Mr. Dynamite
CGN Regular
- Location
- Northern Alberta
That old curved bridge is still standing, the Kiskatinaw river bridge just north of Dawson
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=...S8QH5E3CS13FVyBut0_Vo1zA&ust=1456903392557696
Last edited:
Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
That old curved bridge is still standing, the Kiskatinaw river bridge just north of Dawson
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=...S8QH5E3CS13FVyBut0_Vo1zA&ust=1456903392557696
been on one of these, on a mountain top in Nfld. they look quite different in a million pieces.
Convair B-36 “Peacemaker”
Two B36s crashed in Newfoundland. One on the island and one in Labrador. The Goose bay one ran out of gas and made a forced landing in the bush.
The island one hit a ridge. According to Google:
Capt. Jacob Pruett Jr., Capt Orion Clark, Brigadier General Richard Ellsworth, Major Frank Wright and a crew of nineteen took off in RB-36H, 51-13721 of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (Heavy) from Lajes Airdrome in the Azores at 0000 Zulu (11:00 PM Azores time) on March 18, 1953. Their destination was their home base of Rapid City Air Force Base, South Dakota. Their flight path took them across the Atlantic Ocean and over Newfoundland. The flight was expected to take 25 hours.
The pre-flight weather briefing indicated that their flight path would take them to the south of a low pressure zone. The counter-clockwise rotation of the low would produce headwinds that were forecast to average 17 knots from 300 degrees.
General Ellsworth and Major Wright were not current in take-offs and landings, so Capt. Jacob Pruett Jr. and Capt Orion Clark were probably at the controls during the take-off. Major Wright then moved into the pilot's seat on the left and General Ellsworth got into the co-pilot's seat on the right.
Major Wright and General Ellsworth flew the overwater portion of the flight about 1,000 feet off the water for best range performance. They monitored their altitude above the water with the radar altimeter as they flew through the darkness.
The navigator intended to turn on the mapping radar an hour before the time that he expected the RB-36H to reach land. The pilots planned to climb to an altitude that would carry the RB-36H safely over the mountains of Newfoundland while they were still 20 miles from land.
Most of the flight was flown in overcast conditions that prevented the navigator from using the ###tant for a celestial observation to determine the true position of the airplane.
The low pressure zone moved south of its predicted position before the RB-36H reached its vicinity. The airplane passed to the north of the low. Instead of the anticipated headwinds, the airplane encountered tailwinds that averaged 12 knots from 197 degrees.
Ocean station delta received a position update from the RB-36H at 0645Z. The navigator reported that the ground speed of the airplane was 130 knots. The position was in error by 138 nautical miles, and the true ground speed was closer to 185 knots.
The RB-36H reached Newfoundland about 1-1/2 hours earlier than expected. The crew made no attempt to contact air defense when they were fifty miles off shore. The navigator did not turn on the radar. The pilots continued to fly at low altitude. In the last twenty minutes of the flight, the ground speed averaged 202 knots. The visibility was less than 1/8-mile as the airplane flew straight and level through sleet, freezing drizzle, and fog.
At 0740Z (4:10 AM Newfoundland time), thirty miles after crossing the coastline the RB-36H struck an 896-foot tall ridge at an elevation of 800 feet. The six whirling propellers chopped the tops off numerous pine trees before the left wing struck the ground. The left wing ripped off of the airplane, and spilled fuel ignited a huge fireball. The fuselage and right wing impacted 1,000 feet beyond the left wing. The entire crew was killed on impact. Wreckage was strewn for 3/4-mile across the hillside.
U. S. Air Force 1st Lt #### Richardson heard the RB-36H approaching his cabin at Nut Cove. The sound of the engines stopped suddenly, to be replaced by a loud explosion. Richardson reported that, "Everything lit up real bright". He could see a fire buring on the hillside above. He woke up the other men on the hill. They boiled up the kettle and sent a search party up to the crash site through deep snow. They found no survivors.
This particular aircraft wreck site is unique because of the size of the aircraft and the fact that most parts of the aircraft's major structure are still in place. The wreck may be reached by driving east from Clarenville to Burgoyne's Cove. A gravel road from Burgoyne's Cove to a slate quarry further along the shore of Smith Sound, allows access to the trail to the site at Nut Cove. Until recently the only access to the site was by "walk-in" from Burgoyne's Cove.
A new sign has been placed by the 515 Air Cadet Squadron, Atlantic Region, at the beginning of the trail. The trail climbs steeply through spruce woods and benches have been placed at intervals. The climb takes about half-an-hour and emerges onto the rock shoulder below the top of the ridge. A framed plaque has ben placed at the front bulkhead of the tail structure. This plaque shows a profile of the B-36H and gives reasons for the cause of the crash. Also a memorial consisting of a propellor blade from the aircraft and a stone memorial and bronze plaque are placed at the highest point of the ridge.
