"The Lost Squadron" - photos

[NutmegCT]

Thought you guys might find this interesting. The photos in the link at the bottom were taken in 1942, but not available to the public until recently. And if anyone asks "what the heck is a P-38?" I'll personally beat them with a ripe banana.

The P-38 fighter "Glacier Girl" was one of the planes in the largest forced landing in Army Air Force history, "The Lost Squadron". On July 15, 1942, during one of the "Bolero" missions ferrying planes from the US to the UK, a flight of six P-38s and two B-17s took off from the West coast of Greenland on the third leg of their trip. Lost in bad weather and low on fuel, the aircraft were forced to land on the ice cap near the east coast of Greenland. Although all 25 crew members were rescued, the eight downed aircraft remained on the ice cap and were buried under more than 260 ft. of snow and ice over the next 50 years.

A total of 13 expeditions were launched over the years to recover the aircraft and none were successful until one of the P-38s was brought to the surface on August 1, 1992. It has since been restored and christened "Glacier Girl". To date, this is the only aircraft recovered from The Lost Squadron.

Homer Henry, one of the guys on that original 1942 mission, had a camera and photographed his plane just after the emergency landing. He had not revealed the pictures until 2005. Here's a link:

https://www.missionbolero.com/ice/index.php

Keep 'em flying.
Tom

 

[rick_ingram]

I visited the Glacier Girl on one of my treks down to Gatlinburg to attend MG2006 meetings.

The day I saw her, she had JUST retrned from a flight to Sebring, FL.

An awesome plane....I wish my dad was still around to see her...he was with the USAF Flying Tigers in the Chinese Theatre...many of the pictures I have of him show P38's in the background.

 

[DrEntropy]

And if anyone asks "what the heck is a P-38?" I'll personally beat them with a ripe banana.

Can opener? Walther Arms' official NATO sidearm? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banana.gif

Until about ten years ago there was a P-38 flying the skies here with some regularity. No idea where it went, heard the guy who owned it got too old to fly anymore. Sad, really. First time I saw it was in '80 or '81. Heard it first and knew immediately it was a warbird. Looked up and saw the twin booms, was amazed. Used to see 'em once in a while as a kid, been years now. "Fork-tailed Devil".

 

[aeronca65t]

Great stuff!

Obviously, I like old airplanes (my ~'41 AERONCA~ did shore patrol duties in WW II).

One of the sad stories related to this is the failed attempt to rescue a B-29 that also landed in Greenland in WW II was in near-pristine condition for over 50 years. Around 10 years ago, a National Greographic-supported crew went out and replaced the engines and tried to fly it out. But a fuel spill caused a fire and the plane burned during a failed takeoff attempt. It was totally wrecked (all survived, thankfully).

 

[Twosheds]

Richard Taylor, the guy who started the Glacier Girl recovery, is a TR4 vintage racer. He drives the TR4 to the track. Readers who don't race might not understand this, but driving a racecar to a track is very rare, and for good reason! He tows a small trailer with a Triumph motorcycle, tires, tools and stuff. He leaves the car at the track and rides the Triumph to and from the hotel. It's very strange seeing a racecar on the track with a tow hitch!

Richard had to stop his Glacier Girl recovery when it drained all of his money. A Gazillionaire took over and now has the ship.

But Richard still has the TR4!

 

[MoPho]

A friend of mine was on the recovery team that dug it out from under the 268 ft of ice in 92. He has some interesting stories.
I went and saw the plane in the hanger/museum in Kentucky when it was just about done. It is very cool.

Amazing that out of 10k plus P-38's built only 24 survive

 

[mailbox]

Great stuff!

Obviously, I like old airplanes (my ~'41 AERONCA~ did shore patrol duties in WW II).

One of the sad stories related to this is the failed attempt to rescue a B-29 that also landed in Greenland in WW II was in near-pristine condition for over 50 years. Around 10 years ago, a National Greographic-supported crew went out and replaced the engines and tried to fly it out. But a fuel spill caused a fire and the plane burned during a failed takeoff attempt. It was totally wrecked (all survived, thankfully).

I saw that show several years ago. Nearly cried when it burned. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cryin.gif

 

[GB1]

Nial:

Is that Aeroflex? It looks familiar.

Pat

 

[aeronca65t]

Nial:

Is that Aeroflex? It looks familiar.

Pat

Close! It's actually Trinca (13N) which is about 1 mile west of Aeroflex.

