The B-23 "Dragon Bomber"

Crash Site and Wreck From the Payette National Forest Thanks to Dustyn Putzier for the pictures

After waiting five days for rescue, the crew selected three men to go for help. On February 3rd, the three left Loon Lake with a shotgun and chocolate rations. They followed the Secesh River downstream. Then, hiking over Lick Creek Summit, elevation 6,700', they reached the Lake Fork Guard Station. Once inside, an exhausted crew member picked up the telephone and spoke to the operator in McCall. The three men had hiked for fourteen days and approximately 42 miles through waist deep snow.

The B-23, "Dragon Bomber", a 1939 twin engine aircraft, was developed from the Douglas B-18 and the DC-3. It was the first United States airplane equipped with tail gunners. Only 28 B-23's were manufactured. Most were assigned to the 34th Bomb Squadron at McChord Field in Washington state. By the time of the bombing on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, more advanced aircraft such as the B-17 and B-24 made the B-23 obsolete. It never saw combat use. B-23's were used instead for training purposes.

The wreckage is on the south side of Loon Lake, approximately 150 feet into the trees.

You can return the way you came or you may follow trail #081 back north to Chinook Campground. The Secesh River may be high during late spring or early summer. Use caution when crossing the River.

Written by Ned Pence August 11, 2014, Retired District Ranger, Payette National Forest.

Great addition to the original story...

The B23 crash at Loon Lake is a fascinating story. When I was District Ranger at Krassel, I talked to John Wick who was the first District Ranger at Krassel after the former station at Poverty Flat had been moved to Krassel and the DFR house had been constructed by the CCC. He told me the story of how the Forest Service was involved. The search had first been centered in Oregon because that was the last reported position of the B23. The folks at the Willey Ranch reported that they had heard a plane fly over. The bush pilot had delivered mail to the mining camp at Warren and thought about where he would land if he was in trouble and decided to check out Loon Lake. He saw the SOS they had stomped in the snow and landed. When they found out that three men had walked down the Secesh River a snow shoe search was started by the Rangers. One of the men had read a story about the Salmon River and knew that it was called the "River of no Return". When they got to the Lick Creek Road there was a sign that pointed to South Fork of the Salmon River and McCall. They decided the River of no Return would not be where they should go and that McCall was where they should go. A hike to the Willey Ranch, Krassel, or Yellow Pine would have been much easier. Ground line telephones were available at all three locations. Their hike over Lick Creel in what would have been close to ten feet of snow is hard to believe. Wick said that the Rangers felt they must be looking for bodies when they found them at the Lake Fork Guard Station. He said that one man had not made it to the Station and they found him in very bad shape huddled under a Ponderosa Pine.

The bush pilot said he would fly men out but would not risk his life to fly airplane parts out. The army demanded that the machine guns, bomb sight and early radar must be retrieved immediately. That task fell to the Forest Service Rangers and a mechanic furnished by the army. Wick said that they set up camp at the crash site and proceeded to retrieve parts the army wanted. He said it was so cold that eggs froze by the stove in their tent. Parts were retrieved to McCall by dog teams and toboggans where the army got them.

And even more...

The Real Story of the Loon Lake Bomber by Richard H. Holm Jr.