Sealark Exploration, Jackson, WY (2026)

05/24/2026

MEMORIAL DAY 2026
On this Memorial Day Weekend, Sealark Exploration’s multinational team pays tribute to the fallen from all American Wars, especially the over 72,000 US Missing in Action (MIAs) from the Second World War. Since our 2019 founding as a US 501c3 non-profit, Sealark has executed 3 successful contract missions in partnership with The Department of War’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) in The Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. These missions involved the location of over-water aircraft losses from WWII with the potential of recovering up to 8 US MIAs. In addition, prior to our official founding, members of the Sealark Team were responsible for the location and recovery of Lt (jg) Irvin Rink who was lost in an aerial engagement with Japanese aircraft in the Solomon Islands. Most recently, Sealark was credited with the location of a PBY Catalina off Vanuatu and the recovery of Aviation Radioman 2nd Class Robert R. Cyr, Jr. Cyr was buried with full military honors last month in Florida. We currently await the identification of additional remains we have recovered.

Our missions are extremely complex with challenging operating environments. Locations are remote with little support infrastructure and dangerous wreck conditions. Nevertheless, Sealark has a 100% success rate in its missions of locating over-water aircraft losses. Success is grounded in a proprietary archival database on MIA cases in the South Pacific Area, technical expertise in multi-beam sonar and solid local connections and cultural understanding. Our mission ex*****on is both time and cost effective, with no mission exceeding 3 weeks and $250,000.

We now face a challenge as DPAA has suffered deep budget cuts and has constricted funds for these more complex over-water cases. We have a considerable roster of cases involving both multi-crew and single pilot losses where our expertise positions us for a high success rate. As we prioritize these targets we will launch a funding initiative for sponsors. An immediate goal is to raise some $150,000 for a November 2026 mission.

While memories of our fallen warriors fade with generations, we must remember that for many families WWII isn’t over. We know from first-hand experience that the quest for a brother, uncle or, yes, even a father, goes on. It’s what drives our passion and success. Please connect with us here on facebook to learn what role you could play in supporting this important mission with a tax-deductible donation.

Post by Mark Roche, Sealark Exploration Finance Director.

04/25/2026

On ANZAC Day 2026, Sealark Exploration Inc remembers the Royal New Zealand Air Force Corsair pilots and the heavy sacrifice the small country of New Zealand made in the South Pacific during WWII. The Corsair was the most aircraft of one type that the RNZAF ever had - some 424 on charge, equipping 14 squadrons in 1944-1945. Some 60 RNZAF Corsair pilots never came home. About 3/4 are missing. New Zealand's war dead and those with no known grave from the Pacific War are commemorated at the New Zealand Military Cemetery at Bourail in New Caledonia. There are 235 NZ graves at the cemetery and the names of 282 on the panels of the missing. By far, most of the missing are RNZAF airmen.

Sealark Exploration, Inc., remembers the sacrifice made by Kiwi Corsair pilots and in this post publishes photos of four RNZAF Corsair archaeological sites in the South Pacific of Corsairs NZ5255, NZ5328, NZ5354 and NZ5400. Three of these sites are associated with MIA. The preservation and respectful regard of these significant sites is a crucial way to commemorate the human sacrifice made during WWII in the South Pacific. Sealark Exploration continues to document and record WWII sites in the South Pacific, especially MIA sites, to successfully return loved ones to their families.

The New Zealand Military Cemetery at Bourail was dedicated on October 7, 1945, and on May 8, 1955, the Cross of Sacrifice at the cemetery was unveiled in a poignant ceremony. Leading the ceremony was Major General Harold Barrowclough, the commander of the NZ 3rd Division which fought throughout the Solomons. At the ceremony, he said:
"In proud and affectionate memory of our honoured dead, and with this pledge on behalf of all my countrymen; that we shall ever strive to be worthy of their sacrifice"

LEST WE FORGET

[The photos of the New Zealand Military Cemetery at Bourail, New Caledonia, were taken by Ewan Stevenson on New Years Day 2024].
Post by Ewan Stevenson.

