KEE BIRD

The '''Kee Bird''' was an American B-29 bomber that became marooned after making an emergency landing in northwest Greenland during a secret Cold War spy mission in 1947. Although the entire crew was safely evacuated after spending three arduous days on the isolated Arctic tundra, the aircraft itself was left at the landing site. The aircraft spent nearly half a century undisturbed until a privately funded mission was launched in 1994 to repair the ''Kee Bird'' and fly it back to civilization. After months of painstaking work on the aircraft and a series of setbacks, including the death of the mission's chief engineer, the repairs were completed and the aircraft prepared to take off from a frozen lake. As the aircraft was taxiing to takeoff position, however, a fire broke out inside the rear fuselage and the entire plane was engulfed in flames. The wreckage of the ''Kee Bird'' now rests at the bottom of a lake in the Arctic Circle. The attempted restoration of the ''Kee Bird'' was documented in the television documentary, "B-29 Frozen in Time" (1997), an episode of the series ''NOVA''.

Contents

The 1947 Crew

Restoration Team

Restoration Mission Summary

External links

The 1947 Crew

The flightcrew for the Kee Bird's final Cold War spy mission included:
'Vern Arnett', Pilot

'Russel S. Jordan', Copilot

'Talbert Gates', Copilot

'John G. Lesman', Astro Navigator

'Burl Cowan', D.R. Navigator

'Robert "Lucky" Luedke', Flight Engineer

'Howard Adams', Radar Observer

'Lawrence Yarborough', Gunner

'Ernie Stewart', Gunner

'Paul McNamara', Gunner

'Robert "Bucky" Leader', Radio Operator

Restoration Team

The 1994 Restoration Team consisted of the following personnel:
'Daryl Greenamyer', Project Captain/Pilot

'Rick Kriege', Chief Engineer

'Cecilio Grande', Engineer's helper

'Vernon Rich', Toolmaker/Machinist

'Roger Von Grote', Supply shuttle pilot

'Bob Vanderveen', Cook

Restoration Mission Summary

In 1994, operating as Kee Bird Limited Liability Co., a team of aircraft restorers was led by Daryl Greenamyer to the emergency landing site. Using a 1962 De Havilland Caribou as a shuttle plane, the team departed the U.S. armed services base at Thule, Greenland and flew in tools and equipment to the ''Kee Bird''. Over the summer months, the team transported four remanufactured engines, four new propellors, an engine hoist, and a bulldozer to the remote site. The team successfully replaced the engines and propellors, and resurfaced the aircraft's control surfaces. As the winter snows began to fall, the Chief Engineer, Rick Kriege fell ill and was transported to a hospital in Canada where he died from a blood clot after two weeks. Although the plane was nearly ready to fly, Greenamyer's team was compelled by weather to leave the site.
In May 1995, Greenamyer returned with additional personnel. As he was taxiing the ''Kee Bird'' to a frozen lake he planned to use as a runway, an auxiliary power unit's jury-rigged fuel tank came loose and a fire broke out in the rear fuselage. The entire crew escaped unharmed, but the aircraft was completely destroyed. When the lake thawed in the spring, the wreckage sank to the bottom.

External links

★ B-29 Frozen in Time ''NOVA'', July 29, 1997

★ Photos and description of the salvage attempt

★ B-29 Frozen for 50 years