Aircraft History
Built at the Consolidated factory in San Diego, California, on 3 September 1942. After its initial flight on 7 September, it was accepted by the Army Air Force on the 9th and delivered the following day. The plane was flown to the Consolidated factory in Fort Worth, Texas, on 22 September for modification, the 17th of a batch of 21 B-24s to be modified for service in Alaska. Modifications were completed on 17 November 1942 and the aircraft underwent a Check Flight and was accepted the same day it was completed. It was re-delivered to the USAAF the following day.

The plane was assigned to Great Falls Army Air Field, Montana, on November 21, 1942 and on December 4, 1942 flown to Elmendorf Airfield. Soon afterwards, this B-24 was assigned to the forward base on Otter Point Airfield (Umnak) in the Aleutians. From there it was relocated to Adak Airfield, even further west toward the Japanese-held islands at the western end of the Aleutians. From Adak the aircraft flew anti-shipping patrols to assist the U.S. Navy in intercepting Japanese cargo ships before they could resupply enemy troops on shore.

Mission History
On January 18, 1943, took off from Adak Airfield piloted by Captain Ernest "Pappy" Pruett along with five other B-24s to locate and bomb three Japanese supply ships reportedly headed for Kiska Island. The 500 mile trip to Kiska was made through deteriorating weather conditions. When the flight finally arrived over the target they were forced to abort the mission due to the weather and head for home.

When the aircraft arrived back over Adak the visibility was so poor that they could only circle overhead awaiting an eventual break in the weather. When one of the other B-24 pilots in the group saw a brief opening over the runway and hastily tried to land he crashed into several P-38 aircraft parked on the field. One other B-24 did manage to land safely, but the four remaining planes were forced to disperse and look for someplace else to put down. Two of these B-24s disappeared presumably at sea and were never heard from again. A third, the Flight Commander's aircraft, had enough fuel to fly to Cold Bay Airfield where it landed safely.

Captain Pruett in the remaining aircraft, running low on fuel, radioed the Adak tower that he planned to put down on Great Sitkin Island. He descended toward the ocean and made a low pass over his proposed landing site to ascertain conditions.

According to Lt. Francis Xaver, the Navigator on Capt. Pruett's B-24 that day:
"As we flew over the 50 foot cliff on the shoreline, a strong wind blowing up the face of the cliff was so turbulent that it knocked out our radio, and we lost all contact with Adak. Unknown to us, Adak tried to contact us at about this time to inform us that a base was open somewhere up the chain of islands. Of course, we never received the message as our radio was out of order."

Capt. Pruett eased the B-24 onto the tundra at about 130mph, with the landing gear up to prevent flipping the aircraft. The B-24 slid about 1,000 feet over the mud and wet grass before it finally came to rest, passing between several large boulders at the foot of the volcanic mountain on Great Sitkin. Fortunately, only one crew member was injured in the crash landing, Bombardier T/Sgt. Holiel Ascol suffering a broken pelvis. The Navy ship USS Hurlbert picked the crew up later that same day and returned them to the base on Adak.

Capt. Pruett eased the B-24 onto the tundra at about 130mph, with the landing gear up to prevent flipping the aircraft. The B-24 slid about 1,000 feet over the mud and wet grass before it finally came to rest, passing between several large boulders at the foot of the volcanic mountain on Great Sitkin. Fortunately, only one crew member was injured in the crash landing, Bombardier T/Sgt. Holiel Ascol suffering a broken pelvis. The Navy ship USS Hurlbert picked the crew up later that same day and returned them to the base on Adak. Ernest Pruett went on to fly 44 combat missions in World War II, never losing another aircraft.

Wreckage
The derelict B-24 remained 'in situ' on Great Sitkin Island until 1994.

In the summer of 1994 it was located by a scouting party from the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Utah, searching all known Alaskan B-24 crash sites for a recoverable aircraft for display at Hill Aerospace Museum. An expedition was organized for the summer of 1995.

Retired in Carlsbad, California, Pruett was contacted by members of the Heritage Foundation and asked if he would like to return to the island and assist the recovery team in plucking "his" B-24 from obscurity. He and several members of the Heritage Foundation, the 419th Combat Logistics Support Squadron, and the 67th Aerial Port from Hill Air Force Base labored in the harsh Aleutian weather for several weeks to completely disassemble the plane and maneuver it to a waiting recovery ship. It was then transported to a restoration facility in California.

Restoration
The restored B-24 fuselage finally arrived at the Hill Aerospace Museum May 17, 2002. The wings are to be completed later and final assembly will follow soon thereafter. This B-24 aircraft is presented by the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Utah and Hill Aerospace Museum as a tribute to all those who served their country in WW II in the "forgotten war" of the Alaska Campaign.

Ted Spencer adds:
"I have its pilots seat that I bought from a militaria shop in Connecticut. Apparently it was recovered from the wreck by a US Navy helicopter pilot out of Adak NAS in the late 1960's. I also met the pilot Ernie Pruett at an 11th Air Force reunion in Arizona."

References
Thanks to Hill Aerospace Museum.
This aircraft was mistakenly identified in The Forgotten War as being the wreck of B-24D 41-23908 on Great Sitkin.

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Last Updated
October 3, 2009

B-24

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