mr_lits Posted December 7, 2014 Share #1 Posted December 7, 2014 Recently went on a mountaineering adventure up here in Alaska. In the heart of the Talkeetna mountains lies the wreckage of a B29 on what has become aptly known as the Bomber Glacier. The wreckage is smeared across a mile long debris field ending in the fuselage and wings. The front of the plane lies several hundred yard up glacier to the site highest point. Remarkably the plane is still recognizable after 50 years of rotting in the elements. As you proceed towards the wreckage you begin by passing a wheel and then an engine and mangled prop and by the time you get to the mass of the plane it is evident the force of the impact to have strewn debris that far and wide. A bit of history on the plane and its demise. 15 Nov 1957: A TB-29, 44-70039, assigned to the 5040th Radar Evaluation Flight, 5040th Consolidation Maintenance Group, Elmendorf AFB, crashed 39 miles southeast of Talkeetna at around 1822. The crew had taken off from Elmendorf AFB at 0954 under instrument flight rules on a flight path to the Aircraft Control and Warning radar stations at Campion near Galena and then Murphy Dome north of Fairbanks. It was on a ground radar calibration mission. The flight covered 1,800 nautical miles with an estimated ten hours in the air. The training bomber carried fourteen hours worth of fuel and a crew of eight plus an instructor pilot. It was on the final leg of an approach to Elmendorf AFB when the crash occurred. and a couple of other links to more photos: http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Air/Boeing-B-29-Superfortress/1326044/L/?width=1024&height=694&sok=&photo_nr=1&prev_id=&next_id=1324303http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Air/Boeing-B-29-Superfortress/1323697/L/?width=1024&height=780&sok=&photo_nr=9&prev_id=1324273&next_id=1323654 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted December 7, 2014 Share #2 Posted December 7, 2014 Far out. Thanks for posting. What happened to the crew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navybean Posted December 7, 2014 Share #3 Posted December 7, 2014 Cool pics, did the crew survive? I am assuming the wreckage has been picked over for souvenirs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raylemere Posted December 7, 2014 Share #4 Posted December 7, 2014 wow hope the crew got out safe but nice pictures of the wreck! -ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_lits Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted December 7, 2014 Six dead. Navybean, the wreckage has been picked at but most visitors respect that people died there. There is also a plaque riveted right to the fuselage.. or what is left of it. at bit more history found here: http://blog.blueiceaviation.com/photo-and-story-of-the-day-more-things-found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted December 7, 2014 Share #6 Posted December 7, 2014 I think I'd have a hard time taking anything from a crash like that. Honestly, whether it is true or not, the story of Lady B. Goode always stuck with me. SUpposedly, one of the crews that found her needed parts, and there were some usable pieces in the wreck. They crashed and burned too. Cue twilight zone theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvmhm Posted December 7, 2014 Share #7 Posted December 7, 2014 For the Lady Be Good: A C-54, which had several autosyn transmitters from the Lady Be Good installed, had to throw cargo overboard to land safely because of propeller difficulties. A C-47 that received a radio receiver crashed into the Mediterranean. A U.S. Army de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter with an armrest from the bomber crashed in the Gulf of Sidra. Only a few traces of the plane washed ashore and one of these was the armrest from the Lady Be Good. Mark sends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahe Demirjian Posted January 7 Share #8 Posted January 7 On 12/6/2014 at 9:10 PM, Navybean said: Cool pics, did the crew survive? I am assuming the wreckage has been picked over for souvenirs? Of the ten crewmembers aboard the TB-29 with serial number 44-70039, six perished and the other four survived. There's no way the wreckage has been picked up for souvenirs because adverse weather conditions have made retrieval of the wreckage difficult. I found this weblink containing photos of the crashed TB-29 taken by a mountaineer climbing up the glacier in Talkeetna Mountains in search of the remains of that crashed plane: https://www.outono.net/elentir/2022/12/16/the-bomber-glacier-the-wreckage-of-a-b-29-on-a-remote-mountain-of-alaska/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now