Vietnam era SkyCrane recovers WW2 era Flying Boat

Alaska Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

In Gregorian year 1987, an Alaskan Army National Guard Sikorsky CH-54B Tahre (aka Skycrane) was used to recover a World War Two era (built in 1943) OA-10 PBY Catalina, which had been abandoned on Dago Lake in 1947, and sold as scrap for a whopping $58!

AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

The Canadian Vickers built Catalina was abandoned due to engine problems. While rotting near Dago Lake it got the nickname Queen of Dago Lake, while Dago Lake got the nickname PBY Lake. In the 1980s, the members of the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum decided to fund a recovery operation with the help of the Army National Guard. The original hope was to restore the flying boat to operational condition.

Sling load gear was flown-in by UH-1 Iroquois (Huey). AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

Two moves by helicopter were made in 1984 and 1987.

AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

The first try failed after a strap broke, forcing the Catalina to be abandoned again, this time on Lake Clark Pass.

AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

The photos in this article are from the 1987 move.

Crane operator viewpoint, note the stabilizing drogue chute streaming from the tail of the Catalina. AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

Skycrane named Penelope flies off with the OA-10. AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

Flying high! AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

Penelope delivers the goods. AANG photo by Sergeant Kevin L. Bishop.

Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum video from 2020, revealing that the Catalina is still languishing. About seven minutes into the video you can see it is actually being used as an awning for benches for tourists: