P38 Lightning - did it ever get recovered?

[tracer.smart]

Did it ever get recovered, or is it still there?

'Sixty-five years after it ran out of gas and crash-landed on a beach in Wales, an American P-38 fighter plane has emerged from the surf and sand where it lay buried - a World War II relic long forgotten by the U.S. government and unknown to the British public.'

[Hairspray]

That is utteryl fantastic. Imagine finding that whilst making sandcastles!

[onlynik]

Some info here

http://www.tighar.org/Projects/P38/welshplans.htm

[Simpo Two]

'At present the Maid remains safely hidden, protected from molestation, both natural and human, by the same forces that have sheltered and preserved her for sixty-six years.'


ie 'We haven't actually quite done anything yet'

[TheEnd]

In fact TIGHAR frequently get the piss taken out of them for claiming it as a project for themselves, and not doing anything

[tracer.smart]

Tractor. Rope. Flatbed truck.

I am sure we could have it out of the sand in an evening.

Or am I missing something?

[C8PPO]

Simpo Two said:

' protected from molestation, both natural and human, by the same forces that have sheltered and preserved her for sixty-six years.'

Ah yes, salt water, that well-known presevative of all things metallic!

[Total loss]

TheEnd said:

In fact TIGHAR frequently get the piss taken out of them for claiming it as a project for themselves, and not doing anything

Years old thread I know, but a very relavent read re. TIGHAR & the P-38 from a ex member /donor
http://myplace.frontier.com/~monty.fowler/tighar_a...

[vx220]

Is it viewable by the public?

[Andy 308GTB]

Total loss said:

TheEnd said:

In fact TIGHAR frequently get the piss taken out of them for claiming it as a project for themselves, and not doing anything

Years old thread I know, but a very relavent read re. TIGHAR & the P-38 from a ex member /donor
http://myplace.frontier.com/~monty.fowler/tighar_a...

That's damning. Obviously it is from one persons perspective but it doesn't read well.

[aeropilot]

Andy 308GTB said:

Total loss said:

TheEnd said:

In fact TIGHAR frequently get the piss taken out of them for claiming it as a project for themselves, and not doing anything

Years old thread I know, but a very relavent read re. TIGHAR & the P-38 from a ex member /donor
http://myplace.frontier.com/~monty.fowler/tighar_a...

That's damning. Obviously it is from one persons perspective but it doesn't read well.

I don't think anyone involved in the vintage aviation scene has ever had a good word to say about TIGHAR..........various forums have been filled with threads with not very good things to say about that organisations for years now.......yet they somehow still manage to stick their unwanted oar in to everything.

[WelshChris]

It's still there - Last I heard was that the Welsh Government were going to give it 'protected' status which means nobody can touch it without proper authorisation. I'll ask my contacts and update soon.

[richw_82]

Its already protected under the Protection of MIlitary Remains Act. Which means the same as their protection, in that you shouldn't tamper with it without permission - in reality unless they post a guard on it 24/7 anyone can walk up to it and have a poke about.

I had a wander to its resting place last year, I'll be having another look next month to see if the sand's shifted any.

[Tempest_5]

It is generally considered to be too expensive to recover the P-38 given the budget of various museums in this country. This is partly due to the post recovery treatment that it would need once recovered from beach environment otherwise the aluminium would turn to powder.

The general view appears to be that it is actually safer where it is at the moment.

Here is an in depth discussion on it from the Flypast Forum.

https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?836...

[Total loss]

Andy 308GTB said:

Total loss said:

TheEnd said:

In fact TIGHAR frequently get the piss taken out of them for claiming it as a project for themselves, and not doing anything

Years old thread I know, but a very relavent read re. TIGHAR & the P-38 from a ex member /donor
http://myplace.frontier.com/~monty.fowler/tighar_a...

That's damning. Obviously it is from one persons perspective but it doesn't read well.

Lots more info from others added to the original post now, so worth another look