View Full Version : US fighter found on beach.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7076941.stm
"The wreck of a rare American fighter plane which is thought to have crashed during World War II has appeared on a north Wales beach."
Wow!
Just think of all the stuff that will come out of Dogger Bank!
He said: "It still has a lot of high octane fuel onboard, so it's important that the public doesn't go near it." Now that's what I call well sealed tanks. Maybe BAe could talk to Lockheed....
GreenKnight121
3rd Nov 2007, 23:25
"
Another Lockheed P-38, forced to land in Greenland in bad weather during World War II, became buried under ice there. It was finally flown to Britain in June.
"
Hmmm... There was another P-38 recovered from Greenland?
Cause Glacier Girl never got past Newfoundland in June.
After her engine changes she returned to the US, and is still there.
LowObservable
4th Nov 2007, 11:18
<<Experts from the US have visited the site and confirmed there are no other examples of the aircraft in Europe. >>
This fact could clearly not be determined without experts from the US visting Wales, inspecting the wreck and thereby concluding that there were no other P-38s in Europe....
<<He said: "It still has a lot of high octane fuel onboard, so it's important that the public doesn't go near it." >>
WW2 build quality was better than we thought...
<<He said: "At the moment it's going to be a difficult and expensive process to salvage it because of its location." >>
I quite agree, councillor. In fact I will charge you only £500,000 to remove this hazardous object for disposal. :E
Maybe TV reporters would do better if they drank more.
Nice to see you.
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/9048/p38photosmallyh8.jpg
Cyclone733
7th Dec 2007, 00:12
Difficult recovery? Am I missing something here? It's in no more than 6ft of water at low tide what's to stop a barrier being put up, pumped dry a quick excavation and a lift onto a barge? 8 tonnes and 52ft by 40ft.
I'll do it for £499,950 and throw in removal to the other side of the UK
GreenKnight121
7th Dec 2007, 17:57
If you wander over to the Historic Aviation section of Keypublishing's discussion boards, and look at the several page discussion there, you will find that the last time someone did it that way, the plane broke into several pieces due to the deteriorated and corroded airframe, and the several tons of sand and water that had completely filled the aircraft.
They want to take their time, and make sure that they do not make anything worse while removing it... which means they will try to remove the sand from inside, while at the same time not exposing it to air very much, as metal corrodes much faster when exposed to both air and salt water that it does when completely submerged.
Also, it is a P-38E... and the only flying E model is "Glacier Girl"... all the rest are F/G/J/L models... and there is no preserved E model P-38 in Europe at all.
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=75682
Cyclone733
7th Dec 2007, 18:58
Ok it'll take a bit more planning and drinking a few tinnies whilst doing it is probably out. Sounds like hard work, hope they find someone to do it properly