Boeing B-29 Page 1

Operating Base: Smoky Hill AFB, USA (en route from RAF Scampton). (Smoky Hill later renamed Schilling Air Force Base, but closed in 1965.)

The Boeing B-29 was developed as a long-range heavy bomber. It was equipped with guns that could be fired by remote control. They were used primarily in the Pacific arena, although some operated over the Atlantic. The B-29 had a top speed of 365 mph and a cruising speed of 220 mph. Its range was 5,830 miles, and it carried a crew of 10. The B-29 first flew on 21 September 1942.

During the war in the Pacific, B-29s were used over Japan. In August 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare. This was followed three days later by the B-29 Bockscar dropping a second nuclear bomb.

Wartime versions of this aircraft were powered by four 2,200 hp Wright Double Cyclone R3350 18 cylinder radial engines. However, because of problems with this power plant, re-engined and post-war B-29s were equipped with the superior Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major engines.

Following the war, the B-29 became the main bomber aircraft used by the newly formed USAF Strategic Air Command. It was used extensively in the Korean conflict.

The Soviet Union built a series of very similar aircraft, known as the Tu-4. The design of the Tu-4s had been copied largely from B-29s that had made forced landings in Soviet territory during WWII.

This particular B-29A was attached to the 301st Bombardment Group of the USAF (United States Air Forces). The aircraft had been involved in the post-war Berlin airlift. Together with another B-29, the crew were flying the aircraft back to their home base at Smoky Hill, Salina (via RAF Scampton), with a refuelling and re-supply stopover at Keflavik, Iceland. However, while over Scotland, the aircraft began to experience icing on the wings, making control of the B-29 very difficult.

The pilot of one of the two B-29s, Captain Donald E. Riggs, requested permission to return to RAF Scampton. The pilot of the B-29 featured here, 1/Lt. Sheldon Craigmyle, requested permission to climb from 10,500 to 14,500 feet. This, however, may have proved extremely difficult, if not impossible, in view of the icing on the wings. Ultimately, the aircraft lost height, clipped the summit of Beinn Tharsuinn in Argyll, and crashed in flames in Succoth Glen below.

The exact cause of this accident is unknown, but the accident report suggests that the prevailing weather conditions and heavy icing may have been a contributory factor, if not the sole cause.

Twenty people perished in this accident (crew and military personnel returning from the Berlin airlift). These were:

Pilot, 1/Lt. Sheldon C. Craigmyle;
Co-pilot, 1/Lt. Myrton Patrick Barry;
Navigator, 1/Lt. Richard D. Klingenberg.
Bombardier 1/Lt Robert A Fritsche
T/Sgt Delbert E Cole
M/Sgt Wayne W Baker
T/Sgt John B Lapicca
S/Sgt Malcolm W Bovard
Sgt Anthony V Chrisides
Sgt Rufus W Mangum
PFC Jack L Heacock
M/Sgt Henry P Prestoch
T/Sgt Frank M Dobbs Jr
Sgt Cecil G Jones
Sgt Charles W Hess
PFC Robert Brown Jr
T/Sgt Rufus G Taylor
Sgt Paul W Knight
PFC Frederick N Cook
PFC Bruce J Krumhols

There is some speculation, however, that there were 21 people on board the aircraft, but this has never been confirmed.

For more detailed information of this accident, together with photos of some of the crew members, see David W. Earl's website at Aircraft Wrecks in the UK & Ireland.