Warbird Information Exchange

I "think" this is the Kee Bird. I had the pic in my files and I recall it mentioned something about being from the U.S. Coast Guard files. If so, it's likely the CG PB-1G (B-17) with the big 9 lens camera took this pic at altitude. Normally it took pics at something like 13,000' plus. I did a Google and didn't see so I figured I'd post it for those interested. If already posted...sorry for the repeat.

It is the Kee Bird

WAS the Kee Bird

exactly...I almost vomited when I saw the smoke start coming out of her and I knew she was doomed.
Did anyone ever make it back up there and extract what remained?

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

If ever a warbird recovery deserved a "do over"......

They were so close. I've often imagined what the reactions would have been if she showed up at Oshkosh.

Andy Scott

I believed someone mentioned that the CAF was interested in getting the parts a while ago, but permits were denied. Enough remains to make it a worthwhile salvage expedition, though the "new" engines are now partially submerged according to the pictures.

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"They done it, they done it, damned if they ain't flew." December 17, 1903

I've talked with a few people who've flown the CAF B-29 and crewed 29s during and after WW2. Many of them have said there was no way the Kee Bird would have gotten off the ground on that 'runway' they plowed for her. A B-29 is certainly not a STOL bird. I've never flown a Sperfort so I can't say personally.
That said, a pal of mine was at the Bas HQ at Thule at the time and he's told me that there was no way they'd have allowed the Kee Bird to leave if it'd gotten there. He's said they evern looked into where they'd store the bird once the refused to let it leave except in crates on a ship. The plan as I was told was that they'd have demanded that the B-29 meet all FAA requirements (and any other nations' that they could invoke) to let it fly out and were fully ready to cacoon the bird in a thick layer of red tape. "They were never going to leave the base in that plane once they got there," he recently told me.

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

If that's the case then it makes the loss of the plane even tougher to swallow. Had Greenamyer known that then they could have gone up there and taken her apart instead of trying to fly it out, plus Rick Kriege might still be here.

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Not doubting your story. But if that's the case, why would they have allowed Greenamyer to use Thule as a base of operations for the Caribou to ferry stuff out to the Kee Bird? The story your pal told you doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm missing something here. And for the record, I too was heartbroken they didn't make it out although I had serious doubts Greenamyer was going to pull it off.

How would they have shipped the "parts out? The Caribou was the biggest thing they could get in there and there's no way you'd get the fuselage, the empennage or wings out on it no matter how small you broke them down.

I believe Gary Larkins wanted permits to locate another aircraft and before the permits were issued, he had to go to the Kee Bird site and clean it up, Greenamyers "crew" left the site a mess and even left a dozer that eventually sank when the ice thawed. Many of the components/pieces that were salvageable have been removed

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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!

They wouldn't have. That was the whole point from what I've been told. Yes, one point of contact in the USAF at Thule allowed them to operate the Caribou (which apparently did meet the criteria set up to operate from the field) out of there, but the guy I know wasn't from the same chain of command. He once said that his boss argued over letting the caribou fly out of there at all (but they allowed scientific flights and commercial operators to go in and out of there from time to time anyway). The behind-the-scenes parts of this would make for a good book. My understanding is that the plan was to let them fly in, tell the crew they need to have it meeting all FAA requirements (and they were going to be ridiculously strict in enforcing them, not that anyone there thought it'd get to that anyway) before they'd be allowed to leave or they were welcome to box it up and take it home that way. And oh yes, no support for breaking it down at all.
His boss said in a meeting about the project that he wasn't going to risk a high-visibility incident with a WW2 bomber on his field on his watch. He was apparently worried that a headline reading, "USAF allows beat up WW2 plane to fly out of AFB, plane crashes and kills all aboard" would come back to haunt him at promotion time and he was't going to risk that.
Being ex-military myself, I have no problem accepting this as a likely scenario as officers that high up the food chain know how to cover their six at all times. I've seen this kind of thing happen personally several times with other things...

But anyway, it's a moot point because they never got there.

But as for the runway, anyone here know the true conditions of that runway and if a B-29 really could have gotten off the ice? I've heard from some people who swear it couldn't have been done in those conditions...

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

In all honesty I don't know that any of us really knows what "those conditions" truly were. I re-watched the fire portion of the video online and it looked like he was taxiing "to" the ice runway, not "on" it.

As far as takeoff performance goes, the NOVA special has Darryl telling that the runway he attempted to level with a bulldozer was not very smooth, but I don't recall a mention of length. Not to be picky, but I don't think there is enough solid info on here for anyone to say if it could or could not be done.

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

When I was in Greenland with him, Gary told me the story about that. The part about the mess left by the other team is consistant with what I understood. There's one or two other details involved there but I won't speak for him.....I'll just say he wasn't too happy with how it played out.

That's the way I saw it as well, really took a beating in taxi then the smoke

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.