This was to be important when
we started hiking at night.
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We noticed an almost full moon.
This was to be important when we started hiking at night. |
Day 2. The previous night we hiked way past dark.
Ended up camping in
the middle of the trail. Hans had the tent, Gatt
is to the right and Mike
perched upon a carpenter ant nest. Tommy and
I are to the left out of the picture.
Almost to the crash site. We think... By now
we are tired and sore.
Little did we know that the tough hiking hadn't
even started yet.
First contact! Tommy and Gatt study one of the 4 engines, partially
buried in snow.
Our fear was that the rest of the wreckage was entirely covered in
snow.
We searched on...
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Hans, Mike and Gatt search down below while Tom and I search along the steep hillside, thought to be the general area where the B-17 slid down the mountainside after impact. Tommy finds a propellor hub buried in forest debris. (Mike has a better picture of this...) |
The second of 4 engines found. What is normally a creek was a giant
alpine swamp/pond/lake
due to extensive snowfall during the 1998/1999 winter.
A better view of the swamp/pond/lake. Gatt and Hans report that the
water is extremely cold.
We conclude that the low temperate can be attributed to snow melt.
Hehe. Again, most
of the scattered wreckage seen here is not normally underwater. That's
our guess, anyway.
 |
I wasn't brave enough to sludge through
the icy waters to get a closer look at this piece. |
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A shot from the main fuselage showing the alpine landscape and
scattered wreckage. From this vantage point, the cockpit would have been to the right and the left wing (missing) would have extended towards the mountain. |
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Hans and Gatt on the other side of the pond. The cockpit would have extended up and to the right. |
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Hans holds up an circular chunk. Our guess is either part of an
engine casing or part of a machine gun turret? Not sure if the SB-17 was ever combat outfitted. |
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Not sure what pieces these are. The piece in the back of the photo has a large red X painted on the surface. All major wreckage pieces had a red X, and I'm told this is done to mark the wreck site as a known crash, as to not mistake the site for a recent disaster. The section with the yellow paint is possibly part of the rear fuselage just in front of the vertical stabalizer. I'm not a B-17 expert so if anyone knows better just holler. |
Gatt and Hans still recovering from icicle feet. Just the the right
of Hans is the left tire/wheel assembly.
Another view of the yellow markings. Again, the red stripes are part
of a large X.
Group shot. Mike, Tommy, Gatt, Hans and me in front. From this viewpoint,
the left wing would have extened
past the group towards the mountain.
Closer group shot. Mike, Tommy, Gatt, Hans and I (L to R). The nutria
that claimed the wreckage
as home refused to participate in the group photos.
Gatt and Mikey discuss what that huge chunk is. They determined that
it is probably part of the cockpit. Note
Gatt's rubber boots that he found, after, of course, he already soaked
his shoes in ice-water.
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Gatt and Tommy look over the main fuselage,
Mike still ponders about the cockpit pieces. |
Gatt and his newly found rubber boots are recruited to inspect a large
piece submerged in the pond.
The red paint mark is just another large X. This piece is again possibly
part of the cockpit.
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Inside the main fuselage, looking out toward the Alpine valley. The left wing would have extened up and to the right. If you look closely, you can see where sections of the support have been cut out. Probably done before the Thermite bomb was ingnited to weaken the fuselage. |
A closer look of support sections cut out. From this viewpoint the
right wing extends just out of view at the top
of the picture. The right wheel/tire assembly was in remarkably fair
condition.
The left wheel/tire assembly. You can see where chunks of the tire
have been cut out by
scavengers and souevenier hunters. The tire was manufactured by BF
Goodrich, but alot
of tire info had been cut out. The yellow piece at the far right
of the photo is, well, I dunno.
A control surface of some type for sure. Mikey has a better photo of
this piece.
Wider angle view of scattered wreckage. Cockpit would be to the right,
left wing extending out towards
the yellow piece in the upper left of the photo.
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The tail section of the plane would have extended left and down in the photo. According to the crash reports, the tail section was ripped off 1/2 mile up the hill upon impact. |
Tommy scans the wreckage.
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Ah, and arsty photo.
Mikey framed by a hole in the fuselage. He is standing where the cockpit would have been. |
Can't resist such odd natural frames. Mikey and Gatt discuss cockpit
pieces.
Also note more sections of the structural support bars had been cut/removed.
Wide angle shot of the main fuselage with Alpine valley in the background.
Left wing
would have extended towards the valley.
(L to R) Gatt, Mikey and Tom strain to hold up the right wing showing
the Air Force insignia. The right wing
was in much better shape than the left, which couldn't be possitively
identified in any form. Of course, any
parts remaining are either damaged beyond our amatuer recognition or
submerged in the pond.
The only numbers correlating to the B-17 serial number that we found.
SB-17G 44-85746
This is likely cockpit skin. Maybe?
The last of the crash pictures. The remaining 4 are of our trip back
to civilization.
Return to Main
page.
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Day 3. On our way out, Gatt's left arm goes numb. Tommy and Mike re-organizes his load. His face shows the pain we all felt. At this point we are dead tired, blistered, sore from carrying too much crap and have various unknown bug bites. Was it all worth it? Yes! |
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Almost back to the rigs. The last 1/2 mile or so of the hike took us through fields of daisys. Daisy pictures taken for Tammy! :) |
Heading back home. Tommy is more than happy to have his Jeep carry
his backpack.
Gatt (driving) says he feels no more pain. Hans gives the thumbs up
sign for a kick-ass, epic journey.
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