Marc
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New Guinea Discovery
I watched the film Dunkirk last night and it got me thinking about WW2 fighter aircraft. I love the sound of those 12 cylinder Rolls Royce Merlin
engines.
In 1994 we found two P38’s submerged off of Rouw Island in New Guinea. They were aligned with the beach and close together indicating they were
ditched. Thats me hanging on to the c-ckpit frame. My friend John Chamberlain is on one of the 12 cylinder Allison engines. On the beach we found one
of the radiators.
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Cliffy
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I knew Tony LeVier the Lockheed test pilot that did most all the testing of the P-38 for Lockheed when it was first built and flown. He did some
flying in the Pacific teaching line pilots how to fly it properly.
He and Fish Salmon (whom I also knew) also did all the test flying of the F-104, U-2, L-1011, etc. for Lockheed. In fact Fish shot himself down in the
104 when they tested the machine gun the first time. Blew the bottom out of the 104. Tony did the first dead stick landing in a 104 after Fish blew
his up.
You chose your position in life today by what YOU did yesterday
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AKgringo
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Glacier Girl P-38
I have never been a pilot, but I have long been fascinated by the P-38! One of the mountain recue professionals I have trained with in the past was
involved in the recovery of a P-38 that was part of a flight of US planes that made a forced landing on a glacier in Greenland.
The slides, and story behind recovering the airplane buried for fifty years, 260 feet deep in a moving glacier was mind boggling! One P-38 was
restored, and is now flying as the "Glacier Girl"!
By the way, your excellent photos are real screen busters (wide).
Edit: I had the name wrong!
[Edited on 9-4-2018 by AKgringo]
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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elgatoloco
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Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing.
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/military-vehicle-news/15-p-...
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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AKgringo
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As a footnote to the Glacier Girl story, the flight of aircraft were all new machines on their way to join the war effort. After raising the P-38 to
the surface, they found that the 50 caliber machine guns were able to be cleaned up and were fully functional.
There were quite a few mis-fires with the old ammo, but I saw footage of the crew burning through some of the good stuff while still in Greenland!
[Edited on 9-4-2018 by AKgringo]
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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bajaguy
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If you dig down deep enough you can probably uncover the history of those two P-38's. Plenty of old WWII records available.
Any serial numbers or manufacturers plates on major components will give you the info you need to identify the aircraft and date of loss. Also you can
identify the squadron, pilot and circumstances of the loss
There may even be some P-38 blogs or web sites that can help
https://www.pacificwrecks.com/history/salvage/
[Edited on 9-4-2018 by bajaguy]
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Pacifico
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Very cool, Marc!!!
"Plan your life as if you are going to live forever. Live your life as if you are going to die tomorrow." - Carlos Fiesta
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Marc
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Quote: Originally posted by bajaguy  | If you dig down deep enough you can probably uncover the history of those two P-38's. Plenty of old WWII records available.
Any serial numbers or manufacturers plates on major components will give you the info you need to identify the aircraft and date of loss. Also you can
identify the squadron, pilot and circumstances of the loss
There may even be some P-38 blogs or web sites that can help
https://www.pacificwrecks.com/history/salvage/
[Edited on 9-4-2018 by bajaguy] |
My brother is a pilot and WW2 buff. He put me in touch with an organization of some sort. I sent coordinates and as much info as I could. After almost
a year I got a call from a guy who told me that even if I could get numbers of of the aircraft they would probably not be of use because many of the
P38's in that area were cobbled together from inoperative craft and was most certainly part of the 49th Fighter Group.
He said he spot where I found the planes must have been designated for ditching. Shallow on one side of the island, and deep enough for a destroyer
to come in close on the other for the rescue. The planes are in line about 100 yds apart I can see them on Google Earth 2ºS X 134º41'E. Two faint
shadows off the SE of the island in about 12 ft of water at low tide. You can see the islands that are in the background on my beach shot.
I should do a computer search on this some day now that I am retired.
