WWII Plane Recovered from Lake Michigan

Dauntless Warbird recovery from 1994. Image by RickDrew.

A plane from World War II was pulled from Lake Michigan near Waukegan on Friday. The plane was an SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber, used for training. Joseph Lokites was the pilot of the plane, who apparently made a mistake when switching fuel tanks. He switched to an empty tank, the engine stopped, and the plane ditched in the lake. The airplane sank, and Lokites was rescued.

That was November 1944. Now the plane has been recovered and is on its way to restoration. The right wing is damaged and the engine is rusted, but in two years, it will be ready to display in a New Orleans museum. [WBEZ]