On April 11, 1944, Lt. Frank Moody, all of 22 years old, took off on a training flight from Selfridge Field, outside Detroit. His P-39 Airacobra suffered severe damage, and pilot and plane dove into the water at high speed.

Moody was more than 300 African-American pilots who trained to fly during World War II. At the time, the military was racially segregated and so these pilots were part of a separate unit, which became known as the Tuskegee Airmen, after Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, near which they trained. The Airmen bombed Axis positions in the Mediterranean area, including on Sicily and in Tunisia. They attacked Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Germany itself. The Airmen were known as the Fighting Red Tails, fiercely respected by the enemy. By the end of the war, the Airmen had made a major contribution to the Allied war effort, shooting down 109 German planes and raining destruction on hundreds of Axis positions and supply lines. The Airmen flew hundreds of missions, without losing a single bomber to enemy fire.

Divers discovered the wreckage of Moody's plane in 2014 and have explored the area several times since. They recently found an instrument panel containing a serial number, enabling them to identify the wreck. Because the plane was traveling at more than 200 miles an hour, it broke up into many parts that were scattered across a wide area, 32 feet below the surface of the lake.

Among the divers' discoveries was the cause of the crash: They found the propeller, which showed clear signs of being struck by the plane's own bullets. A problem with the onboard synchronization mechanism meant that the guns fired ammunition directly into the propeller, damaging it beyond repair and sending Moody to his death.

The nearby Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum in Detroit plans an exhibit to feature the aircraft, once enough of it has been recovered. Divers are also aware of three more such wrecks in Lake Huron.