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Falling water levels at Lake Mead bring a 78-year-old sunken B-29 Superfortress within reach of recreational divers

Looking at the editor's caption label "Superfortress Has, Years Underwater, Now It" — these are fragments of the headline, not personal names.
Looking at the editor's caption label "Superfortress Has, Years Underwater, Now It" — these are fragments of the headline, not personal names.
The editor's caption names "Superfortress Has, Years Underwater, Now It" — these are fragments of the headline used as a caption label, not personal names.
The editor's caption names "Superfortress Has, Years Underwater, Now It" — these are fragments of the headline used as a caption label, not personal names.
A B-29 Superfortress submerged beneath Lake Mead, now just 115 feet down after prolonged drought drained the reservoir that provides 90 per cent of Southern Nevada's drinking water.
A B-29 Superfortress submerged beneath Lake Mead, now just 115 feet down after prolonged drought drained the reservoir that provides 90 per cent of Southern Nevada's drinking water.
A B-29 Superfortress like the bomber that crashed into Lake Mead on 21 July 1948, killing none of its crew but leaving survivors stranded on life rafts for hours awaiting rescue.
A B-29 Superfortress like the bomber that crashed into Lake Mead on 21 July 1948, killing none of its crew but leaving survivors stranded on life rafts for hours awaiting rescue.

A B-29 Superfortress that crashed into Lake Mead on 21 July 1948 now rests just 115 feet below the surface — down from nearly 300 feet in 2003 — after prolonged drought conditions turned what was once an exclusively technical dive into one accessible to any certified diver. The California research crew made it out alive after a defective altimeter gave a false reading of 400 feet; the bomber struck the water at 230 mph and sank, leaving survivors stranded on life rafts for hours until rescuers reached them. The National Park Service, which manages the site, announced on social media this week that the wreck has been reachable since 2025, urging divers to observe but not disturb and to apply Leave No Trace principles underwater.

The bomber's precise whereabouts went unknown for decades until early-2000s sonar mapping identified a plane-shaped mass on the lake floor.

Lake Mead fell to an all-time low of 1,040.46 feet above sea level in August, with the reservoir providing 90 per cent of Southern Nevada's drinking water.

Despite the high-speed impact, the aircraft is described as largely intact — one of the most unique submerged military aircraft sites in the United States.

Morekolotv.comSunken WWII-era B-29 bomber now open to divers at Lake Meadreviewjournal.comFalling water levels bring submerged B-29 closer to surface at Lake MeadYahoo News UKThis B-29 Superfortress Has Spent 78 Years Underwater, Now It's Emerging
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