From Forced Landing To Award Winning Restoration

Expedition Leader Bob Cardin and Pilot Steve Hinton spoke Tuesday at Sun 'n Fun, sharing the history of the restored P-38 "Glacier Girl." They described the journey from the airplane's delivery, the fateful mission, the recovery operation, and the restoration.

Bob started by sharing the history of the aircraft, and the situation that led to its eventual forced landing. In World War II, heavy shipping losses led the US military to begin flying aircraft over to England rather than putting them on cargo ships. Bad weather forced two B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and six P-38 Lightning fighters to put down their aircraft in Greenland. This is still the largest forced landing in history. All of the men survived the landings, and were rescued a few weeks later.

The P-38 was the fastest fighter in the sky in WWII. Although not as maneuverable as some other fighters, it performed well in both theaters because of it's speed, firepower, and tough construction. Liquid-cooled Allison V-12s powered the aircraft that the top-scoring US aces flew in the Pacific. Pilots flying P-38 shot down Admiral Yamamoto's plane.

Snow and ice accumulates at about 7.5 feet per year in the area where "Glacier Girl" was found. After 50 years under the ice, Bob and a team of dedicated workers went to Greenland to bring it up from the icy depths. Using special equipment, generators, and a lot of hot water, they were able to eventually melt their way down to the abandoned aircraft.

The weapons and equipment were all found intact. (After cleaning, the team was actually able to fire the guns with the original ammo). They found it with all sorts of damage. They would eventually repair crushing damage, corrosion and even bullet holes from where the pilot shot his IFF radio which was Top Secret at the time. They raised it to the surface, and rented a helicopter to move it 75 miles to where it could be shipped back to the US.

The restoration process began in 1992. Every piece was damaged, but many could be repaired. The aircraft had suffered extensive damage, but with the help of many volunteers, hard work and about $3.75 million, the aircraft was restored to its new condition. It took 10 years before Glacier Girl was ready for its first flight. In a town of 13,000, the day of the first flight found 20,000 people crowding the airport to watch. Glacier Girl returned to the air on October 28th, 2002.

Steve Hinton flies the plane that has been making appearances when not at the museum. The aircraft was recovered with about 74 flight hours on it, and now has about 132 hours of flight time. The airplane was proudly on display in the Warbird area at Sun 'n Fun Tuesday, with picture boards describing the entire project. Steve is scheduled to fly each afternoon all week.

FMI: www.thelostsquadron.com