Hunting Warbirds: The Obsessive Quest for the Lost Aircraft of World War II

by Carl Hoffman

“Winged treasure” they call them–the lost remains of the great American fighter planes and bombers that won World War II. These warbirds are now worth literally anything–fortunes, families, even lives–to the people who search for them. . . .

The crash of the Kee Bird B-29 Superfortress made banner headlines in 1947 when a team of Air Force pilots pulled off the near-miraculous feat of locating the wreck in Greenland and snatching its stranded crew from the teeth of the arctic winter. For nearly half a century, the almost perfectly intact warbird lay abandoned on a lake of ice–but not forgotten. Fifty years later, with collectors paying upward of a million dollars for salvageable World War II planes, two intense fanatics, legendary test pilot Darryl Greenamyer and starry-eyed salvage wizard Gary Larkins, hatched the extraordinary idea of launching an expedition to Greenland to restore the Kee Bird, bring it back to life, and fly it out.

In this riveting adventure of man, machine, and history, Hoffman literally crisscrosses the country to track down the key players in the high-stakes warbird game. He meets a retired Midwestern carpenter who crammed every inch of his yard with now-precious warbirds during the lean years when they were considered junk; attends an air show where crowds go wild at the sight of four of the fourteen air-worthy B-17s flying in formation; speaks to pilots and mechanics, millionaire businessmen and penniless kids–all of them ready to drop everything in pursuit of these fabled planes.

In this superbly crafted narrative, Hoffman turns the warbird craze into the stuff of high drama and awesome adventure. Hunting Warbirds takes us to the heart of one of the most fascinating obsessions of our time.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Aviation, World War II, Military Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Carl Hoffman is the author of five books. The Last Wild Men of Borneo was an Amazon Best Books of 2018, a finalist in the Banff Mountain Book Competition and long listed for an Edgar Prize. Savage Harvest was a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a NY Times best seller, a Washington Post notable book of 2014, was shortlisted for an Edgar Award and has been translated into eight languages. The Lunatic Express, was named one of the ten best books of 2010 by The Wall Street Journal. He is a former contributing editor to National Geographic Traveler and Wired magazines and has traveled on assignment to some eighty countries.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I faintly remember seeing the Nova TV documentary many years ago about the attempts to recover a World War II B-29 that had crashed in Greenland but that was still relatively intact. Here's the gripping story about that effort, the clashes of personalities (who's in charge?), numerous swashbuckling and obsessive characters, time pressures as horrendous arctic weather approaches, balky repair equipment, disappearing foodstuffs ("Who are we going to eat first?"). But the B-29 is only part (albeit major part) of the book. Recovery efforts of a crashed B-17 in Alaska and trying to find a sunken one off a Greenland shore are similarly gripping. This is a macho book (Hoffman writes for Men's Journal and Air & Space) and his reporting is exemplary. Freezing, huddled in a wobbly tent in a howling 70 mph snowstorm at 20 below- burrrr. Not for me, but I think I'll try to call up that Nova documentary on U-tube.

[Isaac Wolter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly grabbing story of an attempt to ressurect the flying machines of our past. It brings back a lot of fantastic memories of working on numerous aircraft as a museum fabricator, and makes me consider going back to it. The final chapters working to define why people are so interested in these aircraft also were touching, even if they do not fit the title as well. It was well written and nostalgic.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging story of the search for three WWII era planes lost in Greenland. Many twists and turns with tremendous logistical challenges faces and overcome.

[Alger Smythe-Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two observations and a quibble.

First, the 'obsessive' in the title is the author's own obsession with the airplanes of WWII. His detailed knowledge and willingness to do anything to just be near these artifacts makes him the perfect guide through this subculture.
Two, this is a relentlessly macho book, some passages are so loaded with testosterone that my voice changed. As I recall now there are only two women (wives of interview subjects). This is a book that makes John Wayne and Ernest Hemingway look like wimps. Again, this suits the subject, even if it is occasionally off-putting. One member of the salvage team at the Kee Bird even dies because he doesn't want to puss out.

Quibble: The organization of the supporting materials is just wretched, and terribly under-documented. The photos are out of order and don't show important action described in the book. The expeditions described in the book are all extensively documented, Nova even did a special on the Kee Bird project, and yet there are virtually no pictures of the plane, or the crash.

[Ed G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing story of the people (some ethical, some not) and the efforts to save downed WWII aircraft. Great storyline and a pretty quick read.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoffman is a sympathetic narrator, and his tale of those who seek to recover old airplanes -- at almost any cost -- proves to be a fascinating study with an expensive obsession.

[Bill Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story of the men and the logistics involved in the recovery of WWII aircraft.