Secrets of Failed Salvage of Lost WW2 B-29 Bomber Kee Bird
90,967
Published 2021-06-04
0:00 Intro
4:04 What really was the Kee Bird's secret mission?
5:01 About Darryl Greenamyer
6:05 Why Gary Larkins doesn't isn't mentioned
9:04 Introduction to the expedition team
9:45 About the nightmare Caribou C-7 Transport Plane
Many of us have watched the incredible Nova documentary 'B-29 Frozen in Time'. But do we know the whole story?
History X goes behind the scenes on the attempted recovery of the lost and abandoned WW2 B-29 Superfortress bomber known as the Kee Bird to provide additional educational facts about the expedition.
Darryl Greenamyer assembled a team to go to Thule AB in Greenland and salvage this Boeing B29 plane that crashed above the arctic circle while flying on a secret mission during the Cold War.
The team operates out of Thule Air Force base and runs into all kinds of obstacles.
There are only two examples of the B-29 left flying today. One is 'Fifi' operated by the Commemorative Air Force, formerly known as the Confederate Air Force.
History X also digs into the story behind warbird enthusiast and aircraft recovery specialist Gary Larkins and his Air Pirates, his contribution to this expedition, and why his name is never mentioned in the Nova documentary.
Source Credits:
Hunting Warbirds' by Carl Hoffman: amzn.to/3p6CTVx
Nova documentary 'B-29 Frozen in Time': amzn.to/3ibEh8d
Check-out the History X website at historyxchannel.com/
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All Comments (21)
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I talked with the Chief Pilot of FiFi back in 1997. At that time FiFi was the only flight worthy B-29 in the world. As he talked about Kee Bird's final event his sorrow was palpable. You could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
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I was provided with a first person description of the crash of the Kee Bird. My father (Robert Leader) was the radio operator on that secret mission.
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What a tragedy. The plane wasn't ruined by war. It was ruined by a bunch of careless mechanical hacks. The US Air Force should have went in with real engineers and saved that plane.
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One of the saddest endings to a recovery mission. I know one member passed away and then the plane burned up due to think a generator falling over or something. Unfortunately ego really played a part of the sad failure. Bittersweet obviously but if you look on google map, the plane is clearly seen.
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Remember seeing the attempted Salvage , the end part broke my heart , I always wondered why they just didn't break her up an ship it home instead of corner cutting ..it's not like firing up an old Chevy an driving it home ..good vid .
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Those idiots that tried to salvage Keebird could have prevented that fire in the tail of the plane.
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I remember watching the documentary as a kid. Thanks Ken for the added context. It was new information which I didn’t expect.
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Bunch of hacks destroyed this plane. Turns my stomach what happened
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It was a shame it couldn't be recovered B ut I've after all that trouble. I was surprised the 4 rebuilt engines were left to rot instead of being salvaged. They could have been used on the few b29's still in existence.
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This is a sad story about someone that had too much money, but not enough time to do things right.
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I watched the Nova episode when it came out and was devastated. Then I read the books and did a lot more research. Now it’s easy to Monday morning QB all they did wrong, but it was still stupid, Daryl was in a hurry and it cost him. Lucky it burned on the ground and not 5 min after take off. One more winter wouldn’t have been that bad. I look forward to the rest of the series. Maybe leave the notes up longer I found myself trying to read fast or pausing for some of them. Good work.
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Everything is easy for YouTube commentators. Few of them seem to have achieved much in life themselves or they would judge more kindly
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I still think the remains should be salvaged ,
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what WAS left behind is insane=rudder,verticle stab,elevators,horizontal stab, tail gun posision, full wingbox, outer wings, flaps, ailerons, props, engines , nacelles, a man died to try to recover this relic and the recovery team was a bunch of idiots
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Please make more content about the Kee Bird recovery attempt... Such a magnificent story.
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I would go back and salvage everything from kee bird, and build another one, don't give up, shit happens
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The way the apu was used was only for taxi to stag before takeoff. Darryl was not stupid he wouldn’t have flown that way ,those guys did an incredible job on a artic dirt field ‼️ I met Darryl in 2017 and talked his arm off about all his flying great guy R I P .
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If the results of the Kee Bird expedition fits your definition of "salvage," funerary urns are full of salvaged people.
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You out to do a story of the B 29 that crashed in lake mead .
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I like how you say maybe 5 lines then the rest is all clips from the Netflix show
