B-24's, B-25's & B-26's in Fresh Water in the US & Canada

[Speeddemon651]

•430424 B-25D 41-29974 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Spring Bay, Great Salt Lake UT
•421125 B-25C 41-13234 Killed Forced Landing Engine Failure Into Lake Murray,SC
•430404 B-25D 41-29860 Crash Ground collision Into Lake Murray, SC
•430720 RB-25B 40-2281 Mid Air Collision O B ? Bass Lake, Fresno, CA
•440923 RA-25A 42-20169 Killed Mid Air Collision Over? Lake Brownwood, Brownwood, TX
•440314 RA-24B 42-54421 Landing Accident Mechanical Failure Bicycle Lake, CA
•430801 B-26C 41-35106 Killed in Ditching The Aircraft Into Lake George, FL
•420118 B-25B 40-2231 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Lake Apopka, FL
•420806 B-25C 41-12790 Mid Air collision Over Tulare Lake, CA
•431206 B-24H 42-7674 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Huntington Lake, CA
•421107 B-25C 41-12970 Killed Crash Due to Explosion Swamp, 18 mi SE of Walterboro, SC
•421226 B-25C 41-12630 Killed Mid Air Collision Over? Lafourche Swamp, LA
•430221 B-26B 41-18160 Killed Crashed Engine Failure Lake Calcasieu, LA
•420116 B-26 40-1453 Forced Landing Out of Gas Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, CAN
•420116 B-26 40-1501 Forced Landing Out of Gas Watson Lake, Yukon Territory,CAN
•420116 B-26 40-1459 Forced Landing Out of Gas Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, CAN
•420116 B-26 40-1464 Forced Landing Out of Gas Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, CAN
•430819 RA-25 41-18822 Missing in Service Into Okefenokee Swamp, FL (?)

I'm curious out of this list what has been recovered ? I'm not sure if everything on this list actually crashed into water or at a location named after a lake there. Just a list I've been compiling for fun. I know for sure at least one B-25 is still sitting at a bottom of a lake in SC and has yet to be recovered. Can anyone shed any light on anything else on the list ?

[JohnB]

Are the "Watson Lake" the ones that went down in the "million dollar valley"? If so, some were recovered years ago and are now with MAAPs and Weeks.
Two of the serials listed above seem to check out wit those ac.
Or is there another group of Martins that went down en-route to Alaska?

[wendovertom]

Wow - I have never heard of the B-25 into Spring Bay in the Great Salt Lake. If it was not quickly recovered I cannot imagine that there is anything but aluminum powder left at this point. The Great Salt Lake is just that - 5% or better for salinity - especially the northern end of the lake where Spring Bay is. One other interesting thing of note - when there were a couple of F-16 crashes into the lake back in the 1980's they sent divers after them. On one of the recoveries the divers reported a thick 10 foot layer of liquid "slime" that sat on the bottom of the lake and was nauseating to deal with even in full drysuit dive gear.

Tom P.

Last edited by wendovertom on Wed Oct 01, 2014 10:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Warbird Kid]

Im surprised, nothing up in any lakes in the North East?

[CoastieJohn]

As a Florida bubba, I was curious and did a little looking around. There were alot of Avon Park crashes....to many to post. Here are a few interesting ones....the first being at Lake George. Could be one listed above??

Type/Recovered??




Type/Recovered??


Type/Recovered??


B-25 drug plane...whatever happened to it?

[Warbirdnerd]

The Drug Running B-25 was B-25H 43-4336.

[UC61K]

The B-24 in Huntington Lake has allot of media coverage from the late 50's when the lake level was lowered to repair a dam down stream and the plane was discovered.
here is the link to the Fresno Bee with details.

http://finalflightthebook.com/FresnoBee ... 14-08.html

In 1989 I was stationed at Castle AFB. I was a volunteer with the Castle Air Museum Recovery Team and went along with the Navy Dive team to see what was left of the plane. NOT MUCH! Most of the large pieces were stored at Aero Nostalgia in Stockton Ca. The B-24 at Castle has the Tail Turret, Engine Mounts and few other odds and end pieces from the Huntington Lake B-24. I believe the remaining pieces were sold to other projects or scrapped in the mid 90's.

Jim C.
Midwest Aeronautiques LLC
UC-61K USAAF# 43-14964 / RAF # HB-690

[Speeddemon651]

How come only one of the B-25's have been recovered from Lake Murray, SC ? There is still one in the lake in deeper water.

http://www.lakemurray-sc.com/lakemurrayb25.html

[sandiego89]

I offer that the one at "bicycle lake" would be very unlikely to be considered any way submerged.

440314 RA-24B 42-54421 Landing Accident Mechanical Failure Bicycle Lake, CA

"Bicycle Lake" is really the full name of "Bicycle Lake Army Airfield" at what is now known as Fort Irwin, or the National Training Center, and the lake is one of the many dry lakebeds in the upper desert/Mojave (like Rogers, Cuddleback, El Mirage, Groom etc. all with some avaiton history) . Maybe a few inches of water after a heavy rain, but I assure you that SCUBA gear would not required to survey this one

Likely this was just a write off while landing on the dry lake bed, or the adjacent runway.

[cfury]

Thank You for posting the article of the Lake George Florida B-26 crash. My Uncle 2nd Lt. Anson R Ables was on board. I have been searching for years and this is the first article with the names of the entire crew. God bless them all.

[JohnB]

How come only one of the B-25's have been recovered from Lake Murray, SC ? There is still one in the lake in deeper water.

Just a guess, there are enough B-25s out there that it doesn't make financial sense to spend the money to recover one that might...or might not...be worth restoring.
Remember, it's someone's money.

