Northrup Nomad Recovery
 

Some history coming to the National Aviation Museum this year.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2.../18472211.html

Ontario police have located a Second World War aircraft that crashed into Lake Muskoka more than 70 years ago.

The plane, identified as a Northrop Industries A-17 Nomad #3521, was involved in a mid-air collision on Dec. 13, 1940. It was searching for another aircraft that went down the same day.

On Tuesday, provincial police confirmed divers used side-scan sonar technology to identity the plane on July 27, 2010.

The divers recovered personal effects belonging to the pilot, 24-year-old Lt. Peter Campbell and aircraftman Theodore Bates, 27, from Guelph, Ont. Those have been turned over to the department of defence in Ottawa for preservation and will be given to the next of kin.

"The coroner's office and the OPP are satisfied that their missing persons case has been solved and that it is likely that remains are no longer recoverable," the police said in the release. "The exact location of the aircraft will remain confidential in the interest of protecting the site."

http://www.intelligencer.ca/2014/10/...craft-underway

CFB TRENTON — Instead of reaching the skies, aerospace and telecommunications engineering crews here are going deep to support the recovery of a Second World War aircraft that crashed into Lake Muskoka in 1940.

The main recovery effort for Northrop Nomad #3521 started Saturday in the area of Bracebridge, Ont.

The initiative is supported by a recovery and salvage team from the Royal Canadian Air Forces' (RCAF) Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron based at 8 Wing, with diving support from the Royal Canadian Navy’s Fleet Diving Unit out of Halifax.

Capt. Julie Brunet, public affairs officer at CFB Trenton, said the operation is expected to last about 10 days.

Pilot Lt. Peter Campbell, 24, and Leading Aircraftsman Theodore Bates, 27, were killed when Nomad #3521 crashed in Lake Muskoka on Dec. 13, 1940.
The aircraft had collided in-flight with another Nomad aircraft, while the planes were searching for a fellow airman who went down during training at what is now CFB Borden.

“The aircraft was discovered by the Ontario Provincial Police in July 2010, some 70 years after its fateful crash,” she said.
The Royal Canadian Navy’s Fleet Diving Unit recovered the remains of the fallen airmen in October 2012.

“They were interred a year later with full military honours,” added Brunet.
A technical briefing will be held Monday morning to outline the recovery operation at the Residence Inn Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst.
Brunet noted two pieces of the wreckage are expected to be brought to the surface Tuesday.

“Pieces recovered Tuesday will be moved ashore in the area of Pride of Muskoka in Bracebridge, Ont. Wednesday and the main fuselage of the aircraft will be moved ashore Sunday,” she said.

The recovered wreckage of two-seater light attack bomber will then be displayed on a flatbed trailer prior to being transported to the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton Monday, Nov. 3.

“A small ceremony will mark the end of the recovery operation and handover of the Nomad from the RCAF to the National Air Force Museum of Canada,” said Brunet.

The operation, stated Commander of the RCAF Lt.-Gen. Yvan Blondin, is the culmination of several people working together.

“Recovering the Nomad aircraft and bringing it to a more appropriate resting place underscores the RCAF’s commitment to our heritage and the preservation of our history,” he stated.

The recovery operation is led by the RCAF, partnered with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Directorate of History and Heritage, the Bracebridge OPP, the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton and the Canadian Coast guard.

Brunet noted imagery from the operation, including underwater video, will be available daily at www.forcesimages.ca.