BajaNomad

New Guinea Discovery

Marc - 9-4-2018 at 09:14 AM

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.




Cliffy - 9-4-2018 at 10:45 AM

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.

Glacier Girl P-38

AKgringo - 9-4-2018 at 11:58 AM

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]

elgatoloco - 9-4-2018 at 12:43 PM

Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/military-vehicle-news/15-p-...

AKgringo - 9-4-2018 at 02:52 PM

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]

bajaguy - 9-4-2018 at 03:39 PM

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]

Pacifico - 9-4-2018 at 04:53 PM

Very cool, Marc!!!

Marc - 9-4-2018 at 05:41 PM

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.

bajaguy - 9-4-2018 at 09:27 PM

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.

Meany - 9-5-2018 at 06:53 AM

Great Read. Thanks.

BajaBlanca - 9-5-2018 at 07:56 AM

Those photos are amazing!

We just watched Dunkirk for the first time a couple weeks ago. Les loves the genre.

Thanks for sharing.

caj13 - 9-6-2018 at 04:37 PM

is this them? (excuse the poor syntax and butchery of the kings English)

https://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-38/wasior.html

bajabuddha - 9-6-2018 at 05:01 PM

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?

LancairDriver - 9-6-2018 at 06:45 PM

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.



38676409-D201-41F3-AA83-E5410796556A.jpeg - 95kB

Cliffy - 9-6-2018 at 06:57 PM

Nothing sounds or smells quite like a round motor!
(And I don't mean a suck, squeeze, bang and blow)

AKgringo - 9-6-2018 at 07:21 PM

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)



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!

Marc - 9-7-2018 at 05:46 AM

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]

Marc - 9-7-2018 at 05:56 AM

Quote: Originally posted by caj13  
is this them? (excuse the poor syntax and butchery of the kings English)

https://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-38/wasior.html


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.