Pacific Wrecks Forum

A few years ago I had a spirited debate with some fellow enthusiast about the wreck of a B-24d serial #40-2367 located on Atka, Island in Alaska. At the time there was a lot of controversy as to whether this wreck had been recovered or not. Just for fun I did some follow up research today and it seems the museum that was given permission to recover the wreck never did. I found some relatively recent photos (within the last twenty years) and it would seem there is at least one mostly intact four engine bomber wreck sitting safely in a national wildlife refuge. The last positive confirmation I could find for this was from 2000.

I have an e-mail off to the guy listed as the contact for the photos in the link below,

Pictures are about mid way down the page, numbers 7 and 8.

[/url] http://digitalrepository.fws.gov/cdm4/r ... =title%7Cr Another web page which details the ... rom 1974 http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/aviation/atk.htm [/url]

If you have any info on this plane feel free to chime in as information on it is relatively scarce

My e-mail got bounced around a bit but here is the response I recieved:

"The B-24 is still on Atka and there are currently no plans to move it. we had gotten a couple of inquiries about moving and restoration but the remoteness and expense of the project effectively stop them before they get too far. The Alaska Preservation community have clearly expressed a preference that any recovery and restoration leave the plane in Alaska.

The plane is being considered for inclusion in a World War II in the Pacific National Monument.
debbie"
Debbie_Corbett@fws.gov

Email is from Debbie Crobett, she is listed as the archaeologist for FWS.

Now that Swamp Ghost has been salvaged, I believe this is the last intact wrecksite of a four engine bomber from the Second World War that is still in good shape, the tail snapped off but all of the plane is there.

I spent a few minutes on google earth with no luck. I'm not sure if the resolution would be good enough to see something as big as a B24. I don't know much about google earth but from what I could see it seems impossible. Maybe there is a way to get closer?

Here are a few other website I found about it.

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/407854.html

http://www.adn.com/aleutians/story/636258.html

There is a map on the second link as to where the B24 landed. Also, another early photo of the wreckage itself.

Hopefully it's recovered before looters remove anymore of the plane.