Some very interesting footage, but skip ahead through the long dull spots, and at the 6 minute area you'll see B-29s not land very well at the air strip, ditch in the drink just off the beach, and later, around the 11 minute mark, straffing runs on buildings and trains... and shooting planes on the air fields at the 13 minute area
Marc knows quite a lot about this plane, and shared in the comments that it was the 1st to go round the world with in-flight refueling, and the wings were damaged so badly during a landing that they were removed
The Kee Bird generated so much publicity that I'm sure you've seen the PBS and National Geographic documentary, the story was epic.
In 1947 it was landed on a frozen lake, successfully. The Air Force never went back for it.
In 1994, some rich guys funded the engine replacement, got some B 29 crew and engineers together, and successfully repaired it for a moment.
The B 29 was so intact that they replaced the motors and tires, and had it up and running... and taxiing to take off and fly. That is so remarkable, as there are no airplanes that sit for 50 years and get underway with so little effort, that we'll never see another get under power with less effort, and that they made it happen in the remote and desolate Greenland is further proof that it was a stunning and individual example of a plane that needed very little repair and was ready to fly again.
On July 21, 1948, the B-29 plummeted from high altitude down to as close to the lake as possible. Unfortunately, Captain Robert M. Madison lost his depth perception and plowed the huge plane into the lake at 230 mph. The impact tore off all but one of the engines and sent the plane skipping along the lake surface. When she eventually stopped, she began to take on water and started to sink. Fortunately, all of the crew was able to escape into life rafts and wait for rescue.
When it went down the plane and its five-man crew were testing a secret ballistic-missile guidance system known as a "sun-tracker," the highly-classified device, mounted in a dorsal dome atop the bomber’s fuselage, allowed a missile to get its elevation and orientation from sighting the sun.
Lake Mead's water level varies as much as 200 feet, and during a drought like we have now, it's only 110 feet under water.
When ambitious wreck hunters located the plane without permission in 2001, the Park Service began a legal battle to assert custody of the crash site and protect it from mistreatment.
The NPS claims jurisdiction over the aircraft as it lies within the bounds of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and is a National Historic Landmark.
