Moosehead Lake Region Greenville Maine Part 2

In Part 2 of this video, I travel to Elephant Mountain which is located six or seven miles near Greenville, Maine. Elephant Mountain is the locale of the Cold War USAF B-52 Stratofortress aircraft that was on a training mission to fly undetected (under the radar) of the Soviet Union's capabilities during this time period. The accident resulted in seven deaths of USAF Airmen and two survivors who spent a January, 1963 night on a bitter cold Maine mountain.
More information on this military incident is available on the link below if you are interested: tinyurl.com/577shp8s
Musical scores in this video by:
Dan Lebowitz and Chris Haugen

[@MRoy-rt3nu]

Hi Rick, great videos. I am lucky to live in Greenville, it truly is a great place to live, work and play. Come see us again.

[@MavRikBMW]

Hi @MRoy-rt3nu Thank you for your comment. Yes, I agree, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Greenville, it's a beautiful part of Maine indeed. I hope to return to some day.and visit again soon!

[@charlesbrown6925]

Moose head is beautiful area!

[@MavRikBMW]

@charlesbrown6925 It certainly is a beautiful part of Maine! Thank you for your comment and watching the channel! 😊👍🏍️

[@bwinmaine]

I paid my first visit to this crash site in May of 1963 once that winter's snow had melted. The area was crisscrossed with old ungraveled logging trails so it was a rough one mile uphill hike on unmarked trails to get there from the closest gravel road. My home was Greenville so over the years I visited the site many times. The day of the crash was cold and windy, heavy turbulence between the mountains, minus 20 degrees, deep wind chill. The crash was not found that day so it was a miracle anybody survived. For many years the site was forgotten but the local snowmobile club started visiting in winter and organized events that eventually led to the site's preservation.

[@MavRikBMW]

@bwinmaine Wow, what a history you have with this unfortunate Cold War incident. Yes, they chose to fly through Maine to simulate the conditions of Russia during that period of time. Unfortunately the heavy turbulence the aircrew experienced resulted in the seperation of the tail assembly and no control of the aircraft forcing it to crash on Elephant Mountain. I read that the co-pilot made it back to Greenville some years later and both the pilot and the co-pilot have since passed. I did wonder where the 3 other engines went as only one at the crash site. It could have been the military got there and perhaps removed some "sensitive" at the time data that could have fallen into the wrong hands. Thank you for your comments they were detailed and informative. Appreciate you viewing the video as well. 😊👍

[@bwinmaine]

@@MavRikBMW Actually there are eight engines on the B-52. When, decades after the crash, the paper company landowners built good gravel roads to the area there were some salvage attempts resulting in the removal of some of the debris including engines. I grew up living in a house that overlooked this crash site about seven miles distant although we were unaware of the crash until the rescue operations began. In the years after this crash I personally witnessed several B-52's flying low-level approaching Greenville from the east over and around these same mountains. Newer models had stronger and shorter vertical stabilizers not attached with hinges which reduced the risk of this kind of failure. The pilot and a navigator were the two survivors. I believe it was the navigator whose parachute never opened yet he survived his injuries. Normally the navigator seat ejects downward but on this flight the surviving navigator was in an upward ejecting seat in a compartment behind the pilot and copilot which I believe was normally the ECM seat. This was a training flight which explains the additional passengers onboard.

[@mikef4776]

Have been to that crash site on elephant mountain and took video of the site !! It was a beautiful sunday afternoon in august!! Nice memorial, it was busy when we went their but thinned out ! RIP to the victims ! Nice video brother!!

[@MavRikBMW]

Thank you for your comments, much appreciated. When I drove up Elephant Mountain and arrived at the memorial site nobody else was there that early morning. Research leading up to visiting the site created a "must see" personally for me being a former Air Force member. A solemn site indeed no matter how long ago this incident occured. A training mission that ended tragically. May they rest in peace.

[@DaveTube3310]

Great video, thanks for sharing 👍

[@MavRikBMW]

Thank you for watching ! 👍

[@theresemohay4830]

Wow, that was pretty rough seeing all the carnage. How awful.

[@MavRikBMW]

I cannot imagine how the lower-deck crew felt as the aB-52 tail experienced a structural failure, fell off and the aircraft banked a hard-right turn into the west side of Elephant Mountain. No chance for them to survive. Military personnel give their lives for our country and for our freedom at any moment.. God bless them today and every day!

[@BikesBeardsAndBrews]

DABishop sent me your way, good video man! I need to roll up and check this out, I've seen quite a few visits to the site over the years and it's fascinating for sure

[@MavRikBMW]

@BikesBeardsAndBrews Thank you for your comment, I appreciate them! Glad you enjoy the channel and thank you for watching and returning now and then! I'll check out your channel too! 😊🏍️