On December 28th, 1944 this FM-2 Wildcat fighter plane crashed into Lake Michigan on an attempted takeoff from the U.S.S. Sable, one of two aircraft carriers used to train 17,000 pilots over the waters of Lake Michigan during WWII. Despite the plane losing engine power, rolling over the front of the ship and having its tail ripped off, the pilot survived. 

For nearly 68 years, the plane remained 200 ft. below the surface in Waukegan Harbor, IL until it was pulled out on December 7th, 2012 by A&T Recovery. The plane will undergo a full restoration for static display and permanent residency at the Glenview Hangar One Museum at the former Naval Air Station Glenview, Glenview, Cook County, Illinois. Restoration is being done by Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was selected by the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation to oversee restoration. The entire process will take up to 5 years to complete. His restoration team gets closer to bringing her back to pristine condition!