BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
About 3 months ago I'd been out hiking and come across a few pieces of a B24-J that had crashed while climbing out of Hickam in 1944. It was getting dark so we didn't have time to do much exploring but I made a plan to come back and look some more, which I got to do today.
I didn't know it when I planned the hike, but today was actually the 70th anniversary of the crash. On May 5th, 1944, 2nd Lt. Wayne R. Kimble and his crew of 9 men took off in a B24 J, serial number 44-40332, to deliver the plane to Australia. It wasn't assigned a unit yet and as such had no name and no nose art. Minutes after takeoff they failed to make a turn to the south impacted on the ridge line, just south west of where the H3 Freeway now passes under the Ko'olau Mountains. The plane was traveling west when it clipped the ridge, ripping a wing off and causing the fuselage to cartwheel down the into a gully, where it caught fire. All 10 crew members died as a result. The bodies were recovered shortly there after but due to the inaccessibility of the location, the airframe was left in place.
The wreck site was "rediscovered" in 1993 by one of the aviation societies out here but by then all that was left was both wings, the landing gear, the nose and tail turrets, all 4 engines and lots of small parts. There is a picture from 2002 or 2003 of the left wing leaning against a tree, several feet from the popular Aiea Loop Trail. Sometime between then and now, that tree fell into the gully, taking the wing and wheels down with it. The last time I was there I descended about 150 feet down the gully and found the wing and one wheel before running out of daylight.
From today:
This is at the top end of the gully, heading down the hill. One wing and part of the landing gear are pinned underneath the large tree on the right side of the frame. I was running sweep. The other guys had all pushed ahead, leaving me hiking with four ladies (all of whom, oddly enough, are nurses). Rough life out here.
This is one of the engines. All 4 are, apparently, still on site, but we only found 3.
The guys I was with thought this was a gun, but I'm pretty certain it's a mechanical linkage for either the gear or maybe one of the turrets. Anybody know?
There are pieces of metal in varies shapes all over the place.
I have no idea what this is. The plane had PW R1830 "Twin Wasp" engines on it. From looking at pictures this kind of looks like part of the engine but I'm not sure.
I think this is part of the fuel system maybe? It had a kind of rubber bladder in it and had a valve on the top that looked like it once had piping attached.
I'm guessing this is part of the aft turret (or maybe the front turret?). At the bottom of the gully is a stream. We found the turret about 100 feet down stream. I guessing many parts of the plane have been carried down stream in flash floods over the years. We exited the area via the stream and found several small pieces of metal for about 1/2 a mile.
View attachment 27821
We didn't find the main fuselage. I guess either over time or during the crash it broke down into little pieces and has been buried by landslides. 70 years is a long time and nature often quickly reclaims a place.
We spent a few moments at the turret, which is where I read to the group what info I had about the crew (from the very handy http://pacificwrecks.com/ site). One of the guys had a beer in his bag and we poured out a little bit on the turret in honor of 2nd LT Kimble, his men, and this B24, who never got to get in the fight before meeting their end.
I didn't know it when I planned the hike, but today was actually the 70th anniversary of the crash. On May 5th, 1944, 2nd Lt. Wayne R. Kimble and his crew of 9 men took off in a B24 J, serial number 44-40332, to deliver the plane to Australia. It wasn't assigned a unit yet and as such had no name and no nose art. Minutes after takeoff they failed to make a turn to the south impacted on the ridge line, just south west of where the H3 Freeway now passes under the Ko'olau Mountains. The plane was traveling west when it clipped the ridge, ripping a wing off and causing the fuselage to cartwheel down the into a gully, where it caught fire. All 10 crew members died as a result. The bodies were recovered shortly there after but due to the inaccessibility of the location, the airframe was left in place.
The wreck site was "rediscovered" in 1993 by one of the aviation societies out here but by then all that was left was both wings, the landing gear, the nose and tail turrets, all 4 engines and lots of small parts. There is a picture from 2002 or 2003 of the left wing leaning against a tree, several feet from the popular Aiea Loop Trail. Sometime between then and now, that tree fell into the gully, taking the wing and wheels down with it. The last time I was there I descended about 150 feet down the gully and found the wing and one wheel before running out of daylight.
From today:
This is at the top end of the gully, heading down the hill. One wing and part of the landing gear are pinned underneath the large tree on the right side of the frame. I was running sweep. The other guys had all pushed ahead, leaving me hiking with four ladies (all of whom, oddly enough, are nurses). Rough life out here.
This is one of the engines. All 4 are, apparently, still on site, but we only found 3.
The guys I was with thought this was a gun, but I'm pretty certain it's a mechanical linkage for either the gear or maybe one of the turrets. Anybody know?
There are pieces of metal in varies shapes all over the place.
I have no idea what this is. The plane had PW R1830 "Twin Wasp" engines on it. From looking at pictures this kind of looks like part of the engine but I'm not sure.
I think this is part of the fuel system maybe? It had a kind of rubber bladder in it and had a valve on the top that looked like it once had piping attached.
I'm guessing this is part of the aft turret (or maybe the front turret?). At the bottom of the gully is a stream. We found the turret about 100 feet down stream. I guessing many parts of the plane have been carried down stream in flash floods over the years. We exited the area via the stream and found several small pieces of metal for about 1/2 a mile.
View attachment 27821
We didn't find the main fuselage. I guess either over time or during the crash it broke down into little pieces and has been buried by landslides. 70 years is a long time and nature often quickly reclaims a place.
We spent a few moments at the turret, which is where I read to the group what info I had about the crew (from the very handy http://pacificwrecks.com/ site). One of the guys had a beer in his bag and we poured out a little bit on the turret in honor of 2nd LT Kimble, his men, and this B24, who never got to get in the fight before meeting their end.
