During November 1997, Duncan Curtis managed to locate and speak with the present landowner of the crash site, and the latter said it would be OK for a survey of the site with a metal detector to be carried out, and to locate and dig up any wreckage (after the shooting season had finished - Feb 98). Thus, on 7th. March 1998, Duncan managed to get to the site and started looking. The first day's effort uncovered little; the search going by directions supplied by the landowner's neighbor. However, just as he was leaving, the landowner himself (who was a schoolboy at the time of the crash, and remembered it well) turned up and stated that Duncan had been looking in the wrong place! Therefore, Duncan returned with his sons Jay and Dale on 8th. March, and immediately began to uncover pieces of aluminum on the correct site. He managed to locate mainly brackets and a piece of electrical loom, with numbers visible on many pieces. Finally, he dug up about 3 feet of the port/LH wing aileron trim tab, which helped to surmise that all of the above was probably from the LH wing area. On the following Saturday, 14th. March 1998, Duncan returned to the site for the last time, and although he didn't turn up as much wreckage as the previous weekend, he did uncover a nice piece of rubber hose, which still had two immaculate stainless steel jubilee clips attached, and an aileron trim tab balance weight with a part number readily visible. However, the real find was a massive section of wing; obviously a piece of stringer/rib, with aluminum skin attached, which seemed to go into the ground for some way - maybe as much as 6 ft. After digging for a good hour and still with no sign of it budging, Duncan gave up further excavation, and left this item at the site. It would probably need a crane to lift it out. Maybe there's an engine on the end of it? It did seem to have a heat exchanger matrix attached, and considering the B-36's radials were air cooled, I can only think it was the supercharger intercooler, which sits beside the engine.
Duncan's final task is to obtain a crew list for this aircraft to see if he can contact any surviving members. Those currently known are detailed on the accident page.
Part Numbers of Items Found at Crash Site:
36 W775-6L
Bracket 36 W775-6L, with serial number
readily visible - believed to be from the LH wing/aileron area.
36 W6907-21
36 W145 **?
36W *215-10
36W 1469 (aileron balance weight)
(* indicates unknown or unreadable pt. no.)
The following portion of electrical loom was found, with identifications:
| KC1411G-20 EP1411G-20 DD1401G-20 EV1411L-16 DB1410G-20 QE1412G-20 QT1406J-20 EL1411G-20 EL1410G-20 QE1411G-20 QC1410G-20 ET1411G-20 KS1411G-20 |
EI1410G-20 QT1413F-20 WH1410H-20 WH1411H-20 QF1410G-20 KC1410G-20 HX1410G-20 JC1410G-20 QT1414H-20 QP1410G-20 DB1411G-20 EP1410G-20 EV1410J-15 |
General view of the multitude of brackets etc. found at the crash site.
In addition, two portions of the LH Aileron trim tab were found, plus numerous unidentified aluminum brackets. Also found was a length of rubber hose, approx. 4 inches long, with an aluminum pipe (approx. 1/4-inch o.d.) extending from one end, fastened by two 'Aeroseal' jubilee-type clips, pt. nos. AN-737-22 and AN-737-26. Both clips are marked '3/51'. Recovered items are being donated to the Jet Age Museum at Staverton Airport, Gloucestershire.
The two sections of aileron trim tab found at the site. Balance
weights are visible protruding from the leading edge.
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