John H.: "Rich Taylor" isn't the guy who used to write for Car and Driver magazine, is he? (I realize it is a common name)

 

[GB1]

Wow, very near to the old house on Creek Rd.

Pat

 

[Twosheds]

John H.: "Rich Taylor" isn't the guy who used to write for Car and Driver magazine, is he? (I realize it is a common name)

Don't think so; he's an Atlanta architect.

No relation to Aunt Bea or Opie.

Greenameyer and those knuckleheads burnt the B-29 by trying to convert the APU to gravity feed when the APU fuel pump went south. They hung a gas can above the APU and ran a line down to it. When the line broke, gas flowed right on the hot APU.

What a tragedy! And one that could have been avoided!

Oh, well, the CAF's Fifi is still flying, isn't she?

 

[William]

Twosheds-I think Fifi is still undergoing some structural maintenance, as I haven't heard of any flights for her yet. I have to agree about the Kee Bird loss. I read a book about the attempted recovery, and as they got to that part, all I could think was "gas spill, don't do it, gas spill!". But Greenamayer was obsessed with getting the plane out of there, and was harboring fantasies of a flypast in the plane at the Reno races, with Kee Bird in it's still mostly unrestored state.

There are two good books about each of these subjects. <u>The Lost Squadron</u> by David Hayes details both the original ditching of the planes as well as the recovery, and has lots of photos of both, particularly of the excavation of one B-17 (too damaged to be worth recovering) and of Glacier Girl.

<u>Hunting Warbirds</u> by Carl Hoffman is about warbird recovery in general, but the majority of it is focused on the Kee Bird saga. Both of these books are out of print, but I would imagine a search would turn up copies for sale.

-William

 

[Twosheds]

I read a book about the attempted recovery, and as they got to that part, all I could think was "gas spill, don't do it, gas spill!". But Greenamayer was obsessed with getting the plane out of there, and was harboring fantasies of a flypast in the plane at the Reno races, with Kee Bird in it's still mostly unrestored state.

Yeah, "Get-there-itis" has caused many a disaster. Causes VFR pilots to continue into IMC. Schedule pressure causes mechanics to take short cuts. Who knows what any of us would have done in Greenamayer's shoes! Still...

Taylor said that he first heard about the P-38s while in a bar in Greenland. He was there to loop the magnetic north pole in his Bonanza. Thought they could replace the batteries, fill 'em with gas, give 'em a good pre-flight, and fly 'em out. Might have to put air in the tires.

Turned out to be a little more work than first imagined!

 

[rick_ingram]

The P-38 fighter "Glacier Girl" was one of the planes in the largest forced landing in Army Air Force history, "The Lost Squadron". <snip> It has since been restored and christened "Glacier Girl". To date, this is the only aircraft recovered from The Lost Squadron. <snip> Keep 'em flying.
Tom

Here she is...courtesy of the museum..

 

[rick_ingram]

I visited the Glacier Girl on one of my treks down to Gatlinburg to attend MG2006 meetings.

The day I saw her, she had JUST retrned from a flight to Sebring, FL.

Here she is as seen in the hangar/museum in Tennessee...

 

[rick_ingram]

I visited the Glacier Girl on one of my treks down to Gatlinburg to attend MG2006 meetings.

The day I saw her, she had JUST retrned from a flight to Sebring, FL.

And one last one...

 

[Baz]

Just thought I'd resurrect this with the discovery of another P-38.
This one crashed, and is relatively intact and is visible at low tide, beneath the castle.
Plans are to restore it.....
P-38 Discovered on North Wales Beach

 

[aeronca65t]

This one is a Gate Guard at McGuire Air Force base, near where I grew up in central New Jersey.
I've seen it lots of times.

 

[bugimike]

This one is a Gate Guard at McGuire Air Force base, near where I grew up in central New Jersey.
I've seen it lots of times.

Thanks for that McGuire pic.!! Used to see that old girl all the time in my "Jersey years", years ago, my brother was stationed there for 10 years while I lived on the shore!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif

 

[tony barnhill]

Here's one I found at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska.

It crashed on Attu Island in Alaska during WWII when the Japanese were making their assault on the North American continent. Mechanics of the time cannibalized it to keep other P-38's in the air to fend off the Japanese, and it was left to the elements where it crashed. Then, in 1999 it was surveyed by a maintenance team from Elmendorf and deemed restorable, though from the photos of it when surveyed, were it an MG I would've junked it. So, it was brought to Elmendorf and in only 11 months restored to its present airworthy condition. There are only 25 P-38's left in existence, this being the only G model.