[cooper9411]

I thought all the B-25's had been recovered from Lake Murray.

[Speeddemon651]

•430704 P-39N 42-8849 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Clear Lake, CA
•430707 P-39Q 42-19882 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Clear Lake, CA
•430720 RB-25B 40-2281 Mid Air Collision O B ? Bass Lake, Fresno, CA
•430424 B-25D 41-29974 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Spring Bay, Great Salt Lake UT
•421125 B-25C 41-13234 Killed Forced Landing Engine Failure Into Lake Murray, ,SC
•430404 B-25D 41-29860 Crash Ground collision Into Lake Murray, SC
•430415 P-47C 41-6590 Bailed Out Engine Failure Into Lake Bradford, FL
•430424 B-25D 41-29974 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Spring Bay, Great Salt Lake, UT
•430619 B-25C 41-13177 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Lake Murray, SC
•430704 P-39N 42-8849 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Clear Lake, CA
•430707 P-39Q 42-19882 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Clear Lake, CA
•430731 A-36A 42-83756 Killed in Crash Into Lake Maurepas, LA
•430812 P-47D 42-8320 Ditched Into Lake Kerr, FL
•430812 P-47D 42-8329 Crashed Ground Collision Into Lake Kerr, FL
•440503 P-39Q 44-71060 Killed in Crash Take off Explosion 1 mi off shore Lake Ontario, NY
•440630 P-39Q 42-20038 Bailed Out, Mid Air Collision Over the east edge of Moses Lake, WA
•440630 P-39Q 42-19962 Killed Mid Air Collision Over the east edge of Moses Lake, WA
•430614 A-36A 42-83766 Mid Air Collision With Tow Target Lake Pontchartrain, LA
•430221 P-39M 42-4802 Forced Landing Engine Fire Watson Lake, YT
•440802 P-47D 42-27809 Killed Aircraft Unidentified Lake Margrethe, Grayling, MI
•440917 P-47D 42-74776 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Lake Huron, 1 mi N 3 mi E Sturgeon Pt,MI
•440923 RA-25A 42-20169 Killed Mid Air Collision Over? Lake Brownwood, Brownwood, TX
•440314 RA-24B 42-54421 Landing Accident Mechanical Failure Bicycle Lake, CA
•441016 P-47D 42-28745 Mid Air Collision With Tow Target Lake Pontchatrain, LA
•430801 B-26C 41-35106 Killed in Ditching The Aircraft Into Lake George, FL
•440125 P-39Q 44-3645 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Lake Ontario
•420118 B-25B 40-2231 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Lake Apopka, FL
•420806 B-25C 41-12790 Mid Air collision Over Tulare Lake, CA
•421114 P-47C 41-6122 Bailed Out due to Structural Failure Silver Lake, FL
•421128 C-47 41-38635 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Lake Wiamann, AK
•421230 P-39D 41-38246 Forced Landing Due to Engine Fire San Leandro Reservoir Lake, CA
•431206 B-24H 42-7674 Killed in Crash Ground Collision Into Huntington Lake, CA
•510829 TB-25J 44-29060 Ground Collision Shafter Lake, TX
•530410 F-47D 44-32883 Missing Ditched Over Lake Ontario, NY
•531228 T-33A 52-9453 Killed Crash Out Of Gas Lake Michigan, IL
•421107 B-25C 41-12970 Killed Crash Due to Explosion Swamp, 18 mi SE of Walterboro, SC
•421226 B-25C 41-12630 Killed Mid Air Collision Over? Lafourche Swamp, LA
•430221 B-26B 41-18160 Killed Crashed Engine Failure Lake Calcasieu, LA
•430401 P-47C 41-6338 Crash Ground Collision Lake Griffin, FL
•420116 B-26 40-1453 Forced Landing Out of Gas Watson Lake, Yukon Territory,CAN
•420116 B-26 40-1501 Forced Landing Out of Gas Watson Lake, Yukon Territory,CAN
•420116 B-26 40-1459 Forced Landing Out of Gas Watson Lake, Yukon Territory,CAN
•420116 B-26 40-1464 Forced Landing Out of Gas Watson Lake, Yukon Territory,CAN
•430819 RA-25 41-18822 Missing in Service Into Okefenokee Swamp, FL (?)
•420420 P-39 41-7328 Killed Stall, Spin Crash Into swamp 10 mi NE of Phoenix, LA
•430527 AT-10 41-26837 Killed Crash Ground Collision Into White River, 20 Mi SE George Field, IL
•450708 B-25J 44-30746 Killed Crash Landing 3M NE Vevay, KY into Ohio River
•300404 PT-3 28-254 Killed Mid Air Collision O? Into Water of Lake Hodges, CA
•430924 P-39N 42-9114 Crash Engine Failure Into Columbia River, 1 Mi NE Portland AB
•440805 P-39K 42-4440 Killed Crash Ground Collision Columbia River, 10 mi NW of Peach, WA
•430819 P-47C 41-6289 Killed Crash Engine Failure Connecticut River, 5 Mi W Middletown,CT



Here is a larger section of my Warbirds in "Fresh Water" list I thought you guys might find interesting. Has any others been recovered ?

[robkamm]

was the Connecticut p47 recovered?

[CoastieJohn]

Thank You for posting the article of the Lake George Florida B-26 crash. My Uncle 2nd Lt. Anson R Ables was on board. I have been searching for years and this is the first article with the names of the entire crew. God bless them all.

Glad this was useful for you. Hopefully it will answer some questions. It was from the St Petersburg Times. The whole issue (edition?) is at this link.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8 ... 29,1401287