Jigs Bumper wrote:
Hello Forum....
The following is not to take away in any way from the tragedies which took place in Illinios this week. But when some mention of Kee Bird was made, I thought about the follow....
I recall watching on British TV many years ago a fabulous documentary all about the recovery attempt of the B-29 Kee Bird. The monumental task they undertook in trying to fly this stranded bomber out of its frozen time capsule. The chief mechanic who worked miracles in sub zero weather (who actually fell seriously ill and actually died soon after). I very much recall the difficulties flying in replacement engines, even a caterpillar dozer no less to clear the snow for a makeshift runway. I remember the (unexpected) fire as they taxied the ship around, and the initial moments as the flames start slowly and gradually built up. However from memory one abiding thing sticks in my mind which saddened and dismayed me personally, and those involved made the very comment on this programme as they watched it burn down... they didnt have enough adequate fire extinguishers in place. Then I remembered as the programme aired earlier, the arrival of equipment for the project, included at least one 48 x 48 pallet of.... quite unbelievably, cases of beer!!! Now, forgive me, but I would have thought extinguishers would be a bit more important, and enough of them, than a pallet load of beer. As I say, I remember the narration saying the crew watched in despair as a small fire got out of control, and all for the sake of enough extinguishers on board??? Having watched the tragedy of Kee Bird unfold before the camera, and knowing that piece of the story, I suggest someone who planned the logistics of it all should have carried a large slice of the blame in its loss.
Ian W
INTERESTING you should mention the beer- Had they had it properly stowed, they may well have saved the Kee Bird!
When Tommy Blackburn had his VF-17(Jolly Rogers) in the South Pacific during the war, they sent a new guy to one of the other islands in a turkey to pick up their beer ration. Once there, they loaded it all in the torpedo/bomb bay, and he headed back to VF-17. As a new guy, he had not been told yet which islands to avoid flying over, and he flew over one, at low altitude which was chock full of friendly Japanese tourists, bent on getting a bit of skeet shootin' in with their AA guns. Well, that turkey got hit, but made it home. As he taxiied into his spot, the crew chief(plane captain?) looked over his now perforated aircraft, dripping, of all things, beer suds! A look inside, and he was surprised the a/c had made it home at all. Apparently, one of the rounds had started a fire in the aft section of the aircraft! Another had exploded in the bay with the beer, and burst open many of the cans- now shaken by evasive maneuvers, and in the thinner air... The foaming beer had extinguished the fire! The plane was a write off, the beer was gone, and the pilot took a while to live that one down.
Just sayin- Had they had the pallet of beer in the tail section, you never know!!!
Scott
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