04/21/2026

The DEEP Corsair. This submerged Corsair site offshore the WWII Marine Air Base at Quoin Hill Field, Efate Island, Vanuatu, is not commonly dived, so it was a great privilege for Sealark Exploration to conduct an archaeological survey with two dives on site on 2 January 2026. When Peter and Sonny Whitelaw of Sailaway Charters first found the site in 1985, the fuselage, cockpit, and wings were together as a unit in 30m of water. Today, the rear fuselage and tail have broken off and are missing. Hopefully some underwater diver searches in the locality can re-locate the empennage. The engine and dislocated propellor are both near each other, further up the reef at 20m depth. The very helpful and knowledgeable local Peter Whitelaw was instrumental in organizing the diving. Willie Kenneth of Pele Island Coral Garden Tour was the dive guide for the site and provided the diving vessel. Willie is a Eco-warrior and grows coral gardens off his home village of Worasiviu on Pele island. The coral gardens are in stunning condition in the crystal-clear water and Willie runs snorkeling tours to it. John Warmington, who, with Sandy, runs The Critter Spotter and Karma Waters Vanuatu villa accommodation provided crucial diving support. John and Sandy are based at nearby Havannah Harbour Estates so were handy to the dive site. John and Sandy are so supportive, it made the diving fun, besides making it happen. Willie Kenneth put on a nice lunch for the team during the surface interval at his village; I wont forget the chicken casserole, it was delicious and just what we needed. Sitting in the shade at lunch on Pele was so peaceful and relaxing. Sealark Exploration collected a photogrammetry data set, mapped the site, gathered metrics, detail photos, and video. Willie knows the site well and confirmed the tail went missing after JUDY and KEVIN cyclones in March 2023. Sealark is working to identify the site but it's a work in progress. From historical research, there are 22 Corsairs expended in the area!. At least 6 crashed in the sea, at least 2 are MIA sites, and the balance crashed on land or are unknown fate. The photos depict the site, the amicable Ni-Van Willie Kenneth, and the team at lunch on Pele Is (left to right John Warmington, Peter Whitelaw, Mack Stevenson (Ewan's son). The diver above the fuselage is 21yo Mack Stevenson making a systematic documentary video record of the site. The video lights used by Mack are 15,000 lumen bigblue VL15000P lights. We have found these perfect for archaeological video work and 100% reliable over many dives. They are awesome. Note the birdcage canopy and the 'bubble' or 'blister' at the front which housed the Liberty 749 mirror. Please note the site is located in the channel between Pele and Efate and the current was strong on both dives, despite attempting to time dives with high/low tide dead times. This is not an easy tourist dive. This dive requires experience. Due to the current it was hard work. You need to have good diving fitness and good buoyancy control or you can get into trouble. The diving was conducted from a fibreglass long boat and required reasonable lengths of swimming against the current. Sealark Exploration is most grateful to Willie Kenneth, John Warmington, and Peter Whitelaw for such a successful day. Please FOLLOW Sealark Exploration would be a great help. As per Sealark protocols, to help preserve the integrity of the site, nothing was removed from it. Unfortunately, other divers are reported to have removed radio equipment. Such souvenired items are often discarded later when the poor corrosion status is realized, and the smell from rotting dead Marine organisms becomes too much to bare! Please note we are sponsored by bigblue lights. Post by Ewan Stevenson.

03/29/2026

A video made during restoration on 25 January 2020 of the earliest F4U-1 Corsair that has ever been restored. It's located at Robert J. Jarrett's Classic Jets Fighter Museum in Hanger 107 at Parafield Airport, South Australia. The Corsair, F4U-1, BuNo. 02270, was about the 118th Corsair built out of 12,582 Corsairs ever made. The restoration has been painstakingly fabricated from highly corroded wings, main beam, and empennage recovered from a shallow lagoon off Efate Island in Vanuatu in the 2000s. The lagoon is adjacent Quoin Hill Field where in 1944, U.S. Marine aviators were being trained by MAG-21 and the 2nd MAW. The Corsairs used for training were old, worn-out planes, returned from service in the Solomons and were not popular with the fresh young pilots. A number of the Corsairs suffered mechanical issues and crashed and ditched nearby the field. However, that was not the reason for 02270's demise. On 4 May 1944, 2nd Lt. James A. Vittitoe ran out of fuel during a botched training exercise where the strike group got lost, and he ditched in shallow waters off the field. Post by Ewan Stevenson. Please note, to be precise, the National Insignia videoed was valid from August 14, 1943 as per instruction AN-1-9b, not "September" as I state. However, these higher echelon instructions took many months to be implemented in the field as paintwork was understandingly much lower priority than keeping the old Corsairs flying and maintaining the training regime. Please follow and support Sealark Exploration to see more posts on WWII sites in the South Pacific and our ongoing MIA work.

