Any update on the Atka B24-D

Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:17 am

Matt Gunsch wrote:
Nathan wrote:how did the tail come apart?

It crashed, sh!te happens when you crash.

Mon Sep 07, 2009 12:07 pm

From the blog:

I looked under the plane, and the spare tire is still hanging there, looking brand new, sixty-five years after the crash. Bizarre.

Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:15 pm

Oh!!!! That's where they kept the spare tires!!! Just that pulling over to change em was the real tricky part!!

Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:18 pm

I can't help but think that this B-24 could be combined with the remains of the Lady Be Good and displayed in a diorama type scene of the LBG after the crash but basically intact as it lay in the desert before time and the ravages of storms and souvenir hunters had at it.

I realize there is no chance of that happening but it would be a cool project for a memorial to the LBG and all the Liberator crews of WW2 who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:07 pm

PinecastleAAF wrote:I can't help but think that this B-24 could be combined with the remains of the Lady Be Good and displayed in a diorama type scene of the LBG after the crash but basically intact as it lay in the desert before time and the ravages of storms and souvenir hunters had at it.

I realize there is no chance of that happening but it would be a cool project for a memorial to the LBG and all the Liberator crews of WW2 who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

I dont think that would be such a good idea?

The remains of LBG should be displayed as a wreck and there is sufficient left of her to do that, perhaps shes not intact as she was when she crashed, but there is still a lot of her to display.

The outcome you propose would leave a huge pile of unused parts, and given their relative condition, most of those parts would be from LBG, effectively disposing of LBG's true heritage to portray it?

LBG should be displayed in an "as found" diorama of the crash and subsequent scavanging - ie effectively its current condition.

This B-24D survives sufficiently intact to be preserved and displayed as itself, either as its own crash diorama, or restored as a complete static display, its preservation would equally be a memorial to Liberator crews.

The reality is LBG has been brought in from the desert, the scavaging has been stopped, and hopefully an undercover display in a desert diorama can be created in Libya.

This B-24D on Atka seems at risk of ongoing scavaging, and deterioration if left to the elements indefinately.

regards

Mark Pilkington

Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:15 pm

This B-24 was already recovered by the Utah Aerospace Museum. It's already been restored!!

Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:18 pm

A2C wrote:This B-24 was already recovered by the Utah Aerospace Museum. It's already been restored!!

I think that was another one. :?:

It was the Hill Air museum that has it I think. There was a history channel program about it.

Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:22 pm

Sorry about that. You're right the Hill AFB B-24 came from Great Sitkin Island.

Mon Sep 07, 2009 6:16 pm

Why hasn't there been thought or consideration into restoring one of these few rare B-24 wrecks back to flying? Or did I answer my own question? Just seems like a B-17 recovery is usually to be restored for flight while a B-24 is more assumed to be restored for static.

Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:32 pm

Why hasn't there been thought or consideration into restoring one of these few rare B-24 wrecks back to flying? Or did I answer my own question? Just seems like a B-17 recovery is usually to be restored for flight while a B-24 is more assumed to be restored for static.

There probably has, it boils down to who has the interest and money.

Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:55 pm

I dont think that would be such a good idea?

You know you are right. I thought about it some more and it would be a very bad idea. :oops:

It would ruin both aircraft. That might be the worst idea i ever had in fact....except for that stock i bought back in 2001.

A shame to see the Atka Lib corroding away like that but the pictures are very interesting.

Tue Sep 08, 2009 3:04 pm

That looks to be in amazing shape, even after the looting and ravages of the weather. If I ever win the lottery, the governor of Alaska will be one of my first phone calls! :lol:

Until then, someone PLEASE recover it and rebuild it!

Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:19 pm

Somone should call Sara Palin

Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:22 pm

As mentioned about a year ago on this airframe, it's closer to Beijing China than to Los Angeles, it's on a nasty, high cliffed volcanic rock in the middle of the worlds consistently bad weather zone (when the sun shines in the Aleutians, it's referred to a 'Senatorial weather' because during WW2 a Senate committee visited the chain and the sun shined for the first time in months, just the length of the visit then went back to can't see my hand in front of my face again for months) . The investment in time and capital to just obtain this artifact would be a long think for someone with P. Allens bux even IF you could get interest in it released by the US Gummint and the state of Alaska.
And don't bother calling S.P. she's not driving the bus there anymore. Just re watch what the Air Guard guys went through on Great Sitkin to get their B-24, including having to push it off a bluff to get to the boulder strewn 'beach' on the island. I will admit that the Great Sitkin airframe is looking really good @ Hill AFB but there is still a very very long road to completion of that airframe.

Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:44 am

Spoke to a pilot from this squadron this morning and told him about this website and this wreck. He was with the 21st through 1943. He mentioned his B-24D 'The Deuce' had 5 .50 Cals in the nose. Two of them were able to be fired by the pilot! He is sending me a photo taken of the nose of his aircraft. Is this a 'field' mod on the 'D' models? Or was this a fairly common occurence?

Thanks!

Smisek

Any update on the Atka B24-D

Re: Any update on the Atka B24-D