Warbird Information Exchange

gary1954 wrote:
Back years ago when I read air classics maggotzine (refuse to read ANY challenge publication since 1976) I read an article of a B-24 that had been discovered in a lake here in the US, I want to say to was in the western region of the country. This B-24 was on a training mission and encountered IFR weather below them the pilot flew around for a while while some of the crew looked below the plane through the bomb bay section with the doors opened and found a break where he let down. with fuel running out the crew may have saw what may have appeared to him to be a snow covered field but actually belly landed on a snow covered frozen lake. The bombers tail from aft of the bomb bay section flipped over the main fuselage and back into the water. It sunk quickly with (IIRCC) no survivors. It wasn't discovered until the lake had gone down so far that the verticle stabilizers protruded the surface and peeked the curiosity of the locals. The remains of the tailgunner were still in the turret (don't know about the rest of the crew). Well thats all I have to add.....Bueller? .......Bueller?

With a day off work and cleaning out, I took a look at a couple of my late fathers AIR Classics. (Have have a stack form 1973-78) I just happen to come across this B24 in lake Huntington story in it, I have not read the story, but just did a quick read of the captions below some of the pictures. One of the pics of the tail end of the B24 had the caption about the tail gunner remains found laying over the turret.
I got to take some time and go threw all of these magazines. I remember looking and reading them a long long time ago, back when my father first received them. Since he passed away in the 1982 they have been boxed up in my house and not seeing the light of day. These Air Classic's is what planted the roots in me to be a warbird person. I will try and read the whole story and report back on what they had wrote. Gary I glad you wrote what you did, it got me looking!
Barry

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BCMJ

Gladly standing by

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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!

I finished the story of the B24 in Huntington Lake, printed in the Sept 1976 issue of Air Classics. Here's the highlights form the article. The B24 took off from hammer field, about a 100 miles northeast of Fresno the bomber suffered complete hydraulic failure, 15 minutes later the crew became hopeless lost in a blinding snow storm as the B24 headed southward.The crew was unable to see out the windows because of heavy snow, the pilot instructed the flight engineer to crank open the bomb bay doors so they could look straight down, as they circle the lake the copilot and radio operator bailed out. From their it's not know exactly what happen but the bomber landed/crash in the frozen lake, broke into 3 pcs and broke threw the ice and sank.The story goes on to question why they went for a wheels up landing with the bomb bay doors open and really questioned why the copilot and radio operator bail out first? After reading it I have more questions then before I started. I will try to scan it and paste it here. Their a lot more in the article then I want to type, sorry.
Barry

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BCMJ

I have the accident report here.
There is a detailed summary of this accident in Volume Two (page 608) of
FATAL ARMY AIR FORCES AVIATION ACCIDENTS
IN THE UNITED STATES, 1941-1945


According to the AAF Accident Report:

"Immediately after peeling off, the number two propeller governor failed and the engine had to be throttled back. Immediately afterward the aircraft began to lose altitude rapidly, the reason which is undetermined. ... Despite the fact that the co-pilot parachuted to safety, no cause for the accident has been determined. He [the co-pilot] states that he can remember no cause for the [diminished] performance of the airplane."



Tony M.

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"Welcome back Mr. Lasky."

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BCMJ

All I can say is WOW!

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