03/16/2026

It was a super-impressive sight to walk into Hanger 107 at Parafield Airport near Adelaide, South Australia, on 25 January 2020, and see a freshly painted, "new" looking Corsair! Although the Corsair was heavily in the midst of restoration process, it was already one of the most complete and beautiful Corsairs I had ever seen. The fact that it was born from a heavily corroded, incomplete, Corsair frame, F4U-1, BuNo. 02270, from the lagoon off Quoin Field, Efate Island and severely damaged Corsair F4U-1, BuNo. 02608, salvaged from Espiritu Santo Island, was just incredible. The amount of expertise, hard work, thousands of labour hours and dollars to produce the Corsair in Hanger 107 at this point was hard to imagine and appreciate. But Robert J. "Bob"Jarrett and a great team had done it. There are a thousand dreams of restoring warbirds out of jungle wrecks, but only a handful of people have ever made it happen because it is very difficult and terribly expensive. It takes many years to accomplish, and most projects fail. The un-fathomed costs spiral out of control and the restoration stops. When I visited, the engine was not installed, and the Corsair somehow looked fierce and angry. It just dominated the hanger. Bob Jarrett was downsizing his Classic Jets Fighter Museum and many planes were sold and gone, but Bob would not let the Corsair go; it was his favourite. I was more used to seeing a Corsair in bits, corroded, crumpled, shattered, bent. It was like a dream to see the smooth panels, the colours, everything in it's correct place; the real contours of the aircraft. How all the pieces come together. Bob explained to me the plane would not fly. It would be a static museum display. He admitted it needed several more million dollars to make it fly. As a static display, it's educational value is significant, it is very impressive looking, and in a museum it will continue as such for centuries, provided it's looked after. The photos depict various aspects of the restoration of Birdcage Corsair, BuNo. 02270, and Mr. Robert J. "Bob"Jarrett standing with his favourite project. I am most grateful to Bob for the warm hospitality and Corsair enthusiasm during my visit. Currently at this time, the Corsair, BuNo. 02270, is for sale. Photos by Ewan Stevenson on 25 January 2020. Post by Ewan Stevenson. It is rumored the engine still remains on the site of Corsair, BuNo. 02608, on Santo. This was 2nd Lt. Wayland E. Bennett's aircraft and the author would like to know an accurate location of this site on Espiritu Santo Island. Please contact us if you can help, we would like to make a precise archaeological record of the site.

03/15/2026

Video of the highly corroded 2000 Horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8 engine from 2nd Lt. James A. Vittitoe's early Corsair, BuNo. 02270. He ditched here in the lagoon off Quoin Hill, Efate Island, Vanuatu, on 4 May 1944. The rest of the plane was salvaged in the 2000's and went to Australia. It's fortunate the salvager's left the engine (too corroded) as it is now an archaeological marker for the original site. Erick Tom relates some archaeology of the site and the legendary, intrepid, 79 yo Dave Moran also features. Video by Ewan Stevenson on 29 July 2022.

