A sonar ping reverberated, producing an image of a big object sitting on the bottom of a lake. The divers prepare their equipment as their boat pinpoints the precise location of the object detected by their sonar. The divers, who work for a salvage company, then dived into the deep, icy waters of Lake Michigan. The form of an airplane became clearer as they descended deeper. A closer examination revealed that the debris was that of a fighter plane. But this was no ordinary plane. It was a fighter plane from World War II. How did a relic of the twentieth-century global conflict end up at the bottom of a lake?
A Historical Review
When German forces invaded Poland in 1939, the world was once again thrown into confusion and conflict. France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany two days later. That was the commencement of World War II. Battles were being fought in various countries. The United States attempted to keep out of the conflict while assisting its friends. That would soon alter. An unsatisfactory discussion between the United States and Japan resulted in Japan's surprise strike. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise military raid against the United States naval facility in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. This attack pushed the country into World War II.