Sunday, December 18, 2005

 

Steve's Video Of The Day: P-38 Lockheed Lightning "Glacier Girl"!

Early morning on July 15, 1942, two squadrons of Lockheed P-38s escorting a Boeing B-17, were airborne on their way to Iceland. Hampered by bad weather and low on fuel, they were forced to land on the eastern coast of Greenland. After several days the pilots were rescued and planes were left to be recovered at a later date.

In the spring of 1992, a group of 40 people led by Middlesboro entrepreneur Roy Shoffner returned to Greenland and burrowed through 268 feet of ice to reach one of the Lockheed P-38s and brought it up piece by piece to the surface.

A decade later, on October 26th, 2002, after thousands of hours of work the P-38 they recovered, now dubbed "The Glacier Girl," took flight again.

-from the "Lost Squadron Museum" web-site
----------------- ----------------------- --------------------------

What an amazing story of perseverance, and a testament to the strength of the P-38. Let's watch and listen as more of the "Glacier Girl" story is told!

VIDEO - P-38 Lockheed Lightning "Glacier Girl"!

GOOD WEB-SITE - Lost Squadron Museum


"Glacier Girl" then............. Posted by Picasa


"Glacier Girl" now....... Posted by Picasa


"Glacier Girl" airborne....."Fine piece of iron".........!!! Posted by Picasa

SPECIFICATIONS

Lockheed P-38

Manufacturer: Lockheed

Designation: P-38

Nickname: Lightning

Type: Fighter

Crew: 1

Length: 37' 10" 11.53 M

Wingspan: 52' 0" 15.85 M

Gross Weight: 15340.0 lbs 6956.00 Kg

Max Ceiling: 44,000 ft.

Max Range: 2,600

Propulsion

No. of Engines: 2

Powerplant: Allison V-1710-27/29

Horsepower (each): 1475 Hp

Max Speed: 395.00 Mph 636.00 Km/H 343.78 Kt

Armament

1 20mm cannon, 4 M2 .50 machine guns, 2,000 lb of bombs, rockets

Production

Prototype: 1939

Production ceased: 1945

Manufactured: 9,923

Cost: $115,000 (1945)

# posted by Steve @ 10:28 AM
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