In general, the explanation states that two B-36H aircraft were on a secret mission. The mission was to fly from the Azores across the Atlantic at 500 feet altitude until reaching the Maine coast, then to climb to 44,000 feet and begin the actual mission. Navigation was hinderd by fog and no fixes were made enroute. A low pressure area that was expected to move north in the Atlantic, and give winds to carry the aircraft south, did not move as predicted. Additionally, the aircraft steered a few degress north to counter the expected southward trend. In fact, the winds around the low carried the both aircraft some 400 miles to the north, the second aircraft having a lucky escape from a similar fate.
The aircraft structure and engines are spread across the site on both sides of 650 to 700 foot ridge running approximately SW-NE. The site of the wreck is 481120N-533943W. The ridge at the wreck site is crossed by a steep side narrow valley which contains wreckage.
Last edited:
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
The Berliner Dom was something of a landmark, not just a place to park anachronisms. 
Another couple angles:
A nice transition between then and now...
and today:
Another couple angles:
A nice transition between then and now...
and today:
Every crash sight is disturbing, but I am always particularly disturbed standing on a hill, ridge, mountain and see that if the plane had only been X feet higher, it would have been ok.
As a pilot, having seen such crashes before, I was always extra cautious about poor visibility and high terrain. Every pilot knows about cumulo granite clouds.
- Location
- Vancouver Island
"Just died"?
Er, I think you meant to say, "Died just last week."
q:0|
The English language--sometimes she can be a cruel #####.
...Just died last week.
Er, I think you meant to say, "Died just last week."
q:0|
The English language--sometimes she can be a cruel #####.
Did a bit of googling and link surfing on this one (boring afternoon at the office)...
The ECO, 1Lt Clifford W. Bransdor, was a WWII vet. Survived a 35 mission tour over Europe as a bombardier in a B-24 in 1944-45, without a single abort.
http://www.458bg.com/crewaa124boucek
Some pics from the crash site:
bdft
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
There's B-36 crash site in the Kispiox mountains in northern BC too. The nuke was punched out over open water and the crew bailed out south of the Queen Charlotte Islands. For reasons no one is entirely clear on, the bomber turned around and flew back into central BC and crashed on the top of a mountain. A couple of books written about it. The 20mm tail gun is in the museum in Smithers.
http://bvmuseum.com/news/article/b36_bomber_crashes_february_14th
http://bvmuseum.com/news/article/b36_bomber_crashes_february_14th
Last edited:
Did a bit of googling and link surfing on this one (boring afternoon at the office)...
The ECO, 1Lt Clifford W. Bransdor, was a WWII vet. Survived a 35 mission tour over Europe as a bombardier in a B-24 in 1944-45, without a single abort.
http://www.458bg.com/crewaa124boucek
Some pics from the crash site:
I note, with a heavy heart, that some cretian has removed the plaque! Most likely sold as scrape, it otta be a crime.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Had to do the job until something bigger came along...
Dig that crazy fighter cockpit...
Ground Control to Major Tom...
Dig that crazy fighter cockpit...
Ground Control to Major Tom...
I grew up in the 70's adn 80's... the Cold War was a very real thing in the public consciousness then, and there was a certain level of respect for the men and women who did terribly risky things to keep the cold war cold.
I suspect people who grew up even a decade later, in the 80's and 90's, don't really have a sense of how terrifying a time it really was, just see the madness of it all (and it really was madness), but don't have a sense of the fortitude it took for the people in uniform to live a life that was, essentially, perpetually on the shiny edge of the wedge.
If anyone who even has an inkling of the guts it took for the SAC pilots and crew to do their job, day in and day out, stole that plaque, then there's a special, very hot, place for them in the afterlife.
Different type of cat:
http://2.bp.########.com/-pFFd8vvOrQI/U3Uz6rb_OqI/AAAAAAAAZfo/pCD9TxIO5zc/s1600/tiger+P+300.jpg
http://2.bp.########.com/-hkS_BfyPRBk/VetfWFgzY_I/AAAAAAAAEMo/bKKxsCQhyEI/s1600/vk-4501-p.png
The real deal cat (Tiger) at the Panzer Museum in Germany. Spent a ton of time taking dozens of pictures.
King (Tiger) Cat
Panther
Hunting cat (Jagdpanther)
Last edited:
Had to do the job until something bigger came along...
Dig that crazy fighter cockpit...
Ground Control to Major Tom...
There was an old Jimmy Steward movie where he played a baseball player called back into the Air Force and flies the B-29, B-36 and B-47. It was called Strategic Air Command and was basically a "we love our stragegic bombers" propaganda movie. But interesting anyway.
