Buried at sea (Warning GORE)

[Mastermariner]

 

[Rjel]

I've seen the tail end of the clip numerous times. Never with the beginning where fingerprints were taken from the gunner. Pretty moving.

[HagarTheHorrible]

Squeamishness, moral, "Well, I'm not bloody well cleaning it out" ?

 

I certainly wouldn't have wanted to have faced what they did but it seems a bit extreme to ditch the aircraft without, at the very least, stripping out anything useful.  Tanks, that you might imagine are far less valuable ( not necessarily monitary) were regularly washed out, patched up and returned to service.

[352nd_Wheels]

The

1 hour ago, HagarTheHorrible said:

Squeamishness, moral, "Well, I'm not bloody well cleaning it out" ?

 

I certainly wouldn't have wanted to have faced what they did but it seems a bit extreme to ditch the aircraft without, at the very least, stripping out anything useful.  Tanks, that you might imagine are far less valuable ( not necessarily monitary) were regularly washed out, patched up and returned to service.

 

The few articles I have read on the subject claimed that the aircraft was not repairable.

http://www.loyceedeen.org/

 

Wheels

[Poochnboo]

I just don't see how the Avenger wasn't repairable. The pilot came aboard just fine. He seemed to be handling the airplane just fine. He is even able to fold up the wings as he taxis by the camera. The only damage seems to be the turret with the dead gunner in it. Seems to have taken a 20 mm hit. 

Pretty sobering. Makes you realize the reality of it all. 

It could be that a decision was made not to try and cut his mangled body out of the shot up turret. Who the hell was going to want to fly THAT airplane after that. And worse, man that turret position. There was no shortage of airplanes at the time. Uncle Sam was turning out tens of thousands of them. 

 "Chuck it over the side!"

[Feathered_IV]

Poor kid.  He's still out there somewhere.

[Poochnboo]

Unfortunately, as are thousands upon thousands of others.