MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
This article is from the Summer 1990 issue of the USAF Museum Friend's Bulletin. Note that the C-47 and B-25J captions are reversed.
Ferrying P-63 to Alaska
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fubar57
General
I love this part of WW2. I have two books on the subject...
It's my understanding that many were lost along the way. Several put down on iced up lakes during the winter and as it was too expensive to recover them they were left. When the spring thaw hit, the aircraft settled into the lakes. A good lottery win and I will go and look for them
- Thread starter
- #3
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
I read of a P-39 that was being ferried to AK. The pilot had brought along a ham sandwich. He took a bite of it, decided it was stale, rolled down the window, and threw the sandwich out. The sandwich entered the engine air intake and the engine quit. He crashed the airplane in the wilderness.
When I first read the P-63 Pilot's Manual I was struck by how many options there were for feeding air to the engine. After I read that story I realzied that being shot down by a ham sandwich probably had something to do with those design choices.
By the way, the picture of "P-39's flying formation with a B-25" are actually P-63's.
When I first read the P-63 Pilot's Manual I was struck by how many options there were for feeding air to the engine. After I read that story I realzied that being shot down by a ham sandwich probably had something to do with those design choices.
By the way, the picture of "P-39's flying formation with a B-25" are actually P-63's.
Interesting, thanks for sharing.
"The one item that really made their eyes open was the food available in the Officer's Mess".
Sigh. Certain things were typical for USSR in all periods of its history, the 1940s or 1980s...
I vividly remember my first "live" contact with US seamen on board of one of APL (American President Lines) containerships. Singapore, 1987...or 1988? Glassdoor fridges full of various food and drinks in the mess have astonished us, Soviet merchant mariners, more than cool looking Raytheon and Magnavox electronics on the bridge.
"The one item that really made their eyes open was the food available in the Officer's Mess".
Sigh. Certain things were typical for USSR in all periods of its history, the 1940s or 1980s...
I vividly remember my first "live" contact with US seamen on board of one of APL (American President Lines) containerships. Singapore, 1987...or 1988? Glassdoor fridges full of various food and drinks in the mess have astonished us, Soviet merchant mariners, more than cool looking Raytheon and Magnavox electronics on the bridge.
Good stuff!
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- #6
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
A friend of mine was a Polish POW in WWII. Near the end of the war he escaped (for the 2nd time) and linked up with the US Army and went along with them as a guide and interpreter.
They encountered some Soviet troops driving a US made Jeep. He asked a Soviet soldier how he liked that American made Jeep. The man replied it was a Soviet Jeep. My friend pointed that all the instruments were marked in English with American measurements. The Russian replied that they exported the Jeeps to the USA and Americans were so dumb the needed those instruments, while Russians could get by without them.
Unfortunately my friend's assistance to the US Army led to his being in a Jeep that ran over a land mine. The driver was killed and he was badly injured. However that led to him meeting his future wife, a US Army nurse and coming back to the USA with her.
They encountered some Soviet troops driving a US made Jeep. He asked a Soviet soldier how he liked that American made Jeep. The man replied it was a Soviet Jeep. My friend pointed that all the instruments were marked in English with American measurements. The Russian replied that they exported the Jeeps to the USA and Americans were so dumb the needed those instruments, while Russians could get by without them.
Unfortunately my friend's assistance to the US Army led to his being in a Jeep that ran over a land mine. The driver was killed and he was badly injured. However that led to him meeting his future wife, a US Army nurse and coming back to the USA with her.
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It is amazing how long the long leased equipment survived in USSR.
In my home town of Sevastopol, I remember at least two men who continued to drive their Willys Jeeps in the 1980s. And my father knew some more. Those Jeeps were used by Black Sea Navy and were supposed to be returned or destroyed after 1945. But general Zhidilov (commander of the first Marines brigade who fought well in 1941-1942, later - the head of Navy Rear Service) has managed somehow to keep them until the Navy could start reequipment program in the early 1950s. Over 100 cars were sold to anyone who could afford them. Allegedly, some were still driveable in the late 1990s.
