Bob CollinsA Grant, Minn., man is convinced there’s a B-29 Superfortress somewhere in Minnesota, probably in Red Lake. The notion has intrigued Richard King, 95, for more than 70 years.
He had flown in the plane in the summer of 1945, just a few days before it disappeared over Minnesota, the Rochester Post-Bulletin says.
The plane was leaking fuel and, fearing it would explode, the crew set the autopilot for 9,000 feet and bailed out over Grand Rapids, Minn.
“We thought it hit a mountain,” King said. “But it was never found.”
And with war ending, the government wasn’t all that interested in finding out what happened to it.
King was supposed to be on the plane and was excited that he was going to be able to fly over his home state on a training mission. But his unit’s captain refused to fly the plane because of the odor of fuel. Another crew wasn’t so reluctant.
The fact no one has ever found it has him convinced it’s in Red Lake, particularly since people in the area reported hearing a big plane fly over.
“I’ve been up there, I’ve spent some serious time up there,” he tells the paper “It’s a shallow lake,” with sand moving through the current and visibility limited, King said, to about six inches. “You can’t see your hand in front of your face.”
Or maybe it blew up somewhere over flyover country.
King will speak about his fascination with the flight next Monday in Rochester, hoping someone will pick up the mystery.
