P39 found

[doyler]

This was forwarded to me.Thought I would share it

 

Thought you guys might find this interesting...

 

This is fantastic that this plane was found after all these years, intact.

 

 

 

After 60 years a P39 Aircobra is found intact! (Harrison Radiator in it!)

 

It is about 4 minutes in length, but a story you will enjoy, especially if you are old enough to remember WW II.

 

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player...tid=87804472001

[gwb123]

Thanks for posting Ron.

 

My Mother's farm was less than a mile from the south shore of Lake Ontario. She used to tell how the P-39's would fly to a range out over the lake and test their weapons. She used to see them constantly flying in the air. When I was a young model maker somehow it surprised me that my wife could recognize the aircraft.

 

It's amazing how well the aircraft was preserved in the cold water, right down to the pencil markings from the plan employees on the interior.

 

I don't know where they found this, but I am surprised that the Russians let it leave Europe. This aircraft is as much a part of their history as it is ours.

[doyler]

Thanks for posting Ron.

 

My Mother's farm was less than a mile from the south shore of Lake Ontario. She used to tell how the P-39's would fly to a range out over the lake and test their weapons. She used to see them constantly flying in the air. When I was a young model maker somehow it surprised me that my wife could recognize the aircraft.

 

It's amazing how well the aircraft was preserved in the cold water, right down to the pencil markings from the plan employees on the interior.

 

I don't know where they found this, but I am surprised that the Russians let it leave Europe. This aircraft is as much a part of their history as it is ours.

 

 

Gil

Great story.I recall hearing a story on the radio back in the 70s when I was a boy about a german fighter plane being dredged out of the mud in England.It was fairly intact with the pilot still in it and well preserved.The returned the pilot for burial to germany but I dont recall hearing what ever happned to the plane.

 

My dad use to tell me stories of seeing Mustangs and Thunderbolts flying across the area during the war.He and his buddies would hear them approaching and would run out and wave to them.He said it was a thrill to see them and the pilots would often tip thier wings as they flew over the area.He recalled a few times some would make more than one pass and speculated it may be one of the local men who were pilots buzzing the town.

 

RD

[gecko NZ]

awesome link, only in Russia could you find a aircraft so well preserved, and be allowed to recover it, ive seen quite a few videos of tanks being recovered in Russia some upside down, they never mention finding remains inside it was interesting to see the pilot was still in this one, i wonder if they could tell why it crashed.

[Misanthropic_Gods]

Wow...the Russian markings painted over the US and the penciled in names are just AMAZING. I am very surprised the Russians let this be recovered. Could it possibly be because they were Lend-Lease and still technically considered US government property?

[Sabrejet]

Fascinating. Such history... and a fitting tribute to all "Rosie the Riveters"!

 

Sabrejet :thumbsup:

[17thairborne]

Nice piece of history...thanks for sharing.

 

oz

[MWalsh]

Great story RD, thanks for posting it.

 

I had read a really good magazine article about this aircraft being recovered. Apparently when it was brought to the surface, the recovery crew saw that the pilot's door was closed, and their forst thought was "Uh oh - the pilot is still probably inside." The experience with P-39's was always such that the pilot door was always just hanging unlatched & open when these P-39's were recovered, because the pilots made a quick exit when they ditched and did not of course bother to latch the door back shut, so they knew right away when they found the door shut that the pilot was still probably inside and died on impact. They were right. They did find his medals in the cockpit, he was buried in a somewhat nearby military cemetery. His identity was of course known.

 

This is not an uncommon occurance out of Russia. The landscape is so vast, so many bodies of water, so many aircraft lost, that over the last couple decades many, many aircraft have been recovered from there, some very rare ones, U.S. made, Russian made, and German made. I don't think the Russians are bothered by selling them, heck, money talks, and honestly, I doubt they need multiples of multiples in their aviation collections. And also, it takes millions to restore these things once they are recoverd (yes, many of them fly again!), so what would be the point to keep them all???

 

RD, did you know that its very, very possible that this aircraft passed by our way when it went to Russia? When the P-39's were built, they often flew west from the factory, in a line from New York west to South Dakota / Minnesota / northern Iowa. Many of them landed at the Rochester airport for refueling, on their journey west to Montana and near there, then north into Canada, then to Alaska, ad then across to Russia. There were ferry units in the USA who flew them to Alaska, where they were then accepted into the Russian Air Force. In fact, there were a number of P-39 & P-63 crashes or mishaps in the Rochester area during the war. The airport, during WW2, was where the fairgrounds are now.

