For you aviation history buffs

[Andy Perreault]

Check out this website about the recovery and restoration of a Lockheed P-38 that was buried in the ice in Greenland:

http://www.thelostsquadron.com



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I copied this off the site, thought you might want to mark your calendars:



"The History Channel will be at the hangar to film footage for their upcoming 90 minute special on the recovery, restoration and return to the air of Glacier Girl. That show is set to air on the History Channel on March 3, 2003 at 9:00PM EST. "



Andy

 

[Philip]

Thanks



I had wondered what had became of this bird. I remember reading about them pulling one up. But I had not heard anything in a long time.

 

[johnrv4]

I had seen the remains of this aircraft after they brought it up from the Glacier. It was displayed at the Oshkosh Fly-in the summer it was recovered. It is an interesting story-too bad they didn't recover the rest of them

 

[Motorhead]

My Dad flew those in Iceland in WWII. He said they were VERY impressive. He also said that if you had to bail out of one, you were supposed to roll the plane upside down or you could hit the tail going out!

 

[Philip]

I wonder what a P38 would have been like if they took the grenade motors out and put Merlins in. I bet it would have been impressive.



I would like to hit Oshkosh. But I don't know anyone flying in. No way I will try to drive in.

 

[klenger]

Several years ago, when the recovery project was underway, I did some avionics engineering work for a Dr who had a Cessna Citation. He was one of the people providing funding for the project, and was at the site for part of the recovery. He showed us pictures of the process and a lengthy report of the progress.



There is a book that was published about the project that I have, but it's packed away now. There were 5 P38's and 1 B17 that landed on the ice. I think they found them at about 500' deep. What is amazing is how fast they moved down the ice flow. Don't remember the numbers, but when they went back the next year to resume the recovery, they we in a different location.

 

[Andy Perreault]

Bringing this back to the top to remind you that the TV show will be on this Monday, 3/3 from 9pm to 10:30pm Eastern and Pacific times. This is from the History Channel's website:



"The Hunt for the Lost Squadron



In WWII, the U. S. used a North Atlantic overland route to ferry fighter planes to the Europe. On one such mission, a squadron of six P-38s and B-17s flew into a building storm en route to Iceland. The pilots became disoriented, flew for hours through whiteout conditions, and were finally forced to turn back and crash-land on a barren glacial icecap somewhere in Greenland. Eleven days later, the nearly frozen crew was rescued--the new planes were left behind and nearly forgotten... until now. TV PG"





Andy

 

[RonaldLarson]

Klenger

You lucky guy ! You have an excellent air museum and the graveyard right where you live. I have been through the big one in Ohio, and what a place it is ! We'll be watching on Monday, for sure.

Ron

 

[klenger]

I was at the Pima Air Museum a few weeks ago, and drive by the boneyards almost every day. Lot's of stuff. Pima has an SR-71 on display now. They might be getting a B-1.



There are a couple of WWII warbirds flying around Tucson today (maybe P51's but I'm not sure). They are flying in formation with F-16's and A-10's. Absolutely cool.

 

[Un-Hemi]

Thanks, Andy! REALLY appreciate the heads-up on this!



Tom

 

[esommer2500]

Anybody remember seeing the show on PBS about the B-52 they tried to fly out of the ice, only to have it catch on fire and burn to the ground on takeoff? :{ It was on a couple of years ago...



Eric

 

[Mike Ellis]

That bird they tried to fly out was a B-29 named "Kee Bird" I think. It had sat on a lake in Greenland since the late 40's and was basically pristine. Over the course of a few years they brought in parts and gas, a bulldozer to break it loose from the ice, etc.



Fired it up and got it running, but they really screwed the pooch - the Aux Power Unit fuel pump had gone Tango Uniform, so they jury rigged a gas can suspended from the ceiling with bungee cords or such to give it a gravity feed fuel supply. When the pilot started the plane running out over the lake, there were big drifts and the plane was bouncing and jarring like mad. What happens to a gas can hanging from the ceiling in those conditions? Yep, fuel splattered around, caught fire, and a pristine B-29 was burned to a tattered and worthless shell, basically melted to tinfoil.



What I never could figure out, is why they didn't use the dozer to flatten out a runway for the plane. While they were working on the plane, they could have had one of the photographers or writers running that dozer knocking out a level runway and they would have been up and flying (it actually lifted the tail on the runout they claimed). So it goes... :{