 The Navy Hymn Sailor Aviators Version Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep Its' own appointed limits keep; O hear us when we cry to thee, for those in peril on the sea. Lord, guard and guide the men who fly Through the great spaces in the sky. Be with them always in the air, In dark'ning storms or sunlight fair. O, Hear us when we lift our prayer, For those in peril in the air. But when at length our course is run, Our work for home and country done, Of all the souls that flew and sailed, Let not one life in thee be failed, But hear from heaven our sailors cry, And grant eternal life on high. May all our departed shipmates rest in peace.  Eternal Father by the U.S. Navy Band's Sea Chanters (668 kbytes - WAV file) HARMON, AL2 Keith W. de8e95@windstream.net [27FEB2001] Believe at Least Three Are Active REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Dec. 18 (AP) -The wreck of a United States navy bomber was sighted on MyrdalsJokull glacier today and at least three of the nine man crew were reported alive. Flyers Turn Back; Skiers Hole Up REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Dec. 19 (AP) - Icy gales swept mile high Myrdals Jokull glacier tonight, handicapping efforts to rescue three reported survivors, of the crash of a United States navy Neptune bomber on its snowy wastes. Reykjavik, Iceland (UP) - U. S. Air Force officials said today the bodies of eight men killed in a Navy bomber's crash on Myradasjokull Glacier may remain in the frozen wreckage until next spring. 
 "...I show the date at 17 Dec 1953 vice 15 December 1953. Crew list (All carried as MIA but see note below): LT Henry Cason, LT Ishmuel M. Blum, ENS Sven Shieff, AD2 Eddie L. Cater, AN Everett Humbert, *AT3 Amos W. Jones, AL2 Robert B. Whale, AO3 Marvin L. Baker, and ATAN William A. Ward..." Contributed by WFI Research Group wreck1@localnet.com WebSite: http://wfirg.com/ [05APR2004]
"...My older brother, ENS Sven Schiff, served with VP-3 as a Navigator . He was in the last group to get their basic training in the SNJ. He then went on to multi-engine training in the PB4Y-2. Their last multi-engine training trip was to fly the planes to Davis Monthan "to be cut up for scrap". They then went to the Lockheed plant to pick up their brand new P2. He told some scary stories of problems with the PB4Y-2 about them not being well maintained, etc. It is ironic that he was lost (In Memorial for lost friends...15 December 1953) probably because of a mechanical problem with the radar on a brand spanking new plane. As I remember it the plane crashed on December 17 with no survivors. It was 15 years ago that I met my wife and I was able to experience Christmas away from my family and the pall that had been over the holidays. Those PB4Y-2s that were supposed to be cut up for scrap that were so poorly maintained? One of them crashed last year on a fire bombing mission for the California Department of Forestry 50 years after it was supposily scraped...Tom Schiff tomschiff@comcast.net..." [05APR2004]
"...My Father, John O. Schaefer, passed away this past Memorial Day 2003. He was a member of VP-3's P2V Neptune Crew 3, stationed in NAS Keflavik, Iceland, in 1953, the year I was born in Pensacola. He was a radar operator. I read that the P2V that hit the glacier on 12/17/53 had been found and remains returned (SEE: In Memorial for lost friends...17 December 1953). My Dad never spoke of it much, but he lost a good friend on that flight. A young man he went to electronics school with. As my Dad told it, what happened was that his crew, Crew 3, had taxied out for takeoff, but they were called back because they had flown too many missions. Crew 11 took over. My Dad said he didn't have time to even take his flight, or seabag, off the plane. Crew 11 took off and was lost. If my Dad's seabag was returned, is there any way I could have it, or its contents, returned to me? Highest regards. PS Thank you all for remembering. I wish my Dad were still with us; he would love this site!...Bruce Reid Schaefer breidsch@aol.com..." [30NOV2003]
"...Foreign News Briefs - October 14, 1982 "Bodies from 1953 Air Crash To Come Home - NORFOLK, Va. - The remains of American crewmen found 28 years after their plane crashed into an isolated Icelandic glacier will be brought home by the end of the week, the Navy said Tuesday. "We can confirm that the wreckage found is in fact that of the P-2V that crashed Dec. 17, 1953, because of identifying articles found at the site," said Lt. Cmdr. Ken Pease of Atlantic Fleet headquarters. Last weekend, farmers rounding up stray sheep discovered the wreckage, apparently recently uncovered by the glacier's movement..." Contributed by MARSH, AT3 Bob bobmarsh@msn.com and HARMON, AL2 Keith W. de8e95@windstream.net [11MAR2002]
