The flying boats.
Oban was a Second World War flying-boat base, with Catalina and Sunderland aircraft stationed at Ganavan, and the remains of several of these aircraft lie on the seabed nearby. Dive Oban & Argyll describe dives on flying-boat wrecks close to Dunstaffnage, one of which has been identified as a Sunderland. Visible remains include wing sections and tanks, propellers, machine guns and cockpit parts, much of it covered in silt.
What's down there.
- Wing sections with round fuel tanks
- Propellers
- Machine guns
- Cockpit components
- Perspex window
One Sunderland site west of Kerrera is reported at about 20 m; depths for the other sites are not published.
Dive Oban & Argyll describe conditions as challenging, making diving difficult and photography harder. Heavy silt cover.
How it got there.
Wreckage of RAF Coastal Command flying boats (Short Sunderland and Consolidated Catalina types) lost while operating from Oban during the Second World War. No source consulted gives the serial numbers, dates or circumstances of loss for the individual aircraft.
41 dives.
From the reconstructed log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.