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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, June 20, 2009

WWII dive bomber pulled from Lake Michigan to return to Hawaii


Advertiser Staff and Wire Reports

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

A World War II dive bomber recovered from Lake Michigan Friday will eventually return to Hawaii, where it was based during the war.

Pacific Aviation Museum photo

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In the first leg of its return trip to Hawaii, a World War II dive bomber that flew out of Pearl Harbor was recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan Friday.

Despite rain, hula dancers performed and a Hawaiian blessing was offered as the Douglas SBD Dauntless was pulled from 500 feet of water.
The plane will be restored and eventually put on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Ford Island, where it was based nearly 70 years ago.
The Dauntless was a mainstay of the Navy's World War II air fleet in the Pacific, and spearheaded the air attack in the Battle of Midway.
The dive bomber recovered from Lake Michigan was piloted by John Lendo in 1944 when its carburetor iced up and the plane belly-landed in the lake. Lendo survived.
The aircraft was in Honolulu in 1942, flew off the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and later was used for carrier qualifications out of Chicago's Navy Pier and Glenview Naval Air Station.
An estimated 300 planes were placed on the bottom of Lake Michigan during World War II. Many were in training accidents or had mechanic malfunctions. So far, about 39 have been recovered since 1990.
The museum also is seeking to recover a gullwing F4U Corsair that flew out of Guadalcanal and a Grumman F6F Hellcat.