AS mysteries go, the unknown final resting place of Australia's greatest aviator, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, has become a forgotten puzzle, speculated on only by aviation history enthusiasts.

One enthusiast, Sydney filmmaker Damien Lay, will travel this week to the Bay of Bengal, where Sir Charles disappeared in 1935, hoping to end the mystery.

Lay's previous films dealt with the Battle of Long Tan and the missing Japanese mini-submarine which attacked Sydney Harbour in World War II; now he will follow, not just in Sir Charles' steps, but in those of two other men who have also tried to find his resting place.

"Kingsford Smith is one of the great Australian heroes, as important to our history as Don Bradman or Ned Kelly, but we don't treat him with the same respect,'' said Lay, who leaves on Tuesday.

"He was undoubtedly one of, if not the, greatest figure in our history. It's a disgrace we do not know the whereabouts of his remains or the circumstances of his death.''

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http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25055717-5013605,00.html