Catalinas in Solomons
 

6yrs ago I was diving in the Solomon Is.
One night in the Gizo Hotel a local told me of 3 Catalinas that had been sunk in a mountain lake to stop the Japs getting them.
He said they were in good condition as the lake is freshwater (quite normal for a mountain lake I would suggest) and that he thought the only challenge to recovering them is/was crocodiles.

Fact or fiction, I have no idea but more importantly I have no idea where to start researching this topic... any help would be appreciated.

Post your enquiry at this site <a href="http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/vafrefugees/vafmsgboard.mv" target="_blank">Warbirds resource group</a> The guys there will help.

There is a Catalina embedded in the trees at the eastern shore of the lagoon in Diego Garcia. It was blown onshore during a Cyclone in 1943 and is still there. There's a lot of corosion and large chunks missing, but was still recognisable as a Catalina when I last saw it about a year ago. But anyone wanting to salvage it will have to cut down several large coconut palms, and then evict the hundreds of land crabs that have made it their home!

Mountain lake where? I don´t believe there are any lakes large enough for a Catalina in the Solomons, except on Rennell, and I don´t believe the Japanese ever were anywhere close to there.