WWII aircraft recovery

[Frank S.]

http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040225122856.5dakze17.html

German team bids to recover "lost" US war squadron

BERLIN (AFP) Feb 25, 2004
A German team hopes to melt a "lost squadron" of US warplanes out of the Greenland ice, more than 60 years after they crash-landed at the height of World War II, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The task would involve melting up to 100 metres (yards) of compressed snow estimated to be lying on top of the seven aircraft.

If successful, the expedition would add a further chapter to the remarkable story surrounding the squadron, whose misadventure and daring rescue occurred at a critical phase of WWII.

"Our aim is to make the aircraft accessible to the public," team spokesman Rolf Grunert told AFP. "We hope to get an offer from a museum."

In mid-1942, Nazi forces occupied almost all of Europe and had won victory after victory. Britain was at breaking-point.

The United States had joined the war after Japan's December, 1941 attack at Pearl Harbour, but efforts to supply Britain with war material were stymied by a viciously effective German U-Boat campaign.

Operation Bolero was then conceived to fly aircraft across the Atlantic.

But while that was possible for long-range bombers such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, it was not feasible for its essential fighter escorts.

The advent of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the largest and fastest fighter aircraft then developed and with the longest range, changed all that.

On July 7, 1942, two Flying Fortresses and six Lightnings set off bound for England via Newfoundland, Greenland and Iceland.

However, bad weather and navigation problems meant the aircraft lost their course and, dangerously low on fuel, were forced to crash-land in Greenland a few miles (kilometres) south of the Arctic Circle.

None of the crew was hurt and they were rescued by a US navy cutter and dog sleds over a week later. But the aircraft were abandoned where they landed.

Over the years, 13 expeditions were launched to recover the planes, but it was not until 1992 that one Lightning was brought to the surface.

It was returned to the United States and christened Glacier Girl.

The German team hopes to recover the other seven warplanes, and a few days ago created its "Association for the Search, Location and Recovery of Historic Air, Sea and Land Vehicles" specifically for this operation.

Grunert said analyses by Greenland's Nuuk University estimated that, while the P-38s are buried deep under snow, they remain structurally undamaged.

On its website, the association says it plans to use a huge, double-walled construction that looks a little like an upside-down dog kennel.

Steam will be pumped between the kennel's inner and outer walls.

The idea is that the weight and the warmth will sink the kennel gently over each aircraft, enabling them to be recovered without damage.

"We plan to undertake the expedition next year, as we've only just founded our association and we don't have enough money yet. We are seeking sponsors," he said.

He said the US government had assured the team that it was renouncing its claims on the aircraft.

[Jason The Argonaut]

Frank S two Americans have already found the squadron, well they found one bomber which was totally crushed buy the ice. But the plane in which they were looking was the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, which they found. They got it out of the ice took it back to the US and they got it flying again. There was a documentary on the lost planes over here, that's if I have got the same story in which I'm 100% sure I have.