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Sixty-five years after it 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 US government and unknown to the British public.
The Lockheed "Lightning" fighter, with its distinctive twin-boom design, has suddenly reappeared due to unusual conditions which caused the sands to shift and erode.
It was first spotted by a family enjoying a day at the beach on July 31 and a team of US specialists were informed and flew over to survey the site.
Since the survey in October, the sands have again buried the plane, and “whether and when it will reappear is anybody’s guess.”
Based on its serial number and other records, “the fighter is arguably the oldest P-38 in existence, and the oldest surviving 8th Air Force combat aircraft of any type.
Yup, great plane. I understand there are only 1 or 2 still flying?
At one point as a boy, I lived in air force housing located on a base that was closed, but for the housing. (The men--in those days--jobs were at a nearby operating base). The runway there was used by a NG unit and commercial enterprises. One man there had a restored, flying P-38 he kept in a hanger there. Dad was in Vietnam, and I used to hang out there hours for days on end, usually asking lots of questions and handing the guy wrenches...of course, me hoping he'd take me for a ride...somehow.
As an adult now, I've often thought that man had the patience of a saint, not only to have tolerated me snooping and hanging around, but to actually get me involved.
I've often wondered what happened to the guy and P-38 from 40 years ago.
The P-38 was a great plane. The Germans called it the 'fork-tailed devil' (among other things). I'm surprised that the example on the beach wasn't excavated.
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