 

I suspect some additional research would show that in addition to those crashes I noted, that there were others farther west into South Dakota, and also some in northern Iowa, which were P-39's being ferried like this one had been.

 

This story the link was too is great, I had previously just read about the basic recovery, I had not before heard about the ladies writing their names inside the aircraft, on this particular aircraft.

 

Great post!

 

MW

[doyler]

Thanks Mike for adding to the posting(s)

I do recall hearing about crashes here in the state and I believe Sioux City was a hub for various aircraft and some bombers too and training.I was over to the airport in Sioux City many years ago and there were still WW2 barracks there.Maybe four of the two story type.Im sure they are long gone and at the time a couple were being used as office space for the guard.They have a small museum there too but it wasnt opned the day I was there.They did have a B17 that was on display for the day as Well as an F16 that had been painted gold against the odrers of the higher ups.This is another story.

One of our forum members actually finds many of the crash sites here in the state.Infact I have a few small items that were recovered from a crash and given to the pilots widow.Had his uniforms but they were sold on my dads auction a few years ago.

 

RD

[ww2_1943]

I hope they preserve her as-is. I would hate to see such an original aircraft "restored".

[graham]

I hope they preserve her as-is. I would hate to see such an original aircraft "restored".

 

I was thinking the same thing !

The Fleet Air Arm museum here in the UK have "unrestored" their Corsair removing layers of paint getting the aircraft back to how she looked when they first got it.

 

Graham

[Teamski]

Outstanding!!!! I hope they keep the pilot's articles and medals with the aircraft. His story is trully intertwined with that of the P-39. Wow......

 

-Ski

[gecko NZ]

im all for restoring this sort of thing, but because the pilot was still inside, to keep it as is but restore it to a point to stop it from deteriorating would be great.

[m1ashooter]

Thanks for the post. Watching this created a huge smile on my face.

[Costa]

i think it would be best to restore but, have an exhibit of how she looked when found and the history of the pilot. also if known how he went down and was kia or mia. amazing that after 60 plus years this fighter was lost and was the coffin of the pilot.

[m1ashooter]

Since the loss occured in eastern Russian he might have been on a ferry flight. Alot of aircraft went down along the route to the war zone.

[Chris_B]

Since the loss occured in eastern Russian he might have been on a ferry flight. Alot of aircraft went down along the route to the war zone.

 

 

This is actually a new/old story

 

The plane first was given a treatment in a magazine few years ago. I recall discussing this with a Russian engineer at work in 2005 or 2006

 

 

It wasn't a combat flight, but they weren't delivering the aircraft, either. The plane had already been in VVS (essentially the Soviet Air Force)hands for some time, as evidenced by the flight log recovered with the plane which showed the plane's combat history and all the modifications done to it, such as the extra skins around the fuselage near the tail

 

The aircraft was not lost in eastern Russia though. The aircraft was lost along with LT. Baranovski near Norway, in lake Mart-Yavr. His crash harness was loosened when they opened the cockpit as I recall, and he is presumed to have been killed outright by impact with the instrument panel or knocked unconscious and drowned

 

The video is really interesting, but I have one of the two mag articles I have on it here, and there plainly was little mystery to the plane's loss other than the exact reason the pilot left formation at the time, and today. The squadron's records (The 773IAP) survive and those records cover the loss

 

During a flight to a new base called Loustari airfeild, captured the previous month, LT Baranovski called out on the radio that he was turning out of formation and his wingman followed the 90-120* turn. The squadron commander ordered their return. The wingman did, Baranovski did not and was never seen alive again.

[doyler]

Chris.

 

Always nice to hear the rest of the story.I knew there must be more to it.

Thanks for posting :thumbsup:

 

RD

[Chris_B]

Here's an idea of where "White 23" crashed

 

[Chris_B]

Chris.

 

Always nice to hear the rest of the story.I knew there must be more to it.

Thanks for posting :thumbsup:

 

RD

 

 

No problem

 

I wish I could find the mag article from '06 or so, it was frankly better than the new article