Bubbles Below Rediscovers the Midway Atoll Corsair after 23 years
From 9/21-9/28/97, Bubbles Below was sent 1200 miles NW of Kauai to Midway Atoll to do exploratory diving around the 2nd to last island in the Hawaiian chain. An unexpected find was a long lost airplane wreck missing for over 23 years...

Here it is- The day after we found the Corsair, the first charter was run to the 114 ft. wreck dive. A visiting couple of airline pilots on their honeymoon, Denise and John Mowat viewed the plane with the guidance of divemaster Linda Bail.


Photo: Ken Bail

See the Midway Phoenix writeup on the find with some more of our pictures.

The plane was originally found by the Koral Kings Dive Club in the 1970's and rested in about 80 feet of water. Curt Haney of the Koral Kings recalls:

"When we first found the plane, it's original position was on the third drop off ledge and closer to the engine. On a really good vis day back then you could almost see the engine from the plane. It originally set upright with the tail burried in the sand and the plane facing away from runway 33. It still had the tires on it and they were flat and falling off the wheels. The under part of the fuselage had a hole in it and the backs of the wings were in the sand. Bugs were always lined up under the wings and there was a huge green moray that lived in the fuselage. The prop was never found, it was probubly destroyed on impact since the engine was knocked off also. The cockpit canopy was also gone and never found but there was a cockpit with all the instruments, etc. It had probubly been sitting there for 20 or more years when we found it. I don't know if Midway Phoenix is correct about the pilots name, we could never find out and I have a good friend that works at the Pentagon and still no luck as of yet. That is basically all I remember."


We actually found the prop before the plane about 100 yds away. All 3 of its' long blades are attatched, though 1 is quite bent probably from impact.
Photo: Ken Bail


The following is Linda Bail's account of the search:

Treasure Diving@Midway by Linda Bail
Kicking the sand flats, the bottom is 90ft, we are swimming at around 60 ft. What is that? The fish are swarming up in the water column, is it? is it? Its just a coral head with schooling Dascyllus. I have to look to break the monotony of sand, so dropping down I find the head is a mecca for life with 2 recently settled endemic green turkeyfish, Dendrochirus barberi. Interesting, they settled out of the water column about a month ago on Kauai. But today we are at the northern end of the chain of the Hawaiian Islands. We are at Midway Atoll. I motion to our friends, Jason and Marilyn Mcilhaney, they humor me with a smile but kick on. Jason has started us on this kick because back when he was a 14 year old he lived on Midway while his father was stationed there. Being an avid dive "kid" with the Koral Kings dive club he has a memory of a World War II Corsair wreck in 85 ft of water. But we are kicking deeper thinking it has moved. I look at their fleeting fins, and realize they are changing their course heading. Rising up and kicking back on course I start the scan once again. There, up ahead, is a new dark mass in my vision. As I get closer, I know that we have found something. The shape is just not naturemade its manmade, its a 3 bladed propeller! The reason the corsairs had a gull wing shape was to raise the front end up high enough to accomodate its' huge propeller. My excitement turns to whoops as a signal to everyone, while Jason had apparently the same vision but from another angle! Ecstatically we hug! My husband Ken, comes in from another direction and finds the engine! Complete with large slipper lobsters, which are left to their engine home. Our excitement on the boat is tangible. Everyone on Midway has a cellular phone and within minutes of our discovery, this tight knit community knows that another historical monument has been found, or refound in this case. The Koral King Dive Club which was active in the 70's when the military ran Midway, actually discovered the Corsair. Back then it was in 85 ft. and more intact, sitting upright, with the tail buried. The four of us made another 3 dives attempting to find the rest of the wreck but had no luck. Since it had move, it's possible that the fuselage was destroyed or buried. Ken and I continued the search the next day while Jason and Marilyn had to fly out. More sand views, visibility was excellent, easily 100ft. our plan was a compass heading of due south, and we were to travel apart at far visual range. We carry lights to signal each other. The minutes and the kick cycles go by quickly, as there is this impending feeling of meeting a destiny. The area darkens, I know it is only clouds covering the sun, but somehow it adds to the feeling. An image appears at the edge of my visibility. A dark mishappened shape is resting on the bottom of the sea. I know it is the missing Vought F4U Corsair wreck! The one that is thought to have gone down on June 21, 1943 with Marine Lieutenant Smith as pilot. I signal Ken, and we spend the few remaining minutes on the bottom with the wreck photographing and surveying this habitat. The fuselage is in 114 ft. of water about 100 yards from its' prop and engine. Upside down, its landing gear struts upward. While rolls of amunition from the machine guns lie nearby unspent. Though the wreck is not covered with thousands of fish, the uniqueness of the species we saw on it well make up for any lack of fish. Japanese Pygmy Angels school, magnificent snake eels peer out of holes in the wings, and then several species we couldn't identify, (which is very unusual). What a sunken treasure!! This incredible habitat is protected by Midway Phoenix Corp. They have a one of a kind partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife. They are promoting ecotourism in a Fish and wildlife sanctioned preserve. this is a first in this type of partnerships. As divers and naturalists we will all benefit from these types of agreements. Rediscovering the Corsair was a total joy and a memory worth adding to my diving collection. But there were many excellent visions underwater at Midway. Schools of eagle rays, schools of mantas with 12 ft. wing spans, grey reef sharks and galapagos sharks fill the void on your safety stops. Large white margin morays and Java morays which can grow up to 8 ft long with amazing girths to endemic masked angelfish. Hawaiian Morwongs and Boarfish are under every ledge and accompanied by barred and spotted kifejaws. Hawaiian Groupers follow you around like puppies. Wonderful Hawaiian lionfish to the many different schools of jacks. Diving is great on Midway, check it out!


We have been in contact with John Randall about one of the mystery fishes on the wreck. John is the foremost authority on Hawaiian fishes and after sending him a picture is reply was:

Dear Ken and Linda: I think that orange fish with the bars is a juvenile of Caprodon schlegeli (Gunther), but I have never seen a juvenile, so not sure. Adults get up to 17 inches long, do not have bars, and live in about 500-600 feet or so.....Aloha, Jack

So, it appears to be a young deep water Schlegel's Red Bass or Grouper. A fish that John Randall has not seen before which doesn't happen everyday. These fish along with a number of other unusual species would most likely not survive an attempt to move the Corsair to shallower water. The plane also could easily breakup during such a move. For these reasons, Bubbles Below does not support such a move and instead would suggest moving the propellor and the engine closer to the fuselage.

Those interested in more info on Midway atoll can check out The Midway Island Homepage or book a trip there with Midway Marketing. Bubbles Below plans to run group trips to Midway Atoll in the near future. Those interested should e-mail us to get on the list and check back here for updates.