Alaska Avaiation Museum in Anchorage

[Pogmusic]

Spent a great day at this nice museum. Talked with one of the founders and he said that Alaska wrecks are NOT off limits. At one time they were; but, now you file the appropriate paperwork, $100 fee and then 3-6 months later you come recover the wreck. He's helping an Ohio group recover a B-17 next month.

[Dan K]

...Talked with one of the founders and he said that Alaska wrecks are NOT off limits. At one time they were; but, now you file the appropriate paperwork, $100 fee and then 3-6 months later you come recover the wreck. He's helping an Ohio group recover a B-17 next month.

That's remarkable news.

Any idea to whom one would send the paperwork and fee?

[Django]

Wow! Really?

Quick someone recover the B-24!

[The Inspector]

I lived in Anchorbanks when it originally opened in 1967 (before the fire) on opening day they had Noel Wien and Bob Reeves dedicate a Liberty engine display, I believe the engine was from the DWC 'SEATTLE' and had been fished out of the water, it was pretty badly corroded and whole sections had rusted away, but it still, defiantly leaked oil on the floor!!
Even then I felt honored to be in the same room as these two trail blazers.

[Nathan]

OMG...someone hurry and recovery EVERYTHING!! And "Deadliest Catch" will have nothing on the new TV show "Worlds deadliest aircraft recoveries"!!

P.S. Can we have an I.D. of the B-17?

P.S. I really need to dig into the air combat their. It's a great aviation history if your into early model aircraft. Like early P-38's, P-40's, and P-39's, all saw combat their.

[The Inspector]

There are several well done books on the war in the Chain and Alaska, start with 'The Ten Thousand Mile War' and 'Aleutian Warriors'. The theatre overall commander was General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. Son of Confederate (or do I have to change it to 'commemorative')States Civil War General Simon Buckner who surrenderd to Grant. Buckner Jr. went on to head up Operation Iceberg the invasion of Okinawa where he became the most senior U.S. Officer to be killed in action.
He fought tooth and nail with the Army and D.C. to get modern equipment to his troops in the far North and did one heck of a job with castoff aircraft (P-38 E's, P-39's, early P-40's, B-18's, early model B17's and B-24's, and inadequate equipment, supplies, and logistics). Operating from mud hole airstrips filled with snow melt and torrential rain runoff year round (the famous P-38 plowing water on landing footage was shot mid Summer on Adak).
Just discovered that screen writer Dashel Hamett (The Maltese Falcon) was stationed in the Aleutians during the campaign as a reporter. He wrote a book about the campaign called 'The Battle of the Aleutian Islands'

[PinecastleAAF]

Talked with one of the founders and he said that Alaska wrecks are NOT off limits. At one time they were; but, now you file the appropriate paperwork, $100 fee and then 3-6 months later you come recover the wreck.

That is just amazing if true and is quite a reversal after so long TO SAY THE LEAST!

I'm stunned. Who says there ain't no Santa Clause?

[groundpounder]

About 10 miles northwest of Talkeetna, Alaska
Nomads members who attended the Keep 'Em Flying Rally last June will remember the 1944 B-17G bomber being restored at Grimes Field airport in Urbana. And now, Chapter Webmaster Michael Canode is scheduled to accompany a small group of B-17 Project volunteers this summer to recover a B-17 which crashed in Alaska back in 1952. Key components of the downed aircraft, number 44-85505, will be returned to Ohio and used in the restoration of B-17G 44-85813 (nicknamed Champaign Lady). The recovery mission will run from 25 July to 8 August 2011 -- and two days later, Michael will be at the FMCA Convention in Madison, Wisconsin, bringing some of those popular Micro Center seminars, and a few travel stories to tell. Keep 'Em Flying!

[The Inspector]

B-17G-95-VE not shown on Baughers list

[gary1954]

B-17G-95-VE not shown on Baughers list

I appreciate Baughers List, a lot of serial numbers arent on his list, but it still puts one in the c/n block though (well..most of the time)

[The Inspector]

That's why, when you find a 'not listed' s/n in a photo, send as much info as you can to Joe and, after doing some research the s/n will be incorporated into the list.

I found some old copies of photos I've had since the early 80's of 92nd B-17G's most of which aren't in his listings, as soon as I get as much info as I can then it's off to Joe for eventual inclusion.

Every little addition helps fill in the holes! So, it's time to go thru Uncle Harry's scrapbook again.

[Maverick]

B-17G 44-85505 remains are now out of the woods and sitting at the Talkeetna Alaska Airport being prepared for shipment to Urbana, Ohio. See KTNA.org for more information.

[JohnB]

I'd guess recovery from a National Park would be a lot more permit intensive. Forest Service and BLM slightly less so.

And if there are remains at a crash site, that could open up another can of worms for a aircraft recovery team.

On a related topic I asked the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command if they'd be involved in a CONUS wrecksite.
Here's what I received just the other day...

"A JPAC RECOVERY Team Deploys to Washington State
RELEASE NO. #05-26 July 12, 2005

HICKAM AFB, HAWAII – One Recovery Team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command will deploy from Hawaii this week for approximately two months to conduct operations in Washington state in hopes of bringing home remains of Americans still missing from World War II. This is the first Joint Field Activity mission in the continental United States since 1996.

Operations will be conducted at two sites in the northern cascades of Washington. One site, in the Wenatchee National Forest, is associated with a SBD-5 Dauntless crash site. The aircraft, with two men aboard, was reported missing on Feb. 15, 1945 after having departed the U.S. Naval Air Station, Seattle, on a training mission.

The second excavation site, located in the Okanogan National Forest, correlates to P-38E 41-2276 aircraft loss that was reported missing in 1942. The pilot from the 54th Fighter Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group, departed Elmendorf Air Base, Alaska on a maintenance flight to Pain Field, Washington and never arrived.

A four-member investigation team that included a World War II analyst from JPAC deployed to the sites last year. The team found physical evidence at both locations and evaluated archival records leading them to recommend the sites for recovery this year.

JPAC’s mission is to accomplish the fullest possible accounting of all Americans still missing as a result of the nation’s military campaigns through investigative, search and recovery missions. JPAC routinely carries out operations on foreign soil that take its team members worldwide including Russia, Laos, China, Papua New Guinea, and Burma. "

[hang the expense]

That is really good news with regards to alaska.Now it doesnt have to be done underhanded like before.

[AHancock51]

Very cool!! I wonder, does anyone know if there are 1 or 2 P-51Bs up there for grabs? Seriously...