Diving on the wreckage of airplanes is a rather strange and bizarre experience - airplanes are in the air, not under water! But things don't always go according to plan, the planes crash, and sometimes they end up at the bottom of the ocean. I enjoyed diving on two wrecks in Australia, Fairy-Firefly in NSW and Vultee Vengeance in Victoria.
The Fairey Firefly VX381 was the carrier of an anti-submarine torpedo bomber that was involved in air collisions, Vultee Vengeance, on the other hand, was a submersible bomber that crashed due to engine failure. Two aircraft crash sites can not differ from each other, but they have one thing in common, they are tiny diving sites that are notoriously hard to find. If your grades do not match, searching for something just twelve by fourteen meters deep in the ocean is akin to the usual search for a needle in a haystack.
The first time I tried to dive into Fairey Firefly, we spent hours on the boat and in the scorching sun, looking for debris. Our estimates were not entirely accurate, but it took me a long time to admit that we are now close to the plane crash. I slowly drifted up and down and throughout the region, hoping that historically the remains of a sunken plane would appear on the echo sounder, but all I received was sand. Suffice it to say that I was not a popular skipper that day, after I pulled the troops into a random mission to find and dive into this small plane, and so is not impressive.
A few years later, I returned to Jervis Bay, New York, and to find and dive the plane Firefly was again on the agenda - I really wanted to see this plane! This time I had some more accurate GPS marks and often found them, despite the low relief. Oh boy, I was excited and proud of myself when there was a small blow on the echo sounder! I was the first in the water, and I remember going down a few meters and almost immediately saw the whole plane in all its glory. The crash of the plane lies at about 13 m of water, and in the Gulf of Jervis area that day was decent, so the attack on it was rather unforgettable.
The site is only tiny, thirteen meters by twelve meters, but as a dive site it was impressive. On the wreck there was an incredible amount of fish life; he was absolutely filled with marine life. I think that there is nothing special in the structure of the simplicity of the site, so all animals gather here. He seemed like a small cattery; Around the wreck there were hundreds of children's port of Jackson sharks, octopus, baby catfish and even young flatheads! Tiny site for diving with tiny animals - it was very cute!
The plane is actually in very good condition, considering that it crashed in 1956. It sits upright and is largely intact, and a four-blade propeller is a major feature. Firefly is actually a rather unique site in Australian waters. Firefly as a plane has a fascinating history; It was designed to meet the urgent needs of the British Admiralty in the creation of a modern airborne fighter. It entered production in 1941 and was built in 1623 before production ceased in 1956. The Royal Australian Navy received one hundred and seven of them. The aircraft saw action both during World War II and in the Korean War, and was a rather small, small aircraft, but was mainly used as aircraft carriers, reconnaissance and strike aircraft.
So how did this end up at the bottom of the ocean? Fairey Firefly VX381 crashed into a Firefly WD887 on November 27, 1956 during a training mission. Two planes flew in the directions of the opposition when they encountered an air collision. Fortunately, the crew of the VX381 survived the disaster, despite the fact that one third of its wing was missing. The crew of the Firefly WD887, the coaster Arundell and the midshipman Fogarti were not lucky, and the plane and their bodies were never recovered. When diving a sunken aircraft, it is worth remembering that airplanes do not belong underwater, and in this case a great tragedy was the cause of its immersion.
Further down the Australian coast, off the coast of Williamstown in Victoria, lie the remains of another small plane, which is also worth mentioning. March 6, 1946 Vultee Vengeance crashed into the sea after a collision with the engine during the gun practice. According to the general opinion, Vulte made a perfect fit on his stomach until he ran into stones. Fortunately, no one was hurt, despite the pilot, officer officer F.O. Knudson was hospitalized with minor head injuries.
The broken remains of Vultee Vengeance rest in 10 m (33 ft) of water, but, compared to Firefly, it is difficult to make heads or tails from the site, as it is heavily broken. Further visibility in the area is often less than average, and the oscillation fluctuates between two feet and five meters. It is not surprising that over the past three years, boys from the IAIA (Association of Naval Archeology of Victoria) identified the plane and told its story.
It was a tough job finding the wreckage of the plane, because we only had visual traces, so we had to build flags ashore in order to pinpoint the location, rather than moving straight to the GPS point. It’s just as good that the area is quite flat under water, and although there is not much relief, the impact is clearly visible on the echo sounder. It was definitely easier than searching for the Firefly, and soon we were on top and in the water.
Under water, this is a rather steep site, despite the fact that sponges and fan worms hide parts of the aircraft. The European fan worm Sabella spallanzanii is quite vicious, it is a rooted look, and it covers every inch of the remains. I have to admit that diving this site was interesting and a bit new, but it’s not as impressive or impressive as Fairey Firefly in Jervis Bay, so if you can only choose one Australian wreck to dive, go to that one
