Warbird Information Exchange

All,

In several of my postings here related to WWII Greenland MIA/airplane searches, I have mentioned a soon to be published book is coming out detailing the saga of a B-17 (call sign PN9E) that flew into the ice cap while searching for a downed C-53 crew on the SE coast of Greenland in November of '42. The B-17 crew survived the crash and the oncoming brutal Greenland winter. There were numerous deaths from the follow-on rescue attempts. The last of the PN9E crew was successfully rescued off the ice cap in April 1943. During the rescue in Nov '42, a USCG J2F-4 Duck crashed while attempting to do the rescue. They had successfully landed/tookoff (wheels down for the landing, wheels up for the take off) from the ice cap and recovered two of the PN9E survivors. They went back the next day to rescue more survivors. On takeoff there were 3 POB onboard, the 2 Coasties and the PN9E Radioman. Approx 9 minutes after takeoff from the icecap to return to the awaiting CGC Northland, the Duck crashed into the icecap when they entered a snow storm. Attempts were made to get to the Duck but they were unsuccesful. It was decided to leave them up there and they were mostly forgotten about in the fog of war. Fast forward to today. In 2008 while I was stationed in USCG HQ in Wash DC, my office mate and I were tasked to see if we could research and locate our crashed Grumman J2F-4 Duck. The team grew in the proceding years of the Duck Hunt. We eventually narrowed down the crashsite to a specific area using historical research and modern technology. There has been 4 trips to the crash site so far attempting to pinpoint where under the icecap the Duck and MIA's are at. I was on the first three. I retired from the CG last year but am still helping with the search where I can. The 4th trip was this past Aug/Sept. It was the most productive. We anticipate there will be another trip or two this year to finish the positive confirmation and recovery of the MIA's and maybe the Duck.

The upcoming book was written by author Mitch Zuckoff. His last book titled Return To Shangra La was a NY Times best seller. That was about a WWII POW recovery in the Pacific. He is a Pulitzer Prize nominee. You can research his bio on the internet. He was on this past trip documenting the search efforts. I have read the draft manuscript. He skillfully intertwines the PN9E survival and rescue saga with current Duck Hunt efforts. I know some on here were following the Duck Hunt efforts, including some very well known aircraft recovery and salvage individuals whom you all know. There are a few Youtube vids from over the years on the Duck Hunt. I think the HDnet TV documentry on the Duck Hunt is on Youtube also.

So....I mention the book as it as I think it is a great read and to let folks know the Duck Hunt is still ongoing. Also worthy to mention is during the historical research we think we have a good searchbox now for the missing C-53. It's not too far from the Lost Squadron planes. There are 5 MIA's on that one and they all survived the crash. Hopefully that search will be on the horizon soon. Mr. Zuckoff recently put up the below Facebook link for the book if anyone is interested.

https://www.facebook.com/frozenintimebook


From our 2010 trip.

Sounds like an excellent read, Coastie! BTW, check your PMs.

TXCOMT

Hot off the press.....just announced this morning.

http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/168 ... r-70-years

Way to go guys!

So, I know it's early to ask, but is there a plan for the Duck? Glacier Girl II?

The human remains present an issue. I would never restore the airframe, or any airframe found with human remains, to airworthy status even after they have been removed. It seems dishonorable and irreverent to their memory. Even to restore it at all would require me to deal with a major moral debate.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

The primary goal has always been to locate and recover the MIA's.

Any final decisions to recover the airframe will be made by USCG leadership. There is significant historical interest to recover it however that will not interfere with the recovery of the MIA's. MIA's will always come first.

Restoring it.....another decision for USCG leadership. We know what the airframe looked like after it crashed from eyewitness reports. The front was badly damaged and the wings snapped off. The rest of the fuselage was intact. There are a couple of ideas on what to do with it should it get to that point.

I suspect there are other restored airframes out there involving deceased military members. When I spoke to the family members they were aware that an airframe recovery and any restoration/display is a possibility and were ok with it. I'm sure that will be addressed again so as not to inadvertantly step on any family member sensitivities. Since I retired in 2011, I do not have any involvment in the decision-making anymore. I still help out where I can, but that is about it.

Or, who says we have to restore it? Here's what I mean:

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I was thinking that might be the solution.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Depending on what happens, that idea is on the table too. We're not there yet though. The CG will figure that out.

Before we start picking out paint schemes....
Remember, just because it was last seen fairly intact doesn't mean it still is.
Remember the Glacier Girl B-17....

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

What did they do with 17 anyways? Leave it there?

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Congrats! Your efforts made it to the New York Times: Search Crew Finds World War II Plane That Crashed in Greenland
How does it feel?

I found one claim in the article very intriguing:

Anyone care to chime in? I hoping one of the WIX gurus could double-check that fact. Does this mean that there still may be missing Coast Guardsmen from non-wartime periods?

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Well...the CG does have one other known land-located MIA. It is LT James Crotty. He died in the Japanese POW camp at Cabanatuan. He along with others were buried in one of the mass grave somewhere nearby the camp. A while back there was some question on where exactly these graves are at. As I understand it, JPAC is a little cautious or reluctant about working mass grave/burial sites due to the enormous challenge of getting the remains correctly gathered and organized.

Here is a great read with historical pics on LT Crotty's life.

http://www.uscg.mil/history/people/CrottyThomasEbio.pdf

It's under hundreds of feet of glacial ice and smashed flat.

If not mistaken, the first plane they found was one of the B-17's and when they reached it, it was smashed from all the weight of sno/ice. They did remove some pieces from it for souvenirs. They have not to this day located the other B-17 which is surely in the same condition as the other. After that is when it was decided to search for one of the P-38's (which they only located one).

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A&P/I.A., A.A.S./Aviation Maintenance technology
Warbird salvage/recovery
One day I'll get that P-40!

For what it's worth, there is still interest in the other planes....it's just depends on who can locate the funding AND has the organization to do it. From my limited experience going up there 3 times, a lot of money, planning and logistics goes into something like this.