Lost squadron

[Peter Nevai]

You may or may not have read about this before, but it is a facinating story. On of my all time favorite airplanes.

http://www.thelostsquadron.com/

[Michael Floerchinger]

Fascinating!

Mike

[Tom Perry]

I saw a program on the Discovery Channel about the P-38 recovery.  It seems to me that I saw a bomber recovery also. 

The bomber was recovered from the ice, equipped with new engines and other parts.  It successfully took of but caught on fire shortly after take off.  I believe they said the fire was caused by a lose toolbox causing a spark when it shifted in the fuselage.

Discovery/History channel usually has video tapes of their programming.  I'll check and get back with the results.

 

Edited to add:

PRODUCT DETAIL:
The Hunt For The Lost Squadron DVD
It is one of the most remarkable stories of aviation treasure hunting ever, as well as an unforgettable saga of modern arctic exploration that embraces 50 years, millions of dollars, bitter conflict and obsession.

On July 15th, 1942, a squadron of two B-17 bombers and six P-38 fighters bound for Iceland crash-landed in Greenland after getting lost in a blizzard. The crews were rescued, but the planes remained, eventually entering aviation lore as the "Lost Squadron." In 1981, two adventurers from Atlanta set out not just to find these planes, but to restore them to their former glory. TIME MACHINE reveals how the first part of their quest--which they thought would be relatively simple--took eight years, and ended with the discovery that the planes were encased in ice, 250 feet below the surface of a glacier. And that was far from the most difficult obstacle they encountered...

From the remote fastness of Greenland to the Kentucky runway where "Glacier Girl" took to the skies again, this is the complete account of THE HUNT FOR THE LOST SQUADRON.



This DVD is one of the many titles in our DVD Library and is created in the DVD+R format. This disc does not feature menu pages or special features like standard DVDs, simply the high quality programming you've come to expect from us.

 

Item Number: AAE-71063

Link to order:

http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=71063

 

[Clint Ormosen]

What about the other planes still in the ice? They need to get them all out and restored. I'l donate $10 to the cause.

[Bill Heher]

The bomber story you saw is an entirely different adventure. It involved a B-29 that crash landed on a frozen in northern Canada ( i think it was Canada).  They spent $$$$ installing rebuilt engines and props, getting the systems working, etc. They then lost it all on the 1st taxi run, when a temporary generator / APU in the aft fuselage started a fire that got out of control and consumed the entire aircraft. I think they recovered the engines and props, and the rest sank to the bottom of the lake when the ice melted a few weeks later.

I'm not sure but I think that Darryl Greenameyer ( spelling?) of Reno Race fame was one of the guys backing the whole effort.

[Chuck Feldman]

What Bill said is correct.

Actually this is a lesson in how stupid people can get when they get too focused.
For a lot less dollars they could have ferried the plane out in sections and then put it together. That would have probably prevented the APU fire problem. It is a very interesting story but the ending is rather sickening.

Chuck of Stuart,Fl

[James Lee]

I remember seeing the TV piece about the B-29....   D Greenamyer(sp?) in Greenland.  Very difficult and in the end almost tragic....   Could have been handled better...
Jim

[Tom Perry]

The bomber story you saw is an entirely different adventure. It involved a B-29 that crash landed on a frozen in northern Canada ( i think it was Canada).  They spent $$$$ installing rebuilt engines and props, getting the systems working, etc. They then lost it all on the 1st taxi run, when a temporary generator / APU in the aft fuselage started a fire that got out of control and consumed the entire aircraft. I think they recovered the engines and props, and the rest sank to the bottom of the lake when the ice melted a few weeks later.

I'm not sure but I think that Darryl Greenameyer ( spelling?) of Reno Race fame was one of the guys backing the whole effort.

The B-29 was called The Kee Bird.  And landed North of Thule in Greenland next to a lake.  There was a 2 hour program on Nova about the recovery effort.

"You can purchase the tape capturing these events as they happened from Amazon.Com. Listed as “B-29, Frozen in Time”. It is a must see."

You can read about it here:

http://www.rb-29.net/HTML/03RelatedStories/03.03shortstories/03.03.09contss.htm

http://yarchive.net/mil/b29_recovery.html

You can read the PBS transcript here:

http://members.tripod.com/~manchurianhitchcock/keebee.html

Here is an article on th CAF FIFI the only one still flying:

http://www.warmkessel.com/jr/flying/td/jd/56.jsp

[W.D. Roland]

saw it on the boob tube
damn near cryed when it caught on fire!
i have one of those little generators---went to the shed and kicked it--then i cryed cause my foot hurt.
we later gave the gen to a b17 crew.