THE FATE OF KEE BIRD

The crew of the ill-fated F-13A Kee Bird. Aircraft commander Lt Vern H. Arnett is on the left of the back row. The most famous 46th/72nd RS loss was that of F-13A 45-21768 Kee Bird. Named after a mythical Arctic bird, the aircraft took off from Ladd Field at 14.20hrs on 20 February 1947 for a routine secret mission to the polar ice cap. Shortly after flying over the North Pole, with Kee Bird on course to return to Ladd