P61 leftovers in Alaska

Michel Lemieux · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:05 pm

P61 leftovers in Alaska ( not my claim, who can confirm???? )

Great site on abandoned airfields in the US. Really cool site with interesting info in general.

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/AK/Airfields_AK.htm

Surprizing that only the engine blocks are left.....must have been a post crash landing fire!?

hang the expense · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:49 pm

The air force went in there in the 50s and blew up all the crashed airplanes they could find.They missed 2 K models because one was half buried in a riverbed and the other was in the tundra and blended very well and was missed.They did this to cut down on the sightings of downed aircraft.

hang the expense · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:50 pm

The 2 K models were P-40s BTW

p51 · **Posted:** Fri Jun 19, 2015 4:44 pm

hang the expense wrote:

The air force went in there in the 50s and blew up all the crashed airplanes they could find.They missed 2 K models because one was half buried in a riverbed and the other was in the tundra and blended very well and was missed.They did this to cut down on the sightings of downed aircraft.

They did it in conjunction with other government agencies around the same time.
the forest service blew up a B-17 crashed in the Olympic Mountains, too: https://746project.wordpress.com/the-sb-17g/

Michel Lemieux · **Posted:** Fri Jun 19, 2015 9:09 pm

Wow....tks!

Amazing how the site gets back with answers 99% of the time.

ALOHADAVE · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2015 12:49 am

" The air force went in there in the 50s and blew up all the crashed airplanes they could find."

What is the reference for this? Were is it documented?

What is documented is the Air Force blew up plane wrecks after a plane crashed and it was unrecoverable. Not that I know of them going back years later and searching for plane wrecks to blow up. I guess it was easier to blow them up instead of having the Civil Air Patrol mark them with yellow X. Anybody know when the civil Air Patrol stopped marking plane wrecks with yellow paint?

ALOHADAVE · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2015 12:58 am

Back to the original subject

Wreck is believed to be P-61B, serial number 42-39641, date of accident 471221, pilot:KNAPP, FRANK J location FT GLENN AB, AK

it is listed as a take off accident

Pilot Lt. Frank J. Knapp
Crew Lt. Gabriel P. Gawrada
Crew Cpl. Billy L. Anderson
Crashed December 21, 1947

Aircraft History
Built by Northrop. Assigned to the 415th Night Fighter Squadron (NFS) stationed at Adak Airfield. In 1947, the unit was redesignated the 449th FS (AW).
Mission History
Took off from Umnak Airfield but crashed soon after the nose lifted off the ground, causing the landing gear to collapse and skid across the runway then catch fire. Likely, this aircraft was caught in the prop wash of another P-61's taking off. The entire crew survived the crash unhurt.

Michel Lemieux · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2015 11:46 pm

I wonder what has caused the vegetation to not grow around the remain of the AC?

Tks AlohaDave!

Pacific wrecks reports the same and there is grass around the engines this time.

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-61/42-39641.html

There is also a reference here https://books.google.ca/books?id=rqhnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=P61+42-39641&source=bl&ots=AJlsjjZjyn&sig=OoublOAgUujYZf6lENM9Rv9kpCs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hkCGVdLwJvKIsQTn-IKgBQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=P61%2042-39641&f=false

I just wonder if an actual serial number was found to cross reference!

Looks like WIX also had a topic on it: http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=54761

Crash report if the same bird: http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=114905

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P61 leftovers in Alaska

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