Yesterday, it was reported that Trinity resident Ian Le Breton discovered a panel headed ‘A4W/A1G Reactor Plant Manual’ washed up at L’Etacq around 18 months ago and had recently posted a photo of it online in the hope of gleaning more information.
The words ‘RESTRICTED DATA’ were written on the panel and it has since transpired that it most likely originated from a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier – the second-largest type of aircraft carrier ever built.
Now, a senior officer within the US Navy has confirmed that the object is the front cover of an operating manual from one of its ships and is contacting Mr Le Breton, a former Customs officer, to try to retrieve it. It is not clear what has happened to the rest of the document.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Le Breton, said he had initially not fully appreciated what he had found.
‘I did not consider the nature of it very deeply – I just thought it was a historical item and not of current relevance. I did not think it would raise any eyebrows, let alone any interest,’ he said.
‘When I looked on Wikipedia and noticed it had come from an aircraft carrier, it peaked my interest, though I thought it was more historical than current.
‘Generally speaking, I think when they [the US Navy] regard items as their property, not withstanding the intrinsic security issues, they automatically want it back.’
Mr Le Breton added that it was interesting how part of such a highly sensitive document was not designed to sink.
‘I put it in the kitchen sink, in two inches of fresh water, and it does float. It would be interesting to know why they would use a material that floats if it was such a confidential document,’ he said.
‘It is also difficult to work out how it ended up outside of an internal cabin.’
In a statement, Lieutenant Commander Monika Goodrich, of the US Navy, said that they were in the process of recovering the object.
‘I can confirm that this is US Government property and appears to be a cover for a manual that we use to operate our ships,’ she said.
‘The cover’s markings are intended to properly control information within the manual.
‘We regret this manual cover made it into the public and are reviewing measures for proper disposal. We are taking steps to obtain the manual cover.’
