last flight of the liberator

[babybeaver]

I have always been interested in the details relating to the disappearance of my uncles B-24 in 1944 in which wreckage was never found nor any bodies. I hired an expert to do research and this is what I found: It was 01/04/1945 when pilot Robert scott Murphy serv# 0-831249 with a crew of nine flew a ferrying mission in his B-24 Liberator tail # 44-49918. Departed Atkinson A/B in British Guyana at 10:40 AM.with 10 hr fuel supply Destination was Belem, Brazil. The weather conditions were overcast with light rain crossing the great amazon river. Records show he landed in Amapa, Brazil probably due to instrument problems because he reported his compass was unreliable and he had to drop in altitude below cloud cover. At some time he took off again, radio contact shows he reported storm over the mouth of the amazon and returned to Amapa, losing radio contact for 20 min. At 15:05 he reported intense rain and severe turbulance over Nirajo Isle. Departed Amapa again at 17:45 flying at alt of 1000 ft, had to drop to 700 ft staying below clouds. At this point all radio contact was lost and aircraft and crew were never to be seen again. Search was conducted from 01/04 thru01/13 involving 273 aircraft. Area believed to have went down: from 48 deg 34 min w. to 52 deg 45 min w. Amazon jungle was very congested with alot of under growth and vegatation making detection difficult. The area from the sea far back into the interior is inhibited by indians of a primitive nature making survival of crash victims doubtful. Search parties on foot encountered great difficulty in movement throughout this area as well as detriment to life. Fatalities have occured amoung members of mapping parties within this area which have been attributed to the presence of hostile indians. At some point this aircraft and crew will most likely be found. Maybe deep in the amazon. My only hope is I am still alive. My grandmother never believed he was dead until on her dying bed he came to her and spoke these words: "its not time mum" at which point she survived. From that point on she accepted his death and passed away a couple yrs later.

[donandmax]

Great story. thank you for that..

[mahon1993]

Great story babybeaver.
The B-24 Liberator was built at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan by Ford Motors. At the peak of production they were cranking out one per hour. The plant was designed by Albert Kahn and built in six months. The building is still there and, I think??, is owned by GM and building transmissions. Willow Run Airport is primarly a cargo airport. Famous drag racer Connie Kalatta operates Kaletta Air Frieght out of there.
Greg

[greystroke]

BabyBeaver

I also think it was a great story. I wish I could help you.

B-24 was a little before my time. I flew in B-47s years ago and always considered it my first camper. I would like to provide two links.

The first is my "home" organization and then the second is a historical link to organizations, some of which had the B-24.

55th Association Web page

United States Military/Veteran Historical Resources


May not help but there is a lot of info on both links.

Hope you find what your looking for.

[Sequim Guy]

There is a group called the Collings Foundation that has a restored B-24.
They visit over a hundred town every year on a tour of the country that
usually also includes a B-17 and a B-25. You can pay for a ride on them.
I went for a ride in the B-24 and it was a great experience that I will
NEVER forget, you feel how it it was back then. Except they're not trying to
shoot you down.
Maybe a ride on the B-24 would bring you a little closer to your uncle.
Here is a link about them and has the schedule for this year.

Consolidated B-24J Liberator - The Collings Foundation


.

[Gary G.]

I read with interest your WW2 MIA's/lost aircraft. It so reminds me of my trek into the Papua New Guinea jungle on more than one occassion and witnessed downed WW2 aircraft B-17's and the like. They are all over the large island of PNG. It was 'holy ground' to me as I paused to think about the people who gave their lives defending old glory. One of our missionaries in 1969, I believe, came upon one of the crash sites and actually recovered the dog tags and a few human remains. He was priveledged to actually be able to bring them back home to the States and present the dog tags to his next to living kin.
As to the hostility of the 'natives' I recall while on a jungle trek (1989), a young mother, so frighted by my presence, one of only two American 'white skins' as they called us, dropped her small infant on the path and ran off into the bush. I asked our guide and fellow missionary why? They said, these people have rarely seen white skinned people and believe they are their deceased ancestors that have come back to either curse them or bless them, according to the offerings they have given. These natives, (mostly untouched by the western mindset) in South America, are animistic and believe all of life and nature, living and dead are all alive with spirits, both good and bad. They live in constant fear of retribution and are always striving to placate and manipulate them by their offerings; pigs, cows, things of value and sometimes other lives. Maybe this could help you have a background as to not just what might have happened to your uncle but maybe as to 'why' it might have happened. I'm not excusing their actions, I'm just trying to give some insight, possibly. I lived in PNG for 14 years and learned much about the animistic world view. It helped me to understand my western world view much more. I trust you can find some conclusion and closure with your uncle's disappearance. Best to you.