Lake Ontario, New York — The wreck of a U.S. Air Force C-45 aircraft abandoned during flight by its crew in 1952 has been located in deep water off Oswego, New York.  Crippled by the failure of one of its two engines the plane continued on a 65 mile pilotless flight until it crashed into Lake Ontario.  Shipwreck explorers Jim Kennard, Roger Pawlowski and Roland Stevens located the aircraft while surveying a section of Lake Ontario for historic ships.
 

Engine failure and abandonment

On September 11, 1952, the C-45 was on a routine flight from Bedford, Massachusetts to Griffis Air Force Base near Rome, New York.  The left engine began failing about 40 miles southeast of Utica.  The aircraft started to lose altitude about 8 miles from Rome, NY.  Believing the plane would crash after one engine was disabled, the pilot, Lt. Col. Callahan, ordered his crew and passengers to parachute.  Jumping at an altitude of 2500 feet the three Air Force Officers and two civilians landed safely.   It was the first time any of them parachuted from an airplane.
 

Pilotless flight of the C-45

Prior to leaving the plane Callahan set the automatic pilot on a heading he believed would take it clear of any inhabited area. The aircraft, which had been headed towards the earth was now lighter by nearly 1,000 pounds and gained altitude. The increased height changed the course of the C-45 to a northwest heading for the next hour and 10 minutes until its fuel ran out.  At 11 PM the aircraft was reported flying very low over Oswego.   The owner and an employee of Rudy’s Refreshment Stand, west of town, saw a plane circling out over the lake just before it plunged into the water. They both reported that, “a powerful light, like that of a searchlight, appeared for several seconds after the crash.”
 

Initial search for aircraft wreckage unsuccessful

The search for the missing plane began immediately by three Coast Guard cutters. In addition, C-45 trainers, C-47 transports, and B-25 bombers combed the crash area for two days. When there was no wreckage to be found the search was called off.
 

Crew of U.S.A.F C-45

Lt. Col.  Charles A. Callahan 32 – Pilot (Monticello, Miss)
Lt. Sam Sharff, 31 (New York City)
Lt. Col. G. S. Lambert (Newport News, Va)
William P. Bethke – civilian technician (near Rome, NY)
Joseph M. Eannario – civilian observer (Rome, NY)
 

Search and Discovery

During the past three years our shipwreck exploration team has focused its search efforts on locating historic shipwrecks in Lake Ontario off Oswego, New York.  Last season we reported several significant discoveries that included the oldest confirmed schooner Atlas, lost in 1839, the schooner Ocean Wave, lost in 1890, and the Roberval, one of only two steel steamers lost in Lake Ontario.  In addition to shipwrecks there are several aircraft that have been on our watch list including a B-24 lost in the lake in 1944, a C-47 lost near Sandy Pond in 1944, and the C-45 near Oswego.   We were quite surprised when the image of an aircraft appeared on our sonar display as it was well beyond the mile offshore as reported by a few eye witnesses. 
 

Wreck of the C-45

We obtained detailed sonar images of the wreck of the C-45 by utilizing high resolution DeepVision side scan sonar.  These images provide an almost aerial photographic image of the wreck and allow us to understand how the wreckage lies on the bottom of the lake.  The sonar search was followed up by deploying a VideoRay Pro IV remote operated vehicle to collect video of the wreck site.  We were amazed to see that the C-45 is almost totally intact.  The fiberglass nose cone is missing as are the vertical stabilizers. One of the blades of the left propeller broke off and lies nearby on the bottom.  Part of the windshield was broken and the left side of the body behind the wing has been torn away.  Otherwise it is all there.   This probably explains why no debris could be found floating on the surface of the lake during the searches conducted by the US Coast Guard and US Air Force.   
 
For our team member and retired Air Force Reserve pilot, Lt. Col. Pawlowski, it was a special discovery.  As a young boy, age 9, his first ride was in a B-18 aircraft, the commercial version of the C-45.
 
Shipwreck hunters make rare find on Lake Ontario: Air Force Plane that went down in ’53