Since no position was given, it was believed that they were lost, and search areas were drawn to aid in locating the crew. "Other reports were received between 09 AT from 768 stating that 4 minutes of fuel remained, and a crash landing would be made on land or ice. "From this information, it was obvious that an emergency existed and plans were immediately made for starting a search-and-rescue mission if the need developed." No further report was received on this flight until 0756 AT, 21 February 1947, when Point Barrow CAA Radio Station picked up a radio message from Kee Bird stating that they had no means of steering as the sun was too low." Two minutes later, Arnett reported he had hit a bad storm at 24,000 feet (7,300 m) and was "over land but do not know where". "All missions were flown with radio silence to avoid detection. The mission was expected to last from 12 to 20 hours, making estimated arrival time at Ladd Field around 10:00 am Alaska Standard Time (AT) on 21 February 1947. The aircraft was carrying enough fuel to stay airborne for about 26 hours under normal conditions, having been configured for very long range missions with extra fuel tanks in the unused bomb bays. The mission on this occasion was to fly to the geographic North Pole, then fly a return route back to Ladd Field. All of its missions were classified "top secret". Arnett took Kee Bird off on a routine mission with a crew of 11 men. The boarding ladder is in place, and take-off from the crash site is imminent. The Kee Bird rescue: A C-54 rescue plane is preparing to pick up the aircrew, shown on the ice waving to the photo plane flying over. Its flights were used to develop accurate polar navigation, survey and map the Arctic, perform comprehensive weather studies, test its men and equipment in Arctic conditions, train in polar navigation and operations, and fly long-range photographic intelligence flights with B-29/F-13A Superfortresses.
The squadron was assigned to Ladd Field, near Fairbanks, Alaska, in June 1946, and began operational missions later that month. The 46th was engaged in mapping the northern section of Greenland and also to search for any Soviet military activity in this uninhabited area. With growing tensions in US-Soviet relations, SAC explored the possibility of attacking Soviet targets via great circle routes over the North Pole as part of " Project Nanook". The standard B-29 bombing equipment and defensive armament were retained.
With the reconnaissance equipment, it was redesignated an F-13 (in the F- for photo reconnaissance series). It carried three K-17B, two K-22, and one K-18 cameras with provisions for others. Nineteen B-29s were assigned to the 46th RS, and at that time, 768 was one of six squadron aircraft that was fitted with special camera installations for photo-reconnaissance work. Once delivered, though, it was placed in storage at Davis-Monthan Army Airfield in Tucson, Arizona, until mid-1946, when the 46th RS was formed.
#Fsx missions alaska serial
It was delivered to the United States Army Air Forces as serial 45-21768, on August 9, 1945.
Īssigned to the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron, the Kee Bird was originally a standard Block 95 B-29 Superfortress bomber manufactured at Boeing's Wichita, Kansas, plant in 1945, c/n 13662, one of the last B-29s manufactured at the plant. Ladd Field was one of the important staging areas for gathering what strategic intelligence could be obtained along Soviet borders. Before the development of the Lockheed U-2 high-altitude spy plane and orbital reconnaissance satellites, technology and politics limited American reconnaissance efforts to the borders, and not the heartland, of the Soviet Union. In the late 1940s, strategic intelligence on Soviet capabilities and intentions was scarce. Weather reconnaissance was part of the effort, as was long-range detection, the search for Soviet atomic explosions. Along with the photo-reconnaissance mission, a small electronic intelligence (ELINT) cadre was operating. The first efforts were in photo-reconnaissance and mapping. One of the SAC's initial missions was to plan strategic aerial reconnaissance on a global scale. In the early years of the Cold War, some of the most important strategic reconnaissance was carried out by Strategic Air Command units deployed to Ladd Army Airfield, near Fairbanks, Alaska Territory.
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