What is this?
It is a wreck I encountered about 10 years ago on trekking in South Greenland, on the Narsaq Peninsula @ 15-20 km. southwest of Narsarssuaq Airport, the former Bluie West-1 USAF base. The wreck is situated on a plain just north of the mountain Nunasarnaq, in danish “Strygejernet”, the “Iron” due to its shape.
The dry climate means no corrosion to speak of, as you can see.
The wing centre section carried signs of a fire, and was torn from the rather undamaged tail section. Also, whar very little remained from the cockpit – the wreck is of course wellknown by the local sheepfarmers who removed other items of interest, like the propeller centres and landing wheels. The engines had ripped themselves loose from their nacelles and tumbled some fifty metres further on, still very undamaged, as is the broken-off wings.
To me it seems like it is the wreck of a medium sized bomber like a A-20 or something alike, but I could never find a match. Note the small window in the tail section – and to me it seems like the number on the tail itself reads 3013.
Does the red dots in the stars on the wings mean it is a USAAC plane?
Work on B.W.-1 started in july 1941, and as I understand USAAC only existed until june 1941, this presents another puzzle to me. Was the plane lost before work on B.W.-1 started? Too much of a coincidence….or is the crash of a much newer date, a museum plane going down in transit to or from Europe?
Many questions from a guy that´s very new here on your fantastic forum. I made a lot of Airfix kits as a kid, and somehow kept the interest…..If anybody has answers, I know it´s you people!
Thanks a lot in advance!
Jon Petersen
By: Jon Petersen - 19th February 2009 at 00:08
Well, now I know this about the aircraft:
It was part of 47th Bomb Group/97th Bomb Squadron, and on its way home from action in Tunisia, together with two other Havocs and a C-87, which it was trailing when it suffered a high speed stall and crashed, killing its crew of 3.
I am going to build a 1/48 kit of the plane – does anybody has pictures from the 47th Bomb Group or 97th Bomb Squadron in Tunisia, winter and spring 1943? Or, faltering that, an idea where I can ask for the info? Modellers forae, ? I am making this post on Warbirds, as I presúme they could be a very good guess.
What I am looking for is especially its noseart, if at had any.
Regards
Jon
By: Jon Petersen - 9th February 2009 at 08:49
Very many thanks!
To all, especially Bager1968.
I have ordered a crash report, now it will be exiting to see if it provides any information I can understand.
The crash apparently found place in late april – wintertime or at best very early spring. Do I get it right that all 5 aboard was killed?
Jon
By: Peter - 9th February 2009 at 01:12
Good job Bager!! It had me guessing!!
By: Bager1968 - 9th February 2009 at 01:10
Found it!!!!
25 April 1943; A-20B; serno 41-3013; accident, killed in crash – 5; pilot Crider, Harvey A Jr; Greenland
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Apr1943O.htm
430425 A-20B 41-3013 AT KCR 5 Crider, Harvey A Jr GRN
A copy of the full accident report may be ordered from the website I linked.
By: Bager1968 - 9th February 2009 at 00:58
OK, I’m going out on a limb here, but from what I can find, no B-26 (or RAF Marauder) had a US serial ending in 3013.
The Douglas A-20B Havoc, however, had the 14-cylinder Wright Cyclone 2600s, and had serials 41-2671 to 41-3669.
Note the “window” in the pic the OP posted looks like it has a pipe sticking out of it, like that on the A-20.
Incidentally, most of the A-20Bs were sent to the USSR under lend/lease, but some were kept in the USAAC/USAAF.
I agree with Jon Peterson… A-20B.
http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/database/aircraft/getimage.htm?id=14339
By: Jon Petersen - 9th February 2009 at 00:46
Thanks!
I don´t think the engines has more than 14 cylinders, and I think Marauders has the 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800´s. The 14 cylinder engines and the small window is my main reasons for suggesting the A-20 Havoc, along with the rather long and slender ends of the engine-nacelles of which one is visible on one of my pics.
So…
I really like the idea of the red in the stars having been painted over, but now reappearing. That makes sense to me.
Can the number 3013 help with ID of the aircraft – and a story about why it went down? Are there any open sources I can rummage through in order to scavenge for information like this?
More pictures, no, not really.
I only have 2 pictures of a Harvard wing, that one winter came down from the icecap in a storm and ended up in some bushes just behind the Youth Hostel in Narsarssuaq…..there goes a story about 2 Harvards that succesfully landed on a frozen lake about 50 km. north of the base due to not being able to land in bad weather and running out of fuel. Before they were retrieved, the weather worsened and the were smashed by heavy winds. Apparently, the wing should be from one of these. One of the the pics I do have shows the manufacturers plate on the wing, if that helps in determination of the aircraft and possibly confirming the story.
I never took pictures from the dump, and I should have. Among the gems there was the frame of a light aircraft of some kind, a Piper Cub maybe, and the belly-bowl gun tower off a B-17, complete bar the guns. And the rather huge main landing wheel of a B-29!
There is a nice little museum in Narsarssuaq with lots of stuff from the base. Go there if you comes by.:)
Jon
By: galdri - 8th February 2009 at 23:58
Does the red dots in the stars on the wings mean it is a USAAC plane?
Work on B.W.-1 started in july 1941, and as I understand USAAC only existed until june 1941, this presents another puzzle to me. Was the plane lost before work on B.W.-1 started? Too much of a coincidence….or is the crash of a much newer date, a museum plane going down in transit to or from Europe?
Jon Petersen
Do not read too much into the red dot when it comes to dating the crash. This is certainly a wartime crash, and the red dot most likely came to light when the white paint painted over it wheathered away. So to me, this aircraft was delivered to the Air Force before june 1941, the red got painted over, but the overpaint has faded away.
By: Peter - 8th February 2009 at 23:54
That would be my guess too Nashio! Great pics BTW. Any more wreck pics?
By: Nashio966 - 8th February 2009 at 23:51
based on the tail, id hazard a rough guess and say its a Martin B-26 “Maurauder”
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February 8, 2009 at 11:35 pm