Mysterious B-29 sits in an Alaskan lake

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/eielson-s-lady-of-the-lake-had-role-in-cold/article_8474bfb2-25e3-11e4-9d79-0017a43b2370.html

 

Interesting. Has there been any talk of recovering the aircraft?

 

Not that I know of. Do you have room in your storage building?

 

Well, as we speak the new building is going up, but at 25x50 feet it may be a bit small for a B-29. There's always the roof...

I'm sure that would look great on your Arizona property.

 

It looks quite intact.


There is a relative looking for information here. He says it was a Guam earlier.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/fairbanks/758503-eielson-lady-lake.html

and here is the story: it was just abandonned in 1957 and canibalized.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/fairbanks/758503-eielson-lady-lake.html

The last flight was in 1956 when a gear broke and could not be replaced due to a lack of spares .

Description: The “lady” is a KB-29P, the refueling version of the B-29 bomber, Tail No. 4483905. Her permanent home was Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., but she was on temporary duty at Eielson. She died April 17, 1956, according to records, when she landed on Eielson’s runway and her front landing gear buckled.

 

That's good research, Skipper! It's good to know it served in the war - that's further than the reporter could take the story back. As a WWII vet, it makes it more attractive to save and restore.

 

44-62214 does not have a World War II history, the plane was not delivered until September 5, 1945.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5SdDW64827QC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=44-62214&source=bl&ots=UwSMszUDpN&sig=Gb_kZpEx7t8CD1NZSbCpC1u7T9A&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wNHxU9KHL8yKyASWmYIg&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=44-62214&f=false
The poster is probably referring to the "other" identification of the B-29 as 44-83905, were she was called "Shrewd Maneuver"
http://www.315bw.org/b29list.html#[3]

 

Be good to see it salvaged and restored though.

 

it's not Vixen 03, is it?

 

No. The "Lady of the Lake" is most certainly not a C-97(transport based on the B-29 airframe).

State's wrong too, Vixen 03 went down in a Colorado lake.

 

My father was indeed on this plane that flew bombing missions over Japan and he was in historic last mission of the war. I cannot see if it is indeed the Shrewd Maneuver based on the picture, however, if it is, this plane was based in Guam and kept my father and her crew alive until the end of the war.

 

Shrewd Maneuver was my Grandfathers aircraft. My Grandfather, Don DerMiner, was the bombardier. By chance this aircraft also dropped the last bombs of WWII. There is a lot of history with this airframe. I wish we knew about this before he died.

 

This question doesn't really merit a new thread: The reason the B-29 wasn't used in the European theater was mainly due to its late introduction (May 1944)? The strategic bombing offensive against Germany was winding down then?

 

The strategic bombing campaign was winding up in May, 1944 - Hence the switch from dedicated bombardiers to toggliers. But, the -17s and -24s were being produced in numbers to meet the demand. Nor did the B-29 offer any great advantage in the ETO. Not to mention that the runways would need to be refurbished to operate the heavier -29s, nor the increased demand to supply shot he bomber with spare parts.

As Opana stated, the 29s long range pretty much dictated their use in the Pacific.

 

I emailed the base and the public relations officer scanned this for me
I was also searching for Shrewd Maneuver, as 1st Lt Herbert Olson was my grandfather.