we will return with an incredible amount of useful and crucial information needed to complete the comprehensive recovery and conservation plan.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Best,</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Russ</p> <!--EndFragment-->
<h3> </h3> <h3>Russ Reports:</h3> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">As Al has already stated, today was exceptionally successful and productive one for the field team here in Jaluit. Peter was able to overcome the equalization problems that plagued his ears the first day and made his first decent on the deep TBD. Later, during the long surface interval, Al suited up for a dive on the shallow Devastator (and there was much rejoicing). </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">The morning was spent with Van and myself each taking a wing (I went left, he went right) and documenting the lagoon bottom where legs and footpads supporting the lifting frame will someday rest while the lifting straps are attached. Peter made a complete circuit of the aircraft, familiarizing himself first hand with the wreck he has so long and exhaustively studied through photos and video. In the meantime, Brian shot some 80 new images of the plane and the work. </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">10 minutes of bottom time flew by all too quickly and the team made the long ascent to the surface, followed by an even longer period of “off gassing” the nitrogen absorbed into their bloodstream at 120 feet. The hours were put to good use, downloading and reviewing the fresh photos, comparing them to those collected on previous expeditions, and planning the next series of tasks.</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">The mission for the afternoon involved Van and myself testing the procedure for positioning a lifting sling under the left wing, while Peter focused on closer examination of the more significant damage to the plane (primarily a prominent “tear” outboard of the right wing fold point and a large piece of skin peeled back along the bottom of the fuselage under the radioman/gunners position that has been noted on all three known Devastator wrecks). Brian, as before, documented important aspects of the wreck and the team (adding another 60 photos or more to our growing collection).</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">We’ve learned a tremendous amount about the deep plane, it’s relationship to the surrounding environment, and what challenges (and possible solutions) lie ahead.</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">Some of the most interesting and surprising things we’ve noted so far include…</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">*We are in some ways, luckier than we thought in the way the plane came to rest on the bottom. Much more of it is clear than we previously thought. Part of it is due to the Devastator’s unique construction (the oil cooler and main gear wheels protrude beneath the fuselage and help prop in up. In addition, the nose landed on small coral outcropping that should permit lifting straps to be passed beneath the engine with relative ease.</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">*The left side bomb aimer’s door has vanished (presumably torn away in the ditching) and the mount for the Norden bombsight is pushed up and back into the compartment (perhaps from the sudden inrush of water through the missing door).</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">*There is no sign of the torpedo director. I do not believe that it was looted, as there is no damage visible and the gunsight is undisturbed. At this point I would speculate that the director was not installed for the Jaluit mission as the plane was set up in level bombing configuration.</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">*Corrosion rates do NOT appear to have accelerated recently. New data gathered today on previously measured sections shows little or no change.</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">*Similarly, coral growth does NOT appear to have altered significantly (neither hastened nor abated). Review of earlier videotape by the whole team lead to the opinion that what I took for coral was actually a form of marine vegetation. </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">*For some reason, the “marine vegetation” that previously obscured the right wing fold point has vanished (perhaps a seasonal cycle, but most likely not attributed to coral “dying off”) As a result, we are now afforded a much better look at the area – and the true extent of the significant “tearing” on the upper wing surface forward of the inboard edge of the aileron (again, this feature has not grown, we are just now able to see much more of what was once hidden from view). What’s more, Peter’s trained eye immediately detected that this damage was not caused by corrosion, but by “mechanical” means. Some unknown force pushed up through the aluminum skin, tearing and bending it upwards (yet the bottom surface of the wing remains unaffected). For the moment, this feature remains a mystery! </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">*Peter surfaced from the second dive of the day to report that the bottom of the airplane is “gone.” To be more precise, he examined the fuselage forward of the “hanging piece” and saw a void extending at least one body length into the darkness towards the nose. Subsequent review of archival materials showed that he may have been looking into the recessed compartment designed to accept the aft end of the Mark XIII aerial torpedo. Our current speculation is that during a ditching, water hits this area with enough force to “peel” back the vulnerable lower aft portion of the fuselage skin. Peter will attempt to re-examine the spot tomorrow with a more powerful flashlight and fix it’s position accurately in relation to the radioman/gunners station. </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">*A flashlight dropped on the final dive of our 2008 expedition, thought to have been lost for good – has been found! The culprit appears not to have been another diver (as we first suspected), but rather a trick of the current or a hungry and disappointed fish. The light was found by the sharp, experienced eyes of guide Brian Kirk – resting on the sea bottom aft of the left inboard trailing edge (and not in the flotation bag stowage bay where it landed, still shining, nearly 16 months earlier). 4 spare “AAA” size batteries were scrounged together by the team and an impromptu experiment was conducted at the kitchen table after dinner this evening. Amazingly, the flashlight was found to be bone dry – and, with fresh batteries installed, actually shone brightly! </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">Time to cut this off, Ric. There’s lots to do tomorrow and precious little time to do it in. Please edit this as you see fit (I’m much to tired to do it now myself) and use as much or as little as you see fit in the “News Blog.”)</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">The team is doing a great job – and I feel like we will return with an incredible amount of useful and crucial information needed to complete the comprehensive recovery and conservation plan.</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; min-height: 15px;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">Best,</p> <p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;">Russ</p> <div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;" class="Apple-style-span"><br /> </span></div> <!--EndFragment-->