The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven will host a presentation next month on efforts to preserve a World War II Tuskegee airplane that crashed into Lake Huron in 1944.
Maritime Museum Education Director Ashley Deming tell us a Bell P39 Airacobra flown by Tuskegee airman Lieutenant Frank Moody crashed into the lake during a training mission.
“The plane itself was discovered in 2014, and then the projects started after that to be able to document this wreck site, as well as start recovering it archeologically and conserving it to hopefully eventually be able to put something on display,” Deming said.
Wayne Lusardi, Michigan’s State Maritime Archaeologist, has been involved in those efforts, and he’ll be at the Maritime Museum on April 16 to talk about all of the work that’s gone into preserving this piece of history.
“He’s working on a number of projects, of course, around the state as a state maritime archaeologist. And the museum, we have consulted Wayne on a number of things that have maybe come through our doors related to shipwrecks.”
Deming says “Lake Huron Red Tails: Recovering a World War II Tuskegee Airplane” is the next installment of the museum’s Whispers Across the Water lecture series that celebrates the contributions of minority communities to Great Lakes maritime history.
It will be $10 for non-museum members to attend the lecture, and free for museum members. You can learn more right here.
