250 Feet Of Ice Accumlated In Greenland Between 1942 And 1992

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Tony Heller

On July 15, 1942, a flight of six P-38s and two B-17 bombers, with a total of 25 crew members on board, took off from Presque Isle Air Base in Maine headed for the U.K.  What followed was a harrowing and life-threatening landing of the entire squadron on a remote ice cap in Greenland. (See photo of downed P-38 from the “Lost Squadron.”)  Miraculously, none of the crew was lost and they were all rescued and returned safely home after spending several days on the desolate ice.

Fifty years later a small group of aviation enthusiasts decided to locate that squadron, who had come to be known as “The Lost Squadron,” and to recover one of the lost P-38s.  It turned out to be no easy task, as the planes had been buried under 25 stories of ice and drifted over a mile from their original location.

http://p38assn.org/glacier-girl.htm

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4OthQ3td_E]

h/t to Bill Price

About Tony Heller

Just having fun
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5 Responses to 250 Feet Of Ice Accumlated In Greenland Between 1942 And 1992

  1. suyts says:
    March 10, 2011 at 1:58 am

    Hmm, as I recall, after a bit of discussion, it was determined that particulate moves through ice even something as large as this plane. But even then, I wasn’t exactly sure. I’ll have to find the references, but it was a bit ago and may be difficult for me to run down.

    Reply
  2. Baa Humbug says:
    March 10, 2011 at 2:27 am

    Maybe the headline should be adjusted to read “in parts of Greenland”
    Interesting storey none the less.

    Reply
  4. joe emeyers says:
    March 10, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    These planes sat on top of the ice until 1962 when the jet stream changed. The annual snow fall increased so much that the summer melt could not keep up. That is how the were covered. Not by some particulate moving through ice. If you heard the story of Kee Bird, that aircraft sat on top of the ice until it was restored and the lost on take off. This was in the northern part of Greenland. The remaining planes of the Lost Squadron are in a glacier hence the lateral movement. Recent studies show that this area along with the rest of Greenland is experiencing a loss of ice over the entire country.
    The planes are moving to their eventual destruction as there is a rock ledge in their path. So that when they make it to the coast (hundred years?) they will be crushed. It is quite possible that they are no longer as deep as in 1992. Hope to find out.

    Reply
  5. Shawn says:
    April 10, 2011 at 11:25 pm

    Are there any plans to bring back the remaining planes? When they found the glacier girl did they find any others and see if they were restorable ?

    Reply

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