Kee Bird - Last Flight

Last Flight

On 20 February 1947, Lt. Vern H. Arnett took Kee Bird off on a routine mission with a crew of 11 men. The aircraft had been flown a grand total of 6 previous missions, this being the 7th. All of its missions were classified "Top Secret". His mission was to fly to the Geographic North Pole, then fly a return route back to Ladd Field. The aircraft was carrying enough fuel to stay airborne for approximately 26 hours under normal conditions, having been configured for very long range missions with extra fuel tanks in the unused bomb bays. His mission was expected to last from 12 to 20 hours, making his ETA at Ladd Field approximately 1000 Alaska Standard Time (AT) 21 February 1947.

All missions were flown with radio silence to avoid detection. No further report was received on this flight until 0756 AT, 21 February 1947, when Point Barrow CAA Radio Station picked up a radio message from Kee Bird stating that they had no means of steering as the sun was too low. Two minutes later Arnett reported he had hit a bad storm at 24,000 feet and was "over land but do not know where". From this information, it was obvious that an emergency existed and plans were immediately made for starting a search and rescue mission if the need developed.

Other reports were received between 0950 and 0958 AT from 768 stating that 4 minutes of fuel remained, and a crash landing would be made on land or ice. Since no position was given, it was believed that they were lost, and search areas were drawn to aid in locating the crew. From all the information available, it was reasonable to assume that the airplane had landed somewhere along the northern coast of Alaska on their return flight from the Pole..

Lt. Arnett and crew had survived the crash landing without sustaining any injuries. They had landed on a small frozen lake in Northern Greenland which was covered with 2 - 10 inches of hard-packed snow. A later debriefing of the crew indicated that the aircraft had reached the Pole, then made a 70 degree turn to the southeast, then a 120 degree turn to the southwest. The pilot became disoriented over the polar icepack just north of 85 degrees north latitude, then began to fly to the south, then east until turning west over northern Greenland where an emergency landing was successfully made. The crew had sufficient food and clothing to last them about two weeks.