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THE LOST SQUADRON & THE GLACIER GIRL


� � During the summer of 1942, a flight of eight P-38 fighters and two B-17 bombers were being flown to England from the U.S. as part of Operation Bolero. In the early morning of 15 July, 1942 six 94th. Fighter Group P-38s and two 97th. Bomber Group B-17s departed from a small air base, Bluie-West 8 (or BW8), on the West coast of Greenland, on the third leg of the mission, to Reykjavik, Iceland. (two of the P-38s were left behind due to mechanical problems.) Having become lost in bad weather and low on fuel, the flight was forced to land on a Greenland ice cap. At day's end, the largest forced landing in Army Air Forces history had transpired. The eight aircraft and 25 crew members found themselves stranded ten miles south of the Arctic Circle. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and after eleven days the crewmembers were rescued. The aircraft were all abandoned where they sat.

� � During the years that followed, thirteen expeditions had been launched to recover the so-called "Lost Squadron." None were successful until 2:32pm on 1 August, 1992. After 4 months of back breaking work in artic conditions, a seven member team brought the first, and (to date) only P-38 from aprox.268 ft. below the icy surface. The aircraft has since been christened "Glacier Girl".

The Glacier Girl, Summer of 1998
The "Glacier Girl" in front of her hanger in Middlesboro, KY.

� � Once the restoration is complete, she will be the only flyable P-38F left in existance. Restoration on the "Girl" began in Oct. of 1992. The tail assembly, which had been torn away by ice flows, was reattached on 1 May, 1997, and plans are for the first flight sometime in 1999. You can stop in and see "The Girl" in person at the Bell County Airport/Lost Squadron Hanger, Middlesboro, Ky.


AN OVERVIEW OF THE OPERATION BOLERO

THE RESCUE OF THE CREWS

NEWS
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HAPPY JACK'S GO BUGGY


Photograph courtesy of Mark Maloney

Unless otherwise noted, all content � copyright The Art of Syd Edwards 1998-1999. All rights reserved and reproduction is prohibited.





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