Wreckage on the ocean floor near a Japanese island must be from a fighter-bomber that crashed in 1945 with an American pilot who is still listed as missing in action, according to a World War II researcher who recently visited the crash site.
The aircraft, lying on coral reef about 70 feet (21) meters down, is the same type of F4U-4 Corsair that 2nd Lt. John McGrath was flying when he crashed off Iriomote Jima in July 1945, researcher Justin Taylan said this week.
"This is the only American aircraft lost at that precise spot," said Taylan, the founder of Pacific Wrecks, an organization that researches and catalogues WWII crashes.
McGrath, of Troy, New York, is still officially listed by the U.S. military as one of nearly 73,000 American MIAs from WWII. He was 20 when his aircraft disappeared.
Taylan explored the wreckage during a scuba dive in March, along with a Japanese man who discovered the wreck in 1987.
Both wings, the engine and other parts lie approximately 300 yards (275 meters) from shore, a location where American pilots said they saw the plane go down.
Contributor: Coleah (46578837) • [email protected]
The aircraft, lying on coral reef about 70 feet (21) meters down, is the same type of F4U-4 Corsair that 2nd Lt. John McGrath was flying when he crashed off Iriomote Jima in July 1945, researcher Justin Taylan said this week.
"This is the only American aircraft lost at that precise spot," said Taylan, the founder of Pacific Wrecks, an organization that researches and catalogues WWII crashes.
McGrath, of Troy, New York, is still officially listed by the U.S. military as one of nearly 73,000 American MIAs from WWII. He was 20 when his aircraft disappeared.
Taylan explored the wreckage during a scuba dive in March, along with a Japanese man who discovered the wreck in 1987.
Both wings, the engine and other parts lie approximately 300 yards (275 meters) from shore, a location where American pilots said they saw the plane go down.
Contributor: Coleah (46578837) • [email protected]
Wreckage on the ocean floor near a Japanese island must be from a fighter-bomber that crashed in 1945 with an American pilot who is still listed as missing in action, according to a World War II researcher who recently visited the crash site.
The aircraft, lying on coral reef about 70 feet (21) meters down, is the same type of F4U-4 Corsair that 2nd Lt. John McGrath was flying when he crashed off Iriomote Jima in July 1945, researcher Justin Taylan said this week.
"This is the only American aircraft lost at that precise spot," said Taylan, the founder of Pacific Wrecks, an organization that researches and catalogues WWII crashes.
McGrath, of Troy, New York, is still officially listed by the U.S. military as one of nearly 73,000 American MIAs from WWII. He was 20 when his aircraft disappeared.
Taylan explored the wreckage during a scuba dive in March, along with a Japanese man who discovered the wreck in 1987.
Both wings, the engine and other parts lie approximately 300 yards (275 meters) from shore, a location where American pilots said they saw the plane go down.
Contributor: Coleah (46578837) • [email protected]
The aircraft, lying on coral reef about 70 feet (21) meters down, is the same type of F4U-4 Corsair that 2nd Lt. John McGrath was flying when he crashed off Iriomote Jima in July 1945, researcher Justin Taylan said this week.
"This is the only American aircraft lost at that precise spot," said Taylan, the founder of Pacific Wrecks, an organization that researches and catalogues WWII crashes.
McGrath, of Troy, New York, is still officially listed by the U.S. military as one of nearly 73,000 American MIAs from WWII. He was 20 when his aircraft disappeared.
Taylan explored the wreckage during a scuba dive in March, along with a Japanese man who discovered the wreck in 1987.
Both wings, the engine and other parts lie approximately 300 yards (275 meters) from shore, a location where American pilots said they saw the plane go down.
Contributor: Coleah (46578837) • [email protected]
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