View Full Version : US Navy rescues B-29 crew
TOMAHAWK9521
12-14-2010, 10:43
Gents,
I searched the forum to see if anyone else had posted this story but couldn't find anything. I'm surprised I missed this one when they originally aired it on the local news back on Nov 11.
"An entire crew of a B-29 (12 aviators) was rescued by a US submarine after their plane was shot down in 1944/5 70 miles off t he coast of Japan . The entire rescue was filmed in color video but then sat in a guy's closet until now. This is a story from a Denver TV station of one of those rescued aviators to whom the video was delivered."
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid34762914001?bctid=672454611001
ZonieDiver
12-14-2010, 12:11
That is so very cool. I wonder how many more such treasures are sitting in closets, or have been disposed of accidentally?
Fantastic find,,
I knew that there were USN subs stationed around the Pacific for downed pilot rescues, but this one had movies of their effort..
Amazing...
:lifter:lifter:lifter:lifter
greenberetTFS
12-14-2010, 12:55
That is so very cool. I wonder how many more such treasures are sitting in closets, or have been disposed of accidentally?
Your right,I'll bet there out there,just needs some one to find them.......:D;)
Big Teddy :munchin
Pretty cool!
Was that Hammersmith I saw skulking around in the shadow of the sub's conning tower? :rolleyes:
Richard :munchin
They didn't specifically mention it ... but clearly visible in the photograph of the medals ... he still has the rip cord!
Looks like the T-10A type ripcord, which tracks with his duty position as a tail gunner. He obviously jumped a Quick Attachable Chest (QAC).
Red Flag 1
12-14-2010, 14:14
Awesome footage! Just imagine this video showing up at your house one day decades after the fact.
We best be a lookin' for Big Teddy vids, no tellin' what will show up:D.
RF 1
aegisnavy
12-14-2010, 14:55
My Scoutmaster growing up had been a B-17 co-pilot. While ferrying their newly built Flying Fortress from Labrador to England, they went down in the North Atlantic due to engine failure. Luckly they were able to come to a stop on top of the water and deploy the life raft in the middle of the night. Nonetheless, they spent a chilly 18 hours, IIRC, floating in some rough, cold seas, until they were picked up by a nearby ship.
I have a photo of him just after the rescue sporting some navy dungarees. Forty-somthing years later, he was still complaining about how the only photos of him immediately after the rescue were in the dungarees. Gawd, he hated those pants. No where near as dashing as the bomber jacket and the Army Air Corps flight uniform.
This post reminded me of his stories, photos, etc. Thanks! :)
Monsoon65
12-17-2010, 09:01
I worked at a state park near my home when I was a kid and a maintenance worker was a B29 crewman during the war.
He was shot down right off the coast of Japan and picked up by a sub. When they were in their raft, on the upswells, they could see Tokyo. That close!
Kinda hard to believe there's only one left flying.
http://www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com/
And so it goes...
Richard :munchin
Kinda hard to believe there's only one left flying.
http://www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com/
And so it goes...
Richard :munchin
My favourite bomber the B-29...sad there's only 1 flying.
I actually also heard there is a company in the UK that actually still re-produces Spitfires and Hurricanes and custom build them but they cost about 1-2 million pound sterling and take a year or so to be built.
The Reaper
12-18-2010, 11:59
My favourite bomber the B-29...sad there's only 1 flying.
I actually also heard there is a company in the UK that actually still re-produces Spitfires and Hurricanes and custom build them but they cost about 1-2 million pound sterling and take a year or so to be built.
I know you could knock out the bodies fairly easily, but the castings for the engines would seem to be almost impossible to recreate.
Can you imagine the hourly operating costs of the B-29, even if you could find spare parts? IIRC, at $3 Billion for less than 4,000 aircraft, it was the most expensive program of the war, even more than the Manhattan Project.
TR
OOPS! Posted in wrong thread.
My apologies.