I heard that Higgins PT boats were still used in the Far East in the 1960s as launches.
The last Liberty ship I saw afloat in Vladivostok in 1989. Permanently berthed, but still in a shape good enough to serve as a training center.
And one of my early childhood memories... Button on the tunic of my late granddad: star on the face side and some strange letters on the reverse...CHICAGO.
In my home town of Sevastopol, I remember at least two men who continued to drive their Willys Jeeps in the 1980s. And my father knew some more. Those Jeeps were used by Black Sea Navy and were supposed to be returned or destroyed after 1945. But general Zhidilov (commander of the first Marines brigade who fought well in 1941-1942, later - the head of Navy Rear Service) has managed somehow to keep them until the Navy could start reequipment program in the early 1950s. Over 100 cars were sold to anyone who could afford them. Allegedly, some were still driveable in the late 1990s.
I heard that Higgins PT boats were still used in the Far East in the 1960s as launches.
The last Liberty ship I saw afloat in Vladivostok in 1989. Permanently berthed, but still in a shape good enough to serve as a training center.
And one of my early childhood memories... Button on the tunic of my late granddad: star on the face side and some strange letters on the reverse...CHICAGO.
pinehilljoe
Senior Airman
- 742
- May 1, 2016
Always informative to read first hand accounts!
AMCKen
Senior Airman
I have often wondered about how many are still out there in the bush. Any source for info on the crash sites? Also, the stopover point "Grand Prairie" should be spelled "Grande". I grew up near there.
- Thread starter
- #10
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
There was a P-38 that Riley's outfit found in AK and were going to restore. Looked about the same as a pile of AL cans to me, but they restored that XP-82 and another outfit put a P-51B found in a lake in FL back in the air, so anything is possible nowadays. A friend told me he knows of an outfit that had attained the capbility to build new Merlin engines.
fubar57
General
Probably, there are many crush sites not found yet in Russian territory. From time to time, remnants of another aircraft is found.
One of the last articles in Russian media:
Американская "Аэрокобра" в Сибири | Русское географическое общество
It's about P-39 piloted by Lt. Arkadiy Koltsov of the 9th Ferry Regiment who crashed in July 1943 between Krasnoyarsk and Omsk. Two A-20s from the same flight were lost as well.
Arkadiy's brother, Vladimir who served in the same regiment perished later in February 1944 in another ferry flight. I don't know total loss statistics of the 9th Ferry Regiment but this job was probably almost as dangerous as front line service...
And there might be some P-39s and P-63s still lying somewhere in Northern Kurils. Parts of one Kingcobra were found in 2015 in Shumshu Island and there were other finds in earlier years.
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- #13
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
Here's some.
A P-39 that had flat spun down into deep snow was discovered intact near Granite Lake Recreation Area, Alaska during my tour at Eielson AFB in the late 1970s. Amazingly, Granet Lake was an AF recreational area and the plane was discovered only a few hundred yards into the brush from the cabins. Also during that time, a P-38 that had bellied into a narrow valley was discovered by the army but rumor has it the AF wanted to beat them to the wreck but trashed it during the salvage operation. An M60 tank used as a Fort Wainwright gate guardian being put into winter storage was instead taken for a joyride up "rock hill". Seems the brakes were worn out and the tank lost its treads going down the steep slope, killing the driver. During my time there the treads were still curled up alongside the trail and the wrecked tank was supposed to be still at the bottom of the ravine. We also had the "lady in the lake" B-50 half-submerged in a pond alongside the trail which I understand has since been removed.
pinehilljoe
Senior Airman
- 742
- May 1, 2016
Related is a book on a routine B-24 flight in Alaska, the plane went down and the book is about the one survivor walking for 81 days to be rescued.
Amazon product ASIN 0306824523
Amazon product ASIN 0306824523
