Sunken Inland Wreckage

[1000 HP]

My buddy and I are divers. We both fly floats also. We are looking for interesting wrecks to dive in the inland waters of Canada. Any tips would be great and the remote sites are even more interesting. We have no intention to remove articles, but rather simply to take pictures. If anybody is interested in a legal salvage operation, we might consider it. We are working with a museum at the moment on one project.
Pm me if you have anything of interest. Posting it here might cause a wave of Scuba Divers

[CamAero]

There's a Bristol Freighter in a lake in the Yukon.

[Diadem]

Apparently there's a lake near Resolute, NU, with a bunch of wrecks in the bottom; one even reportedly has a case of 60-year-old scotch waiting to be recovered. I haven't been able to find out any real info about this lake, but based on the amount of aluminum spread out around YRB I'd say there's a pretty good chance a few planes made their way to the bottom of a body of water there.

[1000 HP]

How sad that Scotch ceases to age after being bottled. Too bad it isn't a load of kegs that were being transferred from a distillery...
Even so, that would be Scotch that hasn't seen a store shelf for awhile. Hmmm......
Any better location on this? I've been up there but I'm at a desk in a Jungle at the moment and will have to wait to check the maps. I do remember a lot of lakes in the area.

[longjon]

The Bristol Freighter would be Jack Andersons from Northcoast out of Prince Rupert.

I used to see it sitting at Digby Island along with his DC3. I don't know the name of the lake but heard it is deep, the reason no salvage has been done.

What is the name of that lake?

[Changes in Latitudes]

I've heard that rumour about the YRB Scotch quite a few times. I really have to think that if it were true you would hear more stories of locals diving in with a garden hose attached to a garbage bag over their head in hopes of recovering it.

Seriously though, that lake is quite deep if I recall correctly, what an adventure it would be. The lake is one with the Lancaster wreck not too far away right?

[CID]

Well there's the federal Liberal party....

[Siddley Hawker]

There's supposed to be a Curtiss HS-2L in a lake just north of here. Hit a log on t/o back in the 1920's.

[FlyGy]

Lake Minnewanka is pretty cool

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/natc ... ul4m1.aspx

[goldeneagle]

That rumor of the scotch, seems to run in many areas of the country.

Back when I was learning to fly, there was rumor of a canso at the bottom of a lake in our area, complete with a few kegs. The rumor suggested, on a good clear day, flying high over that lake, you could see the outline of the plane on the bottom. I've flown over the lake in question many times, and many altitudes, in all weather conditions, and never seen the outline of a canso, or any other airplane, on the bottom of that one. If I ever do, and can get a good fix on the location, I'll head up with the diving gear for sure. I wonder how those engines will have fared after 70+ years under a couple hundred feet of glacier fed cold water?

[jspitfire]

The tourism posters in Cambridge Bay tell of a C-97 Globemaster (if I remember correctly) that crashed, and was subsequently pushed into the bay.

[FlyGy]

There is a Scuba Park of sorts at White Swan Lake, somewhere near N54.041879° W105.184570°. A small tug boat, a piper 140 (I think) a few motor boats, phone booth, and a dive bell, (sorta) and hundreds of small items all at 60 feet or less. When my 14 year old was getting his Open Water Cert. I was studying for my PPL at the same time, during one of their breaks they came into the lounge I was studying in. I teased one of the instructors that I was gonna get my PPL so that we could go up North, Scuba, then hop into the plane and dive another lake.

She didn't catch on and started to give me hell.

[Moose47]

"The tourism posters in Cambridge Bay tell of a C-97 Globemaster"

The (Boeing) C-97 is the Stratofreighter while the Douglas C-124 is the Globemaster.

Cheers...Chris

[Siddley Hawker]

There's a Canso in Lac Nitchequon, up North of Roberval. The accident happened about 1958, the guy landed on the lake just in front of the old weather site, and one of the mains fell out on touchdown. The airplane slewed to the side and the blade of a small tractor they had on board went through the hull and it sank. You could see the airplane when the water was low back before the water in the lake rose because of the flooding from the Baie James hydro project. The Canso belonged to Maritime Central Airways.

[Siddley Hawker]

Double post.

[Expat]

How sad that Scotch ceases to age after being bottled. Too bad it isn't a load of kegs that were being transferred from a distillery...
Even so, that would be Scotch that hasn't seen a store shelf for awhile. Hmmm......
Any better location on this? I've been up there but I'm at a desk in a Jungle at the moment and will have to wait to check the maps. I do remember a lot of lakes in the area.

