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SOUTH COUNTY — As the bent prop of the wounded, but still intact Helldiver bomber slowly emerged from Lower Otay Reservoir Friday afternoon, two F-18 Navy Hornets buzzed the lake.

Coincidence or tribute? No one was sure, but it sure looked like the new Navy was paying tribute to the men who fought before them, to a pilot's plane that finally, after more than 65 years on the muddy bottom of Lower Otay Lake, was brought to the surface.

With a crowd of hundreds on shore, many applauding the sight, the SB2C-4 World War II Helldiver, which crashed into Lower Otay on May 28, 1945, finally was lifted from its muddy grave. Hundreds of people had gathered at the lake all week as the long and tedious process of raising the plane took longer than expected and involved more equipment. The plane was known as "The Beast" because pilots struggled to control it, and it was a monster to retrieve from Otay's mud.

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The National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla., will have the plane transported to Florida. The cost of the recovery was estimated to be $125,000. Restoration could run $200,000 and more, with the cost for the raising and all of the expenses for restoration coming from donations to the museum’s foundation.

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Restoration could run $200,000

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Originally posted by SR4759:

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Restoration could run $200,000

Someone is partaking of illicit chemistry.

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Originally posted by KY Jim:
Last I read there was only ONE Helldiver still flying, and that was awhile back...