Ever wondered about that recoverd Brewster F3A-1?

[Stans]

The one that made news headlines (in certain circles) because the US Navy considered a wrecked WW II aircraft to still be their property, even though they abandoned it. Here is the rest of the story.

http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/brewster/f3a-1.htm

The Minnesota man (Lex Cralley), who was in a court battle with the Navy over the remains of F3A-1 he found and recovered in a North Carolina swamp, won his lawsuit. Cralley is plans to exhibit his Corsair at EAA this year.

Below is the article that was posted at:

http://www.aero-news.net/

Court Ruling: Lex Cralley Can Keep His Corsair

Wed, 11 May '05

Six Year Battle Ends In Victory For Minnesota Mechanic

It took a special act of Congress, but after six years of legal fights, a 50-year old Northwest Airline mechanic can keep his Brewster Corsair.

A Minnesota federal judge last week settled a long-running lawsuit between Lex Cralley and the Justice Department over remains of the fighter.

"I've been under a cloud so long, it almost seems like a dream that it's over," Cralley told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Pioneer-Press.

The aircraft sits in pieces inside Cralley's workshed. But he's so thrilled that he plans to exhibit the warbird at AirVenture 2005 in Oshkosh, WI.

"It remains a piece of naval aviation history to be shared," said Cralley.

But he has his work cut out for him. Restoring the WWII Corsair to flight status will take years of meticulous reconstruction and well over a million dollars, he said. That's the price of dreaming big.

Cralley salvaged the Corsair wreckage 15 years ago from a swamp in North Carolina, where it had been buried in the muck after the aircraft went down during a training flight in 1944. The crash killed Marine Lt. Robin C. Pennington.

Cralley took the wreckage to his home in Princeton, MN, and began trying to figure out how to restore the elegant warbird. But almost ten years after he hauled the wrecked fighter home, the Navy decided it wanted its Corsair back. What was once the Navy's, officials argued, is always the Navy's.

That sparked a big battle -- not only in Minnesota, but in Washington, where members of Congress pointed to the Navy's attempts to reclaim the wreckage as yet another sign of out-of-control government.

05/12/2005 @ 09:20

[Shepherd]

I got some old underwaer the Navy gave me on a sub once, reckon they'll be coming to get them anytime soon?

I thought this guy moved to VA, became a dentist and sent out alot of spam. Good to hear he is doing ok.

[Gunny]

Glad he won that.

[Stans]

I'm glad too, maybe this will pave the way for more wrecks to be recovered and restored, even if only restored to static display.