P2V-5 Neptune S/N (BUN 12388)
The Incident:
The bomber, a two engine Lockheed Neptune with a nine men crew, disappeared on a patrol flight from Keflavík Airport, an airfield near Iceland capital of Reykjavík.
The wreck of a United States navy bomber was sighted on Mýrdalsjökull glacier and at least three of the nine men crew were reported alive. A United States air rescue plane spotted the wreckage. Descried as "badly broken up “. The bomber was sighted after a 24-hour search thru blizzards by 10 planes and at least two ships.
The US 53d air rescue squadron in Keflavík quickly flew an Icelandic ground rescue party, including expert skiers, to a small air field at the foot of the glacier.
The glacier is 30 miles long and 10 to 20 miles wide. It rises high as 5.466 feet above sea level. The wreck lies in snowy wastes at an altitude of 4.000 feet.
Icy winds swept the barren area, but there were signs of the weather might be improving. Visibility at sundown was 3 to 10 miles, with intermittent rain.
The Neptune took off from Keflavík at 2 pm. Thursday for routine patrol over North Atlantic waters. It was circling back thru the storm toward that base when it radioed its last position. Then 100 miles southeast of Reykjavík, it made no mention of any trouble.
Helicopter lift recovered one body, but bodies of 8 men remain in the frozen wreck until spring (1954)
On October 14, 1982 the remains of American crewmen are found 28 years after the crash into the glacier. The wreck was discovered by farmers rounding up sheep, apparently the glacier movement uncovered the wreck.
The Crew:
LT Henry Cason
LT Ishmuel M. Blum
ENS Sven Shieff
AD2 Eddie L. Cater
AN Everett Humbert
AT3 Amos W: Jones
AL2 Robert B. Whale
AO3 Marvin L Baker
ATAN William A. Ward
The Aircraft:
Lockheed Corporation
Type: P2V-5 Neptune
S/N: 12388
Operator: US Navy
Details on aircraft: Wikipedia, YouTube
