March 21--Beneath the waves of Lake Michigan, off the shores of Chicago, rest many lost ships and airplanes that tell important parts of Chicago's history.
So said Taras Lyssenko, co-owner of A Recovery of Chicago, at Aurora Navy League Council 247's recent monthly meeting.
He was accompanied at the event by Keith Pearson, the firm's chief diver.
According to Lyssenko, A divers have recovered about 40 Navy planes and a World War I German submarine from Lake Michigan since the 1980s. The submarine sank during a tour around the lake after the war.
The speakers showed artifacts recovered from downed planes. They included a life-raft paddle, morphine kit, an emergency water can, and a food bottle that once contained Horlick's malted-milk tablets.
Most of the downed ships and airplanes remained lost to time until A surveyed the lake's southern basin floor.
The firm's goal is to retrieve historically significant aircraft lost during aircraft carrier training operations during World War II.
Since the late 1980s, dozens of historic airplanes have been recovered by A with the help of Crowley's Yacht Yard, Lyssenko said.
Planes were recovered for the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, for display and presentation to the American public.
One plane, a F4F-3 Wildcat fighter, is exhibited at O'Hare Airport.
Lyssenko said A also located significant shipwrecks that include the Wells Burt, Wings of the Wind, Rotarian and the former German World War I U-boat UC-97.
Many of the shipwrecks have been studied and charted to preserve the history they represent, he said.
