|
Hello everyone,
As this is my first post, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Chris Rathbun, and I have joined this forum to discuss this B-18 in Hawai'i. I am part owner of Laupahoehoe Nui LLC, the owner of the property where this B-18 crash landed.
The plane is still sitting in a gulch on our property. Recently, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum contacted us about possibly recovering the plane. Initially they would like to survey the site, check the condition of the plane, and see if recovery is feasable. If it is determined that this is a viable project, we will have some decisions to make- decisions I am hoping the members of this forum will be willing to help us with.
First let's talk about the plane. B-18 # 36-446 took off with three other planes from Hickam Field on O'ahu Feburary 25, 1941 to practice interisland night navigation with instruments. It suffered a failure of the port engine while flying in instrument conditions and crashed into the Kohala summit swamps west of Waimanu. The crew was rescued on February 28.
From the Air Force biography of General Hibbard:
UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES
In 1941, General Hubbard, (then captain) was flying a
B-18 on instruments in weather at night at 10,000 feet
in the vicinity of Hilo along the north shore of the
island of Hawaii, when a main bearing failure caused
the loss of one engine. Although all possible fuel and
cargo was jettisoned, the aircraft was too heavily
loaded to maintain altitude on one engine. In
attempting to reach a field on the northwest tip of
the island by holding altitude insofar as possible
with maximum power and optimum airspeed, contact was
made with trees while still on instruments and the
aircraft crash landed on the side of Mount Mauna Kea,
at 3,500 feet.
Only minor injuries were sustained by the general and
two of the other five in the crew. There were no
navigational aids in the area and although only 13
miles from the auxiliary field, it took a day and a
half for the rescue party to reach them and another
day and a half to get out. There were 2,500 foot
vertical ravines only one quarter and one half miles
on either side of the crash.
******************************************************
O.K., the plane actually crashed on Kohala, north of Mauna Kea, and the 2500 foot deep valleys of Waimanu and Honopue are considerably more than 3/4 of a mile apart, but it makes a great story...
Dave Trojan at Wreckchasers' wreckchasing message board shares this:
The crew was shook up, but miraculously only one crew member suffered a minor injury. During the night the crew endured cold and rain in total darkness. Following the crash the crew made sure that all power to the aircraft was turned off and then tried to get some rest. One airman who was riding in the bombardier compartment located in the aircraft nose section opened the lower hatch and tried to lower himself out to find his feet did not touch anything solid, so he pulled back inside and warned the rest of the crew to not attempt dropping out of that hatch until daylight. The next morning they discovered the plane's nose section jutted out over a 75-foot deep ravine. The crew later described the crash as a “miracle escape.”
On one of the other B-18s in the group was Lee Webster, a Flight Engineer, on his first night navigation mission. Lee Webster gave this account of the accident, “I was just becoming accustomed to the eerie feeling of night flying by the time we started our second leg of the triangle toward a point somewhere off the northern tip of the island and to this point radio contact led us to believe we were in good shape. Suddenly that was shattered by a report from one of the other planes having engine problems and then soon after a report of engine failure and that they were losing altitude. We immediately broke off our mission to accompany the disabled aircraft into Hilo airport, but to make matters worse we flew into some very bad weather. After what seemed a short period of time we lost radio contact with them and when attempts to locate the lost plane became futile we returned to Hickam Field.”
The next morning at dawn a massive search and rescue operation was launched from Hickam Field using 24 bombers. The aircraft wreck was soon spotted at nine in the morning. Later in the day the downed aircrew received an airdrop from Army planes of blankets, food and hot coffee. Wednesday night was much more comfortable for the crew who spend another night in the tropical forest.
A ground rescue operation was organized from Upolu Point, Suiter Field and started out Thursday morning at dawn. The rescuers followed the Kohala Ditch Trail from Kaukini Camp for 2 ½ hours on horseback, but then had to cut a new trail on foot for eight miles through marshland and heavy brush for another four hours before nearing the crash site. The rescuers fired revolvers into the air and then listened for a reply. They were about to give up, when they finally heard a reply by the crew who used a burst of machine gun fire and colored flares which guided the rescuers to the crash site. The rescue party reached the crash scene at noon. Airmen from Hickam later described the site as the “Worst possible place for a forced landing in the Islands.”
At the time only the bombsight and instruments were salvaged from the wreck. Due to its location, it was decided that any further salvage of the aircraft was impossible.
*******************************************************
The plane came to rest hanging over Waikaloa stream. Later it slid into the gulch, where it remains today. It appears to be surprisingly undamaged. Unfortunately people coming in by Helicopter in recent years have taken everything that isn't nailed down, and the Air Force apparently made a salvage raid to restore the B-18A in their museum.
This appears to be one of only two B18's still in existence, although there are at least four B-18A's in various museums. Clearly it has historical importance- and so we have some questions before we give it away...
First, does anyone have any additional information about this particular plane?
Second, we are looking for insight into ownership issues. Do we own the plane once it has sat on our land for 65 years? Does the Army? (It originally belonged to the Army Air Force). Did the Air Force inherit the Army interest, if any? How does a plane pass from Military to Civilian ownership? Can any of you warbird owners clarify this for us?
Third, what is it worth? If we own it, should we just give it to the museum? Lend it to them? Sell it to them? Keep it on our property as a tourist attraction? Take it out and restore it? Sell it to someone else?
Any and all input is appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
