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The Story of Lake Mead's B-29
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In July of 1948, a B-29A Superfortress
bomber was on an Army Air Forces
scientific mission to study variations in
solar radiation with altitude as part of
the Upper Air Research Project. The
mission called for runs from "as low as
possible" to 30,000 feet and back. The
aircraft had taken off from Inyokern, CA
and was on one of its final runs of the
day. After completing a run to 30,000
feet east of Lake Mead, the crew began
their descent and leveled out just 300
feet above the lake's surface. It was a
midsummer's day and winds were
completely calm. The crew described
the lake as looking like a mirror, with
the sun reflecting brightly off the
surface. These conditions make
judging height above the surface
incredibly difficult. Combine that with
an incorrectly set altimeter, thermal
activity from midday heat and
inexperience on the part of the pilots in
flight over water and the stage for this
accident was set. |
This image compliments of
Sherman
This was the first image confirming with absolute
certainty that indeed a plane had been found.
This image was taken at a 100m range setting.
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This image demonstrates the complexity of the terrain
upon which the aircraft rests. It appears to be caught
in a trough in what would have been an old floodplain
before the lake filled. Even though parts of the plane
seem to be elevated off of the bottom (as evidenced
by an analysis of the sonar shadows being cast), the
aircraft appears to be largely intact. |
The B-29 struck the water at nearly 250
miles per hour. The pilots were able to
pull up and get the plane airborne again,
skipping it like a stone across a calm
pond. The impact had ripped 3 of the B-29's 4 engines from their mounts, set fire
to the fourth and severely damaged the
left wing and horizontal stabilizer. While
initially the pilots were able to regain
perhaps 200-300 feet of altitude with the
plane's momentum, its fate was sealed.
Within a few seconds the B-29 was on its way back down to the water. Fuel cutoffs were engaged and engine #1
was feathered as the pilots prepared the plane for ditching. They managed to bring it
in tail first, slowly decelerating until finally the plane came to rest. All five aboard got
out before the plane sank, escaping in two life rafts. About 12 minutes after ditching,
the B-29 disappeared beneath the surface, not to be seen again for over 53 years. |
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The plane sank in very deep water in rough terrain, making the search not only
difficult, but hazardous as well. Because of the rough terrain, the search tracks had
to be closer together than normal. If this was not done, the remains of the wreck
could have been easily concealed in the shadows of the numerous hills, peaks and
steep drop offs found in the area. If you'd like to see the original image in which a
potential target was discovered and learn about how the story of
the discovery was made public, click here.
Now that Lake Mead's B-29 has been located, future plans include
filming a television documentary covering this unique piece of
Lake Mead's history.
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A close-up image at a 50m range setting shows damage
to the empennage. It is also evident, looking at engines
2, 3 & 4, that they were indeed torn off the plane at the
engine mounts.
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