# Screwing The Little Guy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 27, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793 "2004-03-27T20:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793/21 "2004-03-28T20:14:29Z")
I wonder what his name is too, sounds like an interesting story. This sunken ship, was it a military ship? If not, who are they to demand he go and retrieve the treasure? ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793/22 "2004-03-28T20:19:28Z")
I believe he is thinking of Mel Fisher The “Atocha” And things that did not really happen just in that manner… YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793/23 "2004-03-28T23:19:28Z")
I thought this thread would be a lurid accout of carnal activity with a dwarf. Dissapointed, I won’t be back. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793/24 "2004-03-28T23:53:07Z")
> [@](#): > > The pilot died and Navy personnel stripped the downed aircraft of its weapons and other equipment before leaving it. Do those of you with legal knowledge think this will be a major factor in the case? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793/25 "2004-03-29T00:20:54Z")
> [@Jimmy Joe Meager](#): > > I thought this thread would be a lurid accout of carnal activity with a dwarf. > > Dissapointed, I won’t be back. [Enjoy!](http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp09032002.shtml) Oh, stop it! It’s not really midget-porn… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793/26 "2004-03-29T01:49:11Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > This guy have a name? Tom Gurr. In 1968, the rule of thumb was that if you were outside the “three mile limit,” you were in international waters, and anything you found was subject to international salvage laws. Gurr found the remains of a Spanish treasure ship, the _San Jose De Las Animas_, and merrily began looting it… and part way through the process, was served by Uncle Sam. They’d changed the law. The “three mile limit” now began at a different point, having to do with the outer reef, not the shoreline. A much more detailed account can be found in _They Found Treasure_, by Robert F. Burgess. Or you could [click here](http://www.apex-ephemera.com/treasure/rebuttal/) and scroll about halfway down the page for a brief mention of the case. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793/27 "2004-03-29T20:35:29Z")
To answer **tomndebb** ’s earlier question, the aircraft never became salvagable property. Under long-standing US and international law, once a vessel becomes property of a nation’s navy, it remains property of that navy forever. Thus, the sunken _Bismark_ is still a ship of the German Navy, and the _PT-109_ is still a ship of the US Navy. When a WWII U-Boat is salvaged (as they are from time to time), permission (and assistance) from the German Government is required. The US Navy for many years has applied this same standard to its aircraft. This is reasonably well-known within the aircraft salvage community, which is why there are few Corsairs left to salvage. At a total guess, this guy may not have been plugged into that community. The Air Force does not apply this same standard, and old USAAF planes are salvagable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwing-the-little-guy/236793.md?page=1)