Lockheed 222 P-38F Lightning

Lockheed 222 P-38F Lightning

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04/14/2005. Remarks by Philo Lund: "The story of Glacier Girl is fascinating, spanning 60 years beginning with the loss of six P-38s and two B-17s on the Greenland icecap and subsequent recovery of the crews, continuing with the much later search for and evaluation of the wrecks in deep ice, and ending with the recovery, restoration and flight of the least damaged machine. Now the Glacier Girl operates out of a hangar built especially for her at Bell County Airport in Middlesboro, owned by The Lost Squadron Museum.

I have visited the hangar several times and followed some of the restoration as it progressed. On my first visit only the center section was sitting on its tri-gear, with engines removed and panels scattered about on the floor. On my next visit she had her engines mounted and the booms and tail hooked up. Panels yet had to be built up and a lot of framing was still visible.

The complete story of Glacier Girl is well told on her official website and so I recount here just a few facts: USAAF P-38F-1-LO 41-7630 of the 94th Fighter Squadron was only 62 days out of the factory door when it took its sled ride on June 15, 1942, and had only 72 hours of flight time logged. Photos taken in 1942 made determination of the relative positioning and identification of each machine possible once their location under the ice was discovered, making it possible for the best candidate for restoration to be identified and retrieved. Restoration began in 1992, and her first flight was October 26, 2002. She now will please the crowds at air shows across the country."


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04/14/2005. Remarks by Philo Lund: "The story of Glacier Girl is fascinating, spanning 60 years beginning with the loss of six P-38s and two B-17s on the Greenland icecap and subsequent recovery of the crews, continuing with the much later search for and evaluation of the wrecks in deep ice, and ending with the recovery, restoration and flight of the least damaged machine. Now the Glacier Girl operates out of a hangar built especially for her at Bell County Airport in Middlesboro, owned by The Lost Squadron Museum. I have visited the hangar several times and followed some of the restoration as it progressed. On my first visit only the center section was sitting on its tri-gear, with engines removed and panels scattered about on the floor. On my next visit she had her engines mounted and the booms and tail hooked up. Panels yet had to be built up and a lot of framing was still visible. The complete story of Glacier Girl is well told on her official website and so I recount here just a few facts: USAAF P-38F-1-LO 41-7630 of the 94th Fighter Squadron was only 62 days out of the factory door when it took its sled ride on June 15, 1942, and had only 72 hours of flight time logged. Photos taken in 1942 made determination of the relative positioning and identification of each machine possible once their location under the ice was discovered, making it possible for the best candidate for restoration to be identified and retrieved. Restoration began in 1992, and her first flight was October 26, 2002. She now will please the crowds at air shows across the country."