03/15/2026

THE SALVAGED CORSAIR. Some 600 meters from the Shallow Corsair, is another Corsair archaeological site in the lagoon off Quoin Hill, Efate Island, Vanuatu. This Corsair was skillfully ditched in about a meter depth of water by 2nd Lt. James A. Vittitoe at 12:15 hours on the 5 May 1944. His plane, (BuNo. 02770, MSN 2900, SOF 118) ran out of fuel after a poorly managed exercise involving escorting SBD dive bombers which got lost. Due to the easier accessibility, the fate of this site was to be radically different to the Shallow Corsair. On 2 April 1990, James Vittitoe and his son and his wife returned to Efate Island to relocate the Corsair. James remembered to within 200 yards of where he force-landed which was sufficient to find the plane again. It was a nostalgic reunion. The remains of this Corsair sat in the shallows for half a century until about the early 2000s, when a New Zealander salvaged the tail and then an Australian salvaged the wings and mid-section. All that was left was the severely corroded Pratt & Whitney 2000 horsepower R-2800-8 Double Wasp 18-cylinder engine and some tiny pieces of wreckage on land where the salvagers dragged the sections up. The sections and material from this plane and from Corsair F4U-1, BuNo. 02608, MSN 3238, SOF 456 of 2nd Lt. Wayland E. Bennett's MIA site on Espiritu Santo were used by Robert J. "Bob" Jarrett to manufacture a Corsair for static display at his Classic Jets Fighter Museum at Parafield Airport in South Australia. The engine was not salvaged from site as it was considered not worthy due to it's corrosion state. The engine now remains as an archaeological marker for 2nd Lt. Vittitoe's historic incident in May 1944. For heritage visitors that couldn't snorkel or didn't want to swim to see a Corsair at an original WWII site, Vittitoe's plane was accessible by wading, but with the plane salvaged, that is no longer an option. His Corsair was about the 118th Corsair manufactured out of 12,582 built. As such, it was a historic, early, 'Bird-cage" Corsair. The poor-conditioned engine can be reached through Erick Tom's property at Matanawora past Emua; his gate is off the Ring Road on the left at GPS 17° 32.207'S, 168° 24.753'E. His phone numbers are +678 542-7057 and +678 777-7205. The photos depict the R-2800-8 engine from Vittitoe's Corsair, Erick Tom's dingy with Dave Moran, Erick's business card, a photo of the site in 1975 by renowned researcher William "Bill" Bartsch. Site photos by Ewan Stevenson on 29 July 2022. Post by Ewan Stevenson.

03/14/2026

A video of The Shallow Corsair (F4U-1, BuNo. 02571, MSN 3201, SOF 424) off Erick Tom's place at Matanawora on the North Coast of Efate Island, Vanuatu. In a few minutes, Erick can take you out to the site in a small dingy. His phone +678 542-7057 or +678 777-7205. This video was shot by Ewan Stevenson on a visit to the site on 29 July 2022. The video start shows how shallow the site is with the surface in view and the right side of the vertical fin. Then the video follows the leading edge of the right horizontal stabilizer. Sealark Exploration practices recording aircraft archaeology sites for further detail study for comparison and better understanding of MIA sites in the South Pacific. On this earlier visit there was much more marine plant growth on the aircraft.

03/10/2026

Short video by Mack Stevenson on 31 December 2025 of the Shallow Corsair in the lagoon off the North coast of Efate Island, Vanuatu, South Pacific. See previous post for more detail and site access.