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bajaguy
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I would start your search with the 49th fighter group, however it appears the 49th was assigned to the
ETO........https://49thfightersquadronassociation.com/history/
| Quote: Originally posted by Marc | My brother is a pilot and WW2 buff. He put me in touch with an organization of some sort. I sent coordinates and as much info as I could. After almost
a year I got a call from a guy who told me that even if I could get numbers of of the aircraft they would probably not be of use because many of the
P38's in that area were cobbled together from inoperative craft and was most certainly part of the 49th Fighter Group.
He said he spot where I found the planes must have been designated for ditching. Shallow on one side of the island, and deep enough for a destroyer
to come in close on the other for the rescue. The planes are in line about 100 yds apart I can see them on Google Earth 2ºS X 134º41'E. Two faint
shadows off the SE of the island in about 12 ft of water at low tide. You can see the islands that are in the background on my beach shot.
I should do a computer search on this some day now that I am retired.
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Meany
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Great Read. Thanks.
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BajaBlanca
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Those photos are amazing!
We just watched Dunkirk for the first time a couple weeks ago. Les loves the genre.
Thanks for sharing.
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caj13
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is this them? (excuse the poor syntax and butchery of the kings English)
https://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-38/wasior.html
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bajabuddha
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Marc, your first pic of the P-38 brings me back to my childhood. My pappy and beeg brother had a hobby of model airplanes. Dad was a WW-II vet, and
we'd go in together to buy the kits back in The Day to build 'em together. I remember that craft, and can smell the glue (pre-huffing fad) and the
decals, paint, details of not only that model but B-17's, 29's, 23's, 25's (my mother's second husband was a flight mechanic for those), all the
fighter squadron models both European and Pacific, hell..... we had a garage with dozens and dozens of different aircraft hanging from the rafters on
fishing line in different 'poses of attack'... Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.
BTW, I hope you guys didn't ''appropriate" the whatever-it-is... looks like some sort of radiator... from the wreck yourselves. Should've been left
In Situ, but so should a lot of historical things, que no?
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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LancairDriver
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If you like the sound of the old Rolls Royce Merlin, and Allison engines as well as the round Pratt and Whitney’s screaming at full throttle, the
Reno Air Races are Sept 12 to 16.
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Cliffy
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Nothing sounds or smells quite like a round motor!
(And I don't mean a suck, squeeze, bang and blow)
You chose your position in life today by what YOU did yesterday
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AKgringo
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| Quote: Originally posted by Cliffy | Nothing sounds or smells quite like a round motor!
(And I don't mean a suck, squeeze, bang and blow)
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I have enjoyed a few flights in radial engine Beavers, and once in a single engine Otter. Whether on tundra tires, floats or skis', they are one hell
of a workhorse!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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Marc
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha | Marc, your first pic of the P-38 brings me back to my childhood. My pappy and beeg brother had a hobby of model airplanes. Dad was a WW-II vet, and
we'd go in together to buy the kits back in The Day to build 'em together. I remember that craft, and can smell the glue (pre-huffing fad) and the
decals, paint, details of not only that model but B-17's, 29's, 23's, 25's (my mother's second husband was a flight mechanic for those), all the
fighter squadron models both European and Pacific, hell..... we had a garage with dozens and dozens of different aircraft hanging from the rafters on
fishing line in different 'poses of attack'... Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.
BTW, I hope you guys didn't ''appropriate" the whatever-it-is... looks like some sort of radiator... from the wreck yourselves. Should've been left
In Situ, but so should a lot of historical things, que no? |
The radiator was found sitting where we photographed it. See my original text. The plane we dove to had the cooling pods intact. The one pictured was
from the other aircraft. It may have been ripped off when ditched. It could have skipped to the beach or removed and left by others.
[Edited on 9-7-2018 by Marc]
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Marc
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THAT'S THEM !!... Wow...gives me goose bumps. If you look carefully on Google Earth you can see two of the P38's on the south east of the Island.
faint shadows.
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