Columbia, SC. – Not many people today realize that during World War II, beautiful Lake Murray played an important role in training B-25 Mitchell medium bomber flight crews. With its many deserted islands and vast area, the lake was an ideal training ground for bombing target runs, not all of which ended successfully. On April 4, 1943, one such B-25 developed engine trouble and was ditched by its crew into the waters of Lake Murray, where it stayed until it was raised more than 60 years later.
The South Carolina State Museum will present a series of programs featuring Greenville physician Bob Seigler, Columbia environmental and aviation lawyer John Adams Hodge and Camden media specialist Bill Vartorella, who formed the Lake Murray B-25 Rescue Project and were the driving forces in recovering the aircraft. The programs are presented in conjunction with the “mini-exhibit” Catch of the Day: Recovery of the Lake Murray B-25.
On Saturday, June 21 at 2 p.m. in the State Museum’s auditorium, Hodge will present “Engineering the Lake Murray B-25 Recovery.” The lecture will feature images and film footage from the 2005 recovery.
Project leader Seigler, whose dream to find the plane took 16 years to realize, will speak on Saturday, August 9, also at 2 p.m. His talk, “The Loss and Recovery of the Lake Murray B-25” will cover the 60-year saga of the loss of the B-25 bomber and the subsequent project to recover, preserve and publicly display the aircraft.
A program featuring Vartorella is planned for Sept. 20.
For more information on these programs, call (803) 898-4952, e-mail publicprograms@scmuseum.org or visit www.southcarolinastatemuseum.org .
In a huge undertaking, this B-25 bomber was pulled out of Lake Murray in 2005, 63 years after it was ditched during training. Aviation attorney John Hodge of the Lake Murray B-25 Rescue Project will present a talk with film footage on “Engineering the Lake Murray B-25 Recovery” June 21 at 2 p.m. at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia.
Photo courtesy S.C. State Museum.