The wreckage of the aircraft is 800 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean off Miami VIDEO Watch a video survey of the plane, produced for Champlin Windows Media 28K 80K

July 9, 1999
Web posted at: 12:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT)

In this story: Crashed, sank in 1943 Torpedo bombers in action RELATED STORIES, SITES

MIAMI (CNN) -- A rare World War II-era U.S. torpedo bomber that sank off the coast of Miami more than 50 years ago is officially the property of an Arizona collector, a judge has ruled. But the collector's attorney said the federal government is likely to appeal the decision.

Doug Champlin, a private collector in Mesa, Arizona, claimed ownership after he paid a treasure hunter $75,000 for the location and a videotape of the submerged Douglas TBD-1 Devastator.

U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King ruled Thursday in Miami that Champlin, not the U.S. government, owns the plane. Champlin also won hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney's and finder's fees.

He hopes to bring the plane to the surface by spring.

The aircraft has been in about 800 feet of water since it crashed on a training mission in 1943. It was found in good condition and videotaped by a treasure hunter in 1990.

The torpedo bomber, a three-man aircraft, was the last of 100 to survive World War II.

The aircraft were considered too big and slow by experts. They flew at wave-top levels, dropping torpedoes, and were used to attack Japanese aircraft carriers.

The Devastators flew at wave-top levels, dropping torpedoes, and were used to attack Japanese aircraft carriers

Champlin's attorney, David Horan, told CNN that he expects the federal government to file an appeal for the rights to the aircraft. "The one thing that the U.S. government doesn't run out of is money or attorneys," Horan said.

King's ruling essentially says that the U.S. government can file claim to the plane -- but Champlin would have to be paid for his salvaging efforts, including attorney's fees.

Justice Department lawyers were not immediately available for comment.

An entire squadron of 15 Devastators were shot down during the Battle of Midway, which is considered to be the turning point in World War II. The Devastators drew Japanese fighters low enough that U.S. dive bombers could swoop in and sink four enemy aircraft carriers, according to military records.

The U.S. Navy says that the plane found, with tail number 0353, survived the Battle at Midway and later, during the Battle at Coral Sea, flew off the USS Yorktown, which was eventually destroyed.

It was brought to Miami for training purposes and, in 1943, it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and sank. Its pilot survived, but the plane was left in the ocean by the Navy, which claimed ownership of the aircraft.

The Navy asserted its claim, according to Champlin's attorney, after the collector and the National Naval Aviation Center in Pensacola, Florida, agreed to a swap. Champlin would recover the Devastator and trade it to the museum for two F4F Wildcat Fighter planes.

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