Wreck Dive Curtiss SB2C-1 Helldiver, Mā`alaea Bay, Maui, Hawaii

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NOTE: This location is only approximate. Go on a dive tour for exact location. An historic two-seat naval aircraft sits upright in the sand of Mā`alaea Bay near Kīhei, landing gear retracted. This wreck is just one example of WWII history that can be found in the sanctuary. Discovered in 2010 by local dive shop owner Brad Varney, the wreck of the Helldiver is unique in that the tail number on the plane (rarely found) allowed for a speedy identification of the aircraft in its watery resting place. On August 31 1944, pilot William E. Dill and radioman Kenneth W. Jobe, members of patrol bomber squadron VB-4, were conducting dive bombing practice. During evasive maneuvers following their second steep dive on the target, the entire vertical tail assembly twisted to port, jamming the rudder controls. No longer able to safely control the aircraft, and unable to make the runway at Pu`unēnē, the pilot made a forced water landing approximately 1-2 miles south of the Naval Air Station. Both pilot and radioman were rescued. The craft sits in 50 feet of water, surrounded by sand, with only the tail fin broken off. The wreck is at rest in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. This aircraft is protected by the 2004 Sunken Military Craft Act (10 U.S.C. 113 Note and 118 Stat. 2094-2098): "No person shall engage in or attempt to engage in any activity directed at a sunken military craft that disturbs, removes, or injures any sunken military craft..."

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