Great P-38 vid

[GastonGlocker]

Nicely done:

[arfah]

Very interesting, GG. Thanks.

Every time I Think of a P38, I think of "Glacier Girl"

[GastonGlocker]

You're welcome. The P-38 was better suited to the PTO but I do recall, and for the life me cannot find the story online, an incident in the Italian theatre where a P-38 pilot rescued his wingman by landing and picking him up. The ground crews were quite surprised naturally. I'm sure the ride back was a bit awkward as well. Beats POW status I guess.

That said, here's some good reading on the PTO:

http://www.flightjournal.com/blog/2012/ ... -the-aces/

[arfah]

It's also the pursuit fighter that assassinated Admiral Yamamoto.

Not bad

[swoop]

You're welcome. The P-38 was better suited to the PTO but I do recall, and for the life me cannot find the story online, an incident in the Italian theatre where a P-38 pilot rescued his wingman by landing and picking him up. The ground crews were quite surprised naturally. I'm sure the ride back was a bit awkward as well. Beats POW status I guess.

I haven't heard/read of a -38 doing that, but there was a -51 that landed in Germany and successfully picked up a downed pilot.
They had to abandon their parachutes though, to both fit into the cockpit.

[ArmChairCivvy]

Totally unrelated to the P-38 (but not to the narrative above), the Roumanians (once they had surrendered) flew one American POW to Italy by removing the guns from a fighter and put him into the void, instead. The USAAF had flown massive sorties out of Italy in an attempt to take out the rest of the Ploesti oilfields supplying the Axis, and about 500 of their downed airmen were held in Romania, by that time guarded by the Germans.

With the detailed briefing about where they were being held, and by whom, it became possible to launch the rescue.

[swoop]

Totally unrelated to the P-38 (but not to the narrative above), the Roumanians (once they had surrendered) flew one American POW to Italy by removing the guns from a fighter and put him into the void, instead.

That would have been an interesting flight!

Similar to the Bf-109's that were flown out of North Africa to Sicily, with one and sometimes two(!) ground crewmen in the rear fuselage!

[ArmChairCivvy]

It was worthwhile as well as the Americans then mounted a rescue for 500 of their downed airmen (who had been bombimg the Ploesti oilfields), once they knew where they were being held. Otherwise those 500 POWs would have ended in Germany plenty quick (Germans pulling out after Roumania had switched sides).
OK, back to the P38 now...