From an Icy Grave
A Navy aircraft tracking Soviet submarines disappeared over the North Atlantic. Now, more than 40 years later, the last of the remains are brought home.

On Jan. 12, 1962, a P-2V Neptune patrol aircraft was on a routine reconnaissance mission to track Soviet submarines when it disappeared over the North Atlantic. More than 40 years later, the last remains of the crew’s naval aviators have been returned home.

The Navy initially believed the aircraft crashed at sea until 1966, when a British geologic survey team discovered the wreckage on the Kronborg Glacier in Greenland. The Navy, hindered by a blizzard, was able to recover the remains of only seven of the 12 crew members.

In 1995, the Navy received evidence that remains still were present. In 2004, a new recovery operation was launched during a three-week window of unusually warm weather. A 16-member recovery team, with cadaver dogs, ground-penetrating radar, and Arctic guides, brought home the last of the remains.

Shipyard Remembered

For eight decades, the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in California was arguably the most efficient shipbuilder and maintenance facility in the Navy. During the shipyard’s heyday, the surrounding bay was crowded with aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers staffed by more than 30,000 officers and sailors.

Recently, local residents commemorated the Navy’s impact on the city and the nation with a memorial overlooking, as Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach) said, “this ocean that carried so many brave and noble sailors to Long Beach.”

The memorial is a sculpture designed by artist Terry Braunstein depicting an ancient navigation instrument called an armillary sphere, with nautical designs and vintage photos.

— Ralph Wetterhahn

Memphis Belle Moves

The World War II B-17 Memphis Belle will be relocated to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, in conjunction with activities marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The aircraft has been located in the Memphis, Tenn., area since 1946, on loan from the Air Force to aviation enthusiasts until the 1980s, when the Memphis Belle Memorial Association became its leaseholder. After a museum team completes its restoration efforts, the aircraft will become the centerpiece of the museum’s World War II aircraft collection.