Tamiya 1/32 Corsair Mk. I - 732 NAS, Brunswick, USA, 1944 'Lake Sebago'
By Tony O'Toole
On the 16th May 1944 two Corsairs from 732 NAS a training squadron based at HMS Sakar, Brunswick, USA took off for a training flight, these being JT132 flown by Sub. Lt. Vaughan Reginald Gill and JT160 flown by 19 year old Sub. Lt. Raymond Laurence Knott from Grantham in Lincolnshire. Over Lake Sebago they carried out some low level flying but appear to have collided and crashed into the water. Both pilots were unfortunately killed in the crash and due to the depth of the lake which in some areas is over 300 feet deep their bodies could not be recovered at the time so the pilots and their Corsairs have rested near to each other on the lake bed ever since.
A few years ago one of the Corsairs was located and an RVU was sent down to discover JT160 in almost pristine condition barring the crash damage which appears to have ripped off both wings and the aircraft stands eerily straight up on its nose. I know that at least one US based Warbird company wants to recover both Corsairs and restore them to flying condition.
© Tony O'Toole 2015
This article was published on Tuesday, October 06 2015; Last modified on Tuesday, October 06 2015