Last week a group of scuba divers came upon what is believed to be a rare World War II aircraft while diving off the coast of Jupiter, Florida.
Randy Jordan, owner of the scuba diving company Emerald Charters, told ABC News that he was diving amongst a group when some frightened fish alerted them to the presence of the aircraft about 185 feet below the water’s surface. According to Jordan, the airplane was lying upside down on the ocean floor, with its wings, tail and engine seemingly intact.
After returning to the location two days later and capturing underwater video footage of the wreckage, Jordan shared the data online at the Warbird Information Exchange and with other warbird buffs, who came to the conclusion that the aircraft could likely be a Curtiss Helldiver SB2C.
If that identification is accurate, the airplane would be the second Helldiver discovered by scuba divers in the past two years. The other recent discovery was made off the coast of South Maui in 2010.
The Helldiver was a two-seat dive-bomber first used in combat in 1943. While a handful of the aircraft are under restoration, only one is currently airworthy.
