Remains of British monoplane discovered in Antarctica

Remains of British monoplane discovered in Antarctica

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dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,169 posts

185 months

Monday 4th January 2010
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Eric Mc

122,076 posts

266 months

Monday 4th January 2010
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Hmm. typical sloppy Times reporting.

The P-38s were not operated by the US Air Force. The USAF didn't come into existence until 1947. They were operated by the US Army, or, to be more accurate, the US Army Air Force (USAAF).

The recovered and restored P-38 was only christened "Glacier Girl" after the recovery.

spitfire-ian

3,842 posts

229 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
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Slightly off-topic but it would be great if they could find this too!



http://www.thule.org/snowcruiser.html

RizzoTheRat

25,203 posts

193 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
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spitfire-ian said:
Looks like Gerry Anderson was involved in the design of that one.

TEKNOPUG

18,974 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
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It hasn't got any wings!!!! silly

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,169 posts

185 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
RizzoTheRat said:
spitfire-ian said:
Looks like Gerry Anderson was involved in the design of that one.
Looks like Tom and Gerry (sp) designed the tyres though...

Eric Mc

122,076 posts

266 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
I was thinking "Flash Gordon".

dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,169 posts

185 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
The recovered and restored P-38 was only christened "Glacier Girl" after the recovery.
I think that it might have been a bit too wierd if it had been named that *before* being randomly entombed in a glacier Eric.

Eric Mc

122,076 posts

266 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
dr_gn said:
Eric Mc said:
The recovered and restored P-38 was only christened "Glacier Girl" after the recovery.
I think that it might have been a bit too wierd if it had been named that *before* being randomly entombed in a glacier Eric.
It would have made for a good episode of "The Twilight Zone".

Ayahuasca

27,427 posts

280 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
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So what happened to the beached P-38 "LLandudno Girl" ?


dr_gn

Original Poster:

16,169 posts

185 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
Ayahuasca said:
So what happened to the beached P-38 "LLandudno Girl" ?
Do you mean "Reclaimed Once Again By The Sand And Raw Sewage Girl" ?

Ayahuasca

27,427 posts

280 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
dr_gn said:
Ayahuasca said:
So what happened to the beached P-38 "LLandudno Girl" ?
Do you mean "Reclaimed Once Again By The Sand And Raw Sewage Girl" ?
It sank again?

FourWheelDrift

88,560 posts

285 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
Didn't they also use caterpillar tracked motor tractors during either the Scott or Shackleton expeditions that broke down causing them to they go on skis?

Edited to add, might have been motor sledges as I have just googled. But I'm sure I've seen old film of bigger vehicles.



Edited again, this is the only photo I have found so far, William Lashly standing by a Wolseley motor sleigh during the British Antarctic Expedition of 1911-1913, November 1911. But I'm still sure I have seen bigger machines in old B/W film.





And they say Top Gear were cheating by driving to the North Pole wink

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Tuesday 5th January 16:54

Eric Mc

122,076 posts

266 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
Richard E Byrd cheated too.


Ayahuasca

27,427 posts

280 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
Rather than planes and trucks, how about trying to find and recover the body of Capt 'I am just going outside and may be some time' Oates? That would be a worthy cause.


Eric Mc

122,076 posts

266 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
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He wouldn't be much cop at an airshow though.

FourWheelDrift

88,560 posts

285 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
spitfire-ian said:
Slightly off-topic but it would be great if they could find this too!
It says elsewhere that the location of the tractor on the Ross Ice shelf was in the same area where a large chunk broke off and drifted away in the 1960s but they couldn't be sure which side of the break it was located.

FourWheelDrift

88,560 posts

285 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
PS. It has diesel engines and a big fuel supply so maybe they left it running and it's the sole cause of the melting ice not global warming smile


There, solved. Now lets get back to building large engined cars.

Benni

3,517 posts

212 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
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Fascinating concept this "Snow Cruiser" thing,
the designers even thought of the long and boring polar nights :
...the cruiser had a machine shop, a combination darkroom and kitchen...


Simpo Two

85,569 posts

266 months

Wednesday 6th January 2010
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I love the idea of the Snow Cruiser - just driving all the way to the south pole in comfort and stopping wherever you like smile Keep googling - there's some video footage of it driving off the ship when it got to Antarctica. IIRC it managed about 13 miles, then got stuck, was abandoned, dug out a few years alter, abandoned again, then it was lost to the sea.

FourWheelDrift said:
Didn't they also use caterpillar tracked motor tractors during either the Scott or Shackleton expeditions that broke down causing them to they go on skis?

Edited to add, might have been motor sledges as I have just googled. But I'm sure I've seen old film of bigger vehicles.
You might be thinking of the Fuchs/Hilary expedition of 1955 - you'll the Sno-Cats in Clip 4: http://www.coolantarctica.com/antarctica_video/ant...