From your present location, it may be better to wait and go looking for Otters in the Maldives, the way things are going.

[1000 HP]

Yeah for sure Expat. I might even do a little flying down here during my months off. Susi had a couple of porters, although they just had a bad crash nearby.

Thanks all for the replies. If you have something solid. Just PM me. We will be involving the museums and might even get a seaplane of our own to help with logistics. I remember a story about a Norseman with a 600 HP conversion somewhere in Manitoba. Apparently it was hauling a load of fish and had a sinking situation...

There are lots of stories like that. One we are going to check out next year is a PBY on the bottom up north. Should be in good shape. The water is COLD.

[azimuthaviation]

My home town in Alberta was along the Northwest staging route, and apparently a B-25 landed on a frozen lake after encountering engine trouble. There was never an attempt to retrieve it before the spring thaw and when the ice broke it went to the lake bottom fully upright in shallow water where it stands to this day.

[Moose47]

G'day Az

Was that one of the B-25's being ferried to Russia? Do you have a location?

Cheers...Chris

[azimuthaviation]

Yes, on it's way to Russia.

Half way between Edmonton and Grande Prairie, before oil was discovered and the highway was built. A lot of the geographic features in that area were named after WW2 or were changed because the names were already used for other lakes, streams so forth in other parts of Canada.

I do believe however that this lake was named beforehand and retained its name subsequently. Its called Iosegun lake, located 54 28′ 37″ N, 116 50′ 57″ W. Not sure of the exact crash date or even if the model aircraft is what it is stated to be. Remember this incident happened a few decades before the area was settled so no one from the area was actually around when it happened.


Another example from the area is another B-25 that crashed during the Lend-Lease agreement about twenty miles away. This occured in the bush and the pilots did not survive. You can see the wreckage, although being relatively accessible, theres an ATV trail leading right up to it, it was pretty much left alone. I cant tell from the video, but perhaps someone who knows their WW2 aircraft better can confirm that that was not a B-25 as described in the video but rather a Bell P-39 or P-63.






The lake today is very accessible, with highway 43 running only 8km away and well serviced oilfield roads leading directly to the shores in many areas. The lake is pretty shallow, and unfrozen 6 months of the year.

[zero]

There's a 737 on the bottom off Chemainus, Vancouver Island.

http://www.artificialreef.bc.ca/index.p ... &Itemid=10

[Tom H]

Another example from the area is another B-25 that crashed during the Lend-Lease agreement about twenty miles away. This occured in the bush and the pilots did not survive. You can see the wreckage, although being relatively accessible, theres an ATV trail leading right up to it, it was pretty much left alone. I cant tell from the video, but perhaps someone who knows their WW2 aircraft better can confirm that that was not a B-25 as described in the video but rather a Bell P-39 or P-63.

That one is in fact a B-25, D model if my information is right. Lost on route to Ft St John.

I do believe however that this lake was named beforehand and retained its name subsequently. Its called Iosegun lake, located 54 28′ 37″ N, 116 50′ 57″ W. Not sure of the exact crash date or even if the model aircraft is what it is stated to be. Remember this incident happened a few decades before the area was settled so no one from the area was actually around when it happened.

Have you had eyes on this one? Doesn't show on our crash list and this is the first I've heard of it.

Be real interested in any info or any info or ghost stories on P-39/P-40/P-63 Alberta wreck sites of ghost stories.

We have been looking for an obtainable one for salvage for the museum. Thousand of the P-39/P-63 came through Edmonton (North West Industries) for cold weather conversion and the off to Fairbanks up the NWSR.

Thanks Tom
Executive Director
Alberta Aviation Museum

Our museum has had several people on site checking it out. About 10-15 years ago one of the vertical stabs was still stuck in a tree close by complete with the USSR star on it. Long gone now though.

[1000 HP]

Strangely enough, I've been to Iosegun lake. Must have been while I was working the oil and gas out of Grande Prairie. Good tip on the airplane.
I also heard about a DC-3 somewhere south on the Forestry Trail. I've got the co-ordinates somewhere, but I'd have to dig them up. I heard it's been picked over and shot up. Not much there. Not a dive site anyway.

[Cough Syrup]

I've heard from a few people that there's a Spitfire sunk in a lake between Fort Liard and Trout Lake. In a clear season, apparently you can see the outline sitting on the bottom of the shallow lake.

[FlyGy]

There's a 737 on the bottom off Chemainus, Vancouver Island.

http://www.artificialreef.bc.ca/index.p ... &Itemid=10

That's inland?