Anyone got a tractor and chains??

It might make a striking wreck diaorama.

It probably cannot have a Spitfire style ‘identity’ rebuild, because there is no P.38 rebuild industry to readily supply new metal at a commercially viable price.

This is absurd – the aircraft is easily accessible and I am sure sponsorship could be found from machinery manufacturers to recover it. If it was a Spitfire it would have been recovered by now ! Surely the time is for the AAM at Duxford to step up to the plate and organise something for her ? Whilst I am not a massive fan of
wreck displays – how amazing would this ghost look in the AAM with the Mustang soaring over her !

I’ve got a lemon in the fridge I’ll donate to the project!

Adrian

LOL its not a good idea to laugh when trying to drink tea…

Yes ! Tighar are off to the Pacific for their latest Amelia epic ! Beats North Wales in their book !

With all due respect to North Wales, if an ‘all expenses paid’ jolly were to be on offer, I’d take the Pacific any day!

I can’t believe they were standing on it, they have absolutely no idea of the state of the hidden structure.. I can’t actually see what they need to survey, they were all built to the same dimensions, and location isn’t exactly going to change unless they had a major storm.

Oh you know….Just an averaged sized family home with a unused averaged sized pool at the bottom of the garden. I’m only just within the living wage these days, so can’t afford the water bill to fill it!!;)

That poly tunnel at Cosford will be empty sometime soon as well. Perfect!. The P38 would be a very manageable project to preserve once broken down to it’s smain assemblies would it not?. Just as an idea, it could be left to soak in an average sized home swimming pool?

I just wonder what type of home you live in to have an average size swimming pool…however, I have a large birdbath available 🙂

Interesting video. The airframe looks to be in a surprisingly intact state but, as people have said, vulnerable to souvenir hunters. I can’t really understand why they would want to measure the wingspan when it’s a fairly easy thing to find on the net. Were they checking to see if it had shrunk in the water? 😮

Of course you have two very big empty hangars close to hand at Llanbedr which could possibly be used for temporary conservation/ storage, Not forgetting Valley personel who might be persuaded to get involved as an exercise??

Not knowing the tidal process over there, I am thinking could you temporarily dam up an area around the p-38, sump out the water and with sufficient digging around still buried sections, and high pressure hosed water to clear out the fuselage of sand, just crane it out. Or, if feasible, as mentioned break it down to it’s component parts.

Looking at the video clip it seems that getting the plane out of the water doesn’t appear too problematic. What is the road infrastructure like would it feasible to stabilise the airframe close to it’s present position by setting up a temporary pool area then prepare it for transport and further conservation. This is where deep pockets are required then a long term plan of what to do with her.

Not knowing the tidal process over there, I am thinking could you temporarily dam up an area around the p-38, sump out the water and with sufficient digging around still buried sections, and high pressure hosed water to clear out the fuselage of sand, just crane it out. Or, if feasible, as mentioned break it down to it’s component parts.

I would imagine that TIGHAR’s licence to recover it will be long expired by now. As for structural integrity, it is likