Will the fifth plane ever be found?

The year is 2025 and that fifth missing Curtiss Wright P-40 from the 57th Aero Squadron is still a mystery.

Since 1941, there have been many hikers and mountain climbers searching but, like me, we failed. My last search was in the summer of 2015 with my hiking buddies Fred Cochran and Clem Bingham.

It is difficult to believe those years have passed by, and with the loss of time, our priorities have changed. Maybe it’s time to turn back the clock and attempt to solve this 84-year-old mystery.

Let me give you a brief introduction of what happened during October 1941.

Sometime during 1941, Congress wasn’t sure the Army Air Force was capable of defending our borders from any aggressor. Congress chose the 57th Aero Squadron to orchestrate a series of hops from the East Coast to the West Coast to test their capabilities.

Twenty five aircraft departed from Winsor Lock Airfield in New England. On Oct. 23, 1941, only 20 aircraft arrived at March Army Airfield in Southern California.

Five aircraft had mechanical problems along their route and were grounded. On Oct. 24, 1941 at 11:20 a.m. only 19 aircraft departed to their next destination, McClellan Field outside of Sacramento.

Their flight plan was to follow the San Joaquin Valley north to Sacramento. One aircraft was grounded because of mechanical problems.

Shortly after takeoff, the squadron leader became confused with his flight plan. After several incorrect decisions, those 19 aircraft were 70 miles off course to the east.

This change of flight plan put them within the Sierra Nevada Range. They encountered heavy storms and thick cloud cover. The normal flying elevation for this flight was 10,500 feet.

But being east of their assigned flight plan and flying blindly into a snowstorm was only half of their problems. The highest mountain being Mount Whitney at 14,495 feet was somewhere hidden within these clouds.

They immediately increased their elevation up to 17,000 feet. During those prewar years, the Allison engine was not that reliable above 12,000 feet. The carburetor would ice up and the lack of high-octane fuel would cause the engine to stall.

Five of these aircraft were lost during the first day of that fateful mission along the California coast.

The first to experience engine problems was Lt. John Pease and he bailed out 15 miles north of Lake Isabella near Wild Rose Canyon at 7,516 feet. Lt. Pease survived and his Curtiss Wright P-40 Tomahawk Aircraft wasn’t officially located until August of 2015.

A lone cross-country hiker was taking a shortcut through an unknown area looking for a safe crossing along the Kern River. By accident, he stumbled across Lt. Pease’s crash site on a steep mountainside.

Lt William H. Burrell’s bird crashed north of Bass Lake at 5,840 feet on Gray’s Mountain. He did not survive the crash. Today, identifying the site are his personal memorial monument and plaque which were placed by his family next to the only remaining artifact: the engine.

Two other crash sites are located in the Sequoia National Forest area.

Lt. Jack C. West bailed out and his P-40 crashed at 7,744 feet just west of the Roaring River Ranger Station and he survived. Some debris still remains at that location. He survived for seven days in a cattleman’s log cabin abandoned during the winter months.

Lt. Richard N. Long crashed in a remote box canyon and wasn’t discovered until 1959 by two mountain climbers, Phil and Sheldon Arnot southwest of South Guard Lake at 11, 517 feet. A stone memorial was erected by Project Tomahawk.

Some debris and engine parts still remain at that location.

The fifth aircraft has never been located, even though many professional wreck hunters searched the Sequoia National Forest area but never found a clue of its whereabouts.

The pilot, Lt. Leonard C. Lydon, bailed out and survived but the location of the wreckage still remains a mystery today. Maybe his aircraft could be at the bottom of one of the mountain lakes. He also survived for seven days in the same cattleman’s cabin along the Roaring River with Lt. Jack C. West.

On July 28, 2010, Fred, Clem and I spent 14 days searching the Sequoia Mountains around Mount Brewer and the Sphinx Crest to see if we could solve this Sierra Mountain secret. Also during this adventure, we relocated and photographed the two separate locations of Jack C. West and Richard N. Long’s crash sites.

As one can tell by the dates, Fred, Clem and I made three separate adventures into this wilderness area and attempted to locate that remaining aircraft.

At this point in time all we can do is retrace our steps or start a new search and look into those high elevation lakes.

Mystery aircraft, where are you?

Tony Krizan describes himself as an “adventurer” and he explores the Sierra Nevada range on a regular basis. He can be reached at tonykrizan@hotmail.com.