03/08/2026

THE SHALLOW CORSAIR off Quoin Hill airfield. In a shallow lagoon off the North East corner off Efate island, Vanuatu, sits a very intact U.S. Marines F4U-1 Corsair. (Skip to the bottom for details on how to visit the site). This archaeological site is the most significant WWII aircraft site remaining on Efate Island today that provides evidence of the extensive use of Efate Island as a training base and logistics hub by American forces during WWII. There were other WWII aircraft sites nearby on land and in the lagoon, but in the 1960s-2000s they were erased by aircraft salvagers. THE SHALLOW CORSAIR is the most intact and accessible aircraft archaeological site on Efate Island today, and as such, is a precious and rare site. Actually, I think it's the most intact and accessible F4U-1 Corsair in the entire South Pacific. Many folk are not readers and most people don't read history, so when original sites like this can be visited, they can make a significant impact and arouse curiosity. Evidence of the WWII in the South Pacific is becoming harder to see. Some aircraft enthusiasts maintain aircraft sites in the Pacific should be removed and salvaged to arrest corrosion and vandalism. The Shallow Corsair is solid evidence this is not always the case and the sites can serve a significant educational and heritage role for many years. This remarkable site is over 80 years old and has survived numerous cyclones. Sealark Exploration has been documenting this site in detail and found the Sequence of Fabrication (SOF) No. 424 and BuNo. 02571 on site. The MSN is 3201. The BuNo. is listed against "Hell's Angel" 1st Lt. George B. Dixon, Jr., USMCR, of VMF-321 "The Hell's Angels" squadron. In the associated incident, 1st Lt. Dixon was practicing night landings on 5 December 1943 on nearby Quoin Hill airfield, when on landing approach, his left wing struck the airfield, sheared off a runway beacon, and cartwheeling the plane down down the runway. Very luckily, 1st Lt. Dixon survived with no injuries. The problem is, The Shallow Corsair has been carefully and skillfully ditched in a lagoon and is clearly not the same aircraft or incident. Sealark has found site archaeology often interestingly throws up curved balls like this which proves the historical record is not always correct. This is alarming, since finding a BuNo. or SOF No. is primary archaeological identification of a site and with it perhaps an associated MIA., but demonstrates great care and other means (particular DNA ID) needs to be employed in the identification process. In addition, the BuNo. 02571 should have SOF No. 419, but on site it is actually +4. This misalignment has now been found on a number of Corsair archaeological sites proving the neat Chance-Vought paperwork dated 14 August 1943 and updated 29 February 1944 listing SOF No's assigned to BuNo's is not quite as orderly as listed. The SOF No. definitely helps and gets you close to identifying a site. The site is located off Erick Tom's property at Matanawora on the Northeast coast of Efate. From Port Vila it takes 50 mins or so to get there. Erick has been guiding visitors to the site for a reasonable fee for over 25 years and is a super friendly, helpful, guy. To arrange a visit, give him a phone call on +678 542-7057 or +678 777-7205. Snorkeling around the site is great fun in the warm shallow lagoon water. The site is about 2m (6 feet) deep to the sand seafloor. At very low tide, the plane almost breaks the surface. The wings are usually buried completely in the sand except for the right wing tip. It is best to visit the site at high tide or when the tide is coming in and Erick will advise when it is best. Otherwise, the water is dirty, you can't see the Corsair properly, and because of the low water, you'll end up pushing the dinghy through the mangrove mud which is not fun (some people might enjoy the mud?), so listen to Erick's advice. Erick uses a little dingy to take two people at a time out to the site with an outboard motor through a tunnel in the mangroves. It takes just a few minutes. It's best to get into your swim suit before getting in the dingy. The gate to Erick's property is off the ring road, look for the sign (see photo) on the left when heading East. The gate is at 17 degrees 32.207'S, 168 degrees 24.753'E. The photos were taken on 30 - 31 December 2025 by Ewan Stevenson and depict various details of the site, The SOF No. 424, a drone shot of the site, the lights we use to document, the entrance sign and gate and Erick Tom with Ewan Stevenson. Post by Ewan Stevenson.

03/04/2026

After a lengthy surface interval time, during which there was a tide change, we decided to attempt a 2nd dive on The Tenaru Bay Corsair off Guadalacanal on 8 June 2025. These photos were from the 2nd dive. We were highly privileged to survey one of the most intact, completely original, WWII aircraft we have ever seen. The fabric on the moving surfaces and outer wing panels had rotted away and the magnesium instrument panel had dissolved due galvanic corrosion, and, typical for a ditching, the solid aluminum Hamilton Standard 6443A-21 propeller blades were missing too. Also rotted away were the wooden ailerons. There are other small sections missing but otherwise the Corsair is complete. The radio antennae wire is still present, but fallen alongside the right side of the fuselage. This dive was the closest experience to traveling in a time machine back to circa 1943, some 83 years ago. It was an awesome experience. Sites like this, needless to say, are rare, and we treat the site with great care and respect. Commander Matt Wray can be seen in the photos carefully examining the cockpit area for human remains. Sealark is very thorough and experience has taught us to examine and record every site methodically with MIA in mind. Sites get mixed up all the time. Assumptions are sometimes wrong. With only a few minutes on site, it is always intense, as every minute is devoted to making a detail record of the site for later analysis. As per standard Sealark protocols, nothing is removed or disturbed on site. To maintain the site's amazing integrity and condition, we recommend divers do not sit in the aircraft, as the cockpit equipment and structures are fragile and easily damaged by bulky divers tanks and gear. Note in the photos are the radio antennae wire, the bubble in the bird cage canopy for the Liberty 749 rear view mirror, the early tall phenolic radio mast, and the empty slot atop the windshield for the Brownscope rear view periscope. A large plate coral grows on the left cockpit sill. Many more archaeological features are recorded in the photo and video data set that helps in later analysis to confirm the identity of the site. This site survey was made possible with generous assistance from Fred Douglas of Breakwater Cafe in Honiara, Solomon Islands and from Dave Pearce at Emperor Divers Honiara. Post by Ewan Stevenson.

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