The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

What Happened to Glenn Miller-- Part 6

Yet another theiry is that Glenn Miller disappeared due to a combination of circumstances: a pilot untrained to fly by instrumentation, plane failure and worsening weather.

The plane was not given permission to fly that day, December 15, 1944.  The weather was bad and getting worse all over Europe.  Denial for the flight came from Paris, where the plane was headed.    Hitler used the next day as a launch for what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, partly because the bad weather would take away Allied air superiority.

Norseman planes had a particularly bad problem in cold weather where they experienced engine failures. There was a particular situation with the carburetor icing causing the engine to fail.   Plus, the pilot had a lack of experience flying with instrumentation.

The PBS History detectives arrived at this as being the best possibility for Miller's disappearance.  I agree with them.

--GreGen

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