"...I was the radar operator on MB-7 during VP-3's tour in NAS Keflavik, Iceland. The plane that crashed in December of 1953 was MB-11 (SEE: In Memorial for lost friends...17 December 1953). Crew 7 was scheduled to fly two or three days before MB-11 crashed. The procedure was for each crew to use its own plane. However, at the least minute, we had to ground MB-7 due to mechanical problems found during the pre-flight check. Thus, we grabbed MB-11 for our flight. The radar was working fine on MB-11 during the early part of our flight. Then, all of a sudden, the return on the radarscope was merely a “sea return” (which is a reflected signal from the water immediately below the plane). The antenna was pointing down at the ocean in a fixed position. Thus, we could not “see” distant coastlines or landmasses on our scope. Obviously, it's extremely dangerous to fly “blind” at night or in dense fog. Fortunately, by tinkering with the below-deck control mechanism, we got the antenna to work again. But the fix was only temporary. After a while, all we got was more sea return. However, by “hitting” the antenna control mechanism when necessary, we managed to get the antenna to work intermittently, long enough to make it back to base. Note: In CDR Nokes' update of 8-29-99, he mentioned that “The radar on that A/C [MB-11] often hung up, but our operator knew how to hit it to get it going.” The CDR was right. We also figured out how to hit the antenna control to get it going again. However, if repairs were not made promptly, then maybe “hitting it” would no longer provide even a temporary fix. I reported the antenna problem to our repair crew. I don't know if the repairs were made. All I know is that two or three days after we flew MB-11, Crew 11 took the plane out, never to return. We will never know the exact cause of the crash. All we can do is mourn the loss of our nine comrades. I still remember them with great sorrow....NOVAK, Gerald novakgt@att.net..." [03MAY2001]
"...Some references by others in VP-3 wedsite refer to the P2V lost on the Icelandic glacier. I was there. MB8 stopped over in Norfold for submarine exercises. The rest of the squadron went directly to Iceland. With a stopover in Argentia to handle some mechanical problem, MB8 took off for Iceland. Enroute, I began to get radio inquiries from base radio and a squadron plane (MB6 ?) about contact with the lost plane. MB8's crew also spent one night circling the crash site with an Icelander aboard to communicate with the ground parties trying to reach the plane. I still have news releases and the pamphlet from the memorial service. According to those the Neptune took off at 2:00 p.m. 12/17/53. It reported in at 2:17 100 miles southeast of the base (VM). The wreckage was found on 12/18/53. Three survivors were reported (a wrong report), and survival gear was dropped. As I recall, one of the dead was found outside the plane was brought down. Weather precluded any further recue efforts..." Contributed by HARMON, AL2 Keith W. de8e95@windstream.net [11FEB2001]
"...I was the SDO the day the P2 took off. The PPC had downed his A/C and wished to cancel his mission since the WX was very bad. I agreed with him but as an Ens. defered to the OPS Officer who after hearing the PPC's request said "Lets give it a try." I offered them the plane I was NAV on and with that they took off. We believed they returned from patrol and turned inbound to NAS Keflavik, Iceland before reaching VM beacon. The radar on that A/C often hung up but our operator knew how to hit it to get it going. Without radar the crew had only the low freq Bird Dog and either it malfunctioned or the crew misread it. We did't find the crash site for several days and no one could reach it. VP-16 had lost a crew off NAS Keflavik, Iceland the month before so there was little Xmas cheer that year. All the best to my old Shipmates from Ens. Nokes ( Cdr.,USN, Ret.)..." Contributed by CDR Neil Nokes, Retired nokesneil@bellsouth.net [29AUG99]
"...VP-3 lost one that hit a glacier about 15 Dec, 1953 in Iceland when they were relieving VP-5. It made the news about five years ago when it appeared from the ice. Also there was a P2V crashed right after take off from nassau when VP-5 and another squadron were operating from an abandonded WW2 airfield. It crashed after take off in shallow water,no suvivors. I was there at the time and I think there awere ten killed, one chief was from New Castle Indiana, close to home, but I didn't know him. jthis was either the summer of 1953 or 1954...I checked with a former crewa member of mine and he thought tahe plane crash in Nassua was also in VP-3. Charles Butcher an AT on crew 7 of VP-5 said he was in the air when they got the report of the missing plane..." Contributed by Earl Ryan earlryan@yahoo.com [21MAR99]
"...Just read the posting on VP Navy website about the VP-3 fatal accident involving P2V BuNo 128388 in Iceland in December of 1953. Though I would provide an update. The Navy history card for BuNo 128388 shows that it was a P2V-5, (not a -2) and a fairly new one at that. The aircraft was with VP-3 and had less than 200 hours on it when lost. The history card says the accident was on 24 December 1953, obviously one of the worst days to have an accident like that. perhaps the accident report, which I do not have, can shed more light on this one..." Contributed by Richard Douglass rmdover2u@earthlink.net [27OCT99]
 "VP-3 Mishap Summary Page"
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