# Cool story" WWII P-38 recovered from glacier" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2002, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665 "2002-07-25T00:41:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/1 "2002-07-25T00:41:45Z")
[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/doc/137644171.html?MAC=52b6b5d6b2ac6b1bc63336f57b78b24b&did=137644171&FMT=FT](http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/doc/137644171.html?MAC=52b6b5d6b2ac6b1bc63336f57b78b24b&did=137644171&FMT=FT) And my favortite part was, referring to the stranded men of the original mission, was : “It took four more days for rescuers to arrive, so in the meantime, U.S. planes dropped crates filled with blankets, K-rations and - as a joke - a supply of condoms.” Why can’t the military be cool and funny anymore? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/2 "2002-07-25T01:05:29Z")
It’s like a Clive Cussler book come to life. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/3 "2002-07-25T01:36:40Z")
Cool story! However: > [@](#): > > It was the U.S. government’s bold plan to rush thousands of warplanes to Europe at the start of World War II. That would be 1942, according to the article. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/4 "2002-07-25T02:33:04Z")
The military is cool and funny anymore – not as much ‘fun’ as it used to be I’m sure, but they try. That sounds _exactly_ like the kind of jokes we threw on other folks when they deserved it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/5 "2002-07-25T12:38:09Z")
One of the “educational” channels (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel or PBS) had a documentary on the recovery of the P-38. You might want to see if you can catch it or buy the video tape. _Nova_ had a documentary on the attempted recovery of a B-29 Superfortress from the Greenland ice. Unfortunately, the aircraft caught fire when they were taxiing it. It’s a good thing I’d read the article when it appeared in _Flying_, as I don’t know if I could have taken seeing the beautiful airplane end up as it did without being prepared to see it. ---
**Author:** ![RalfCoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@RalfCoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RalfCoder)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/6 "2002-07-25T13:01:50Z")
As the link says, Glacier Girl is now in a museum in Middlesboro, Kentucky, USA. They have a [website](http://thelostsquadron.com/) that gives details about Operation Bolero, the recovery effort, and the restoration process. There’s also a countdown clock that says there is about 48 days, 15 hours, and 4 minutes until restoration is complete. Johnny, I saw the show where the B-29 caught fire. It was heart-rending. If you ever get to see it, though, you should watch. Just be prepared to turn the boob tube off if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/7 "2002-07-25T13:11:45Z")
**RalfCoder** : I did see it. I was just saying that I had been prepared for the end by reading the article that appeared in _Flying_ (or was it _Pilot_?) beforehand. This is one time I was bloody glad to have a spoiler. It was a sad thing when I read the article, and a sad thing when I saw the show. But having read the article, it was easier to watch the documentary. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RalfCoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@RalfCoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RalfCoder)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/8 "2002-07-25T13:28:39Z")
OK, I must have mis-understood your first post, Johnny. Hmm… Middlesboro is (long) day’s drive from here… and I’d have to go right through Dayton (and Wright/Patterson AFB & museum) to get there. I think I see a road-trip sometime… Better yet, an air trip! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/9 "2002-07-25T13:39:28Z")
Was that B-29 dubbed “KiKi Bird”? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-story-wwii-p-38-recovered-from-glacier/120665/10 "2002-07-25T14:51:11Z")
The program I work on, [Kentucky Life](http://www.ket.org/kentuckylife/), at Kentucky Educational Television has featured the Glacier Girl twice. It is an amazing story. The plane was recovered after a tunnel was melted into the ice to reach it, then an entire ice cave melted out around it. The plane was then dismantled and brought up through the hole, piece by piece, and reassembled in Middlesboro. (Other sights to see in Middlesboro: the Cumberland Gap tunnel AND the oldest continually operating golf course in the U-S!). Tickets sold here. 😉