Some of the wreckage of a World War II plane was pulled out of the depths of Lake Muskoka on Tuesday.
The plane crashed with another aircraft during a search and rescue mission back in 1940, and sank 30 feet to the bottom of the lake.
Flight Lieutenant Peter Campbell of the Royal British Air Force and Leading Aircraftsman Ted Bates of the Royal Canadian Air Force both died in the crash.
The team working on the recovery is impressed with what they’ve been able to pull up thus far.
“It's in remarkable condition considering it's been under water all these years,” said RCAF Major Jane Kennedy, the commanding officer for the recovery operation.
The recovery has been a delicate operation.
“The metal is deteriorating, and when we do salvage exercises like this we look for strong points,” said Royal Canadian Navy Lieutenant Commander Stephane Juilen.
“We have to be very careful.”
The team has already recovered one of the plane’s tires along with its landing gear, and the right wing with its gun still mounted.
Tomorrow, they’re planning to pull up the main fuselage of the aircraft.
Once all of the wreckage has been recovered, it will be handed over to the National Air Force Museum to be restored and shown at CFB Trenton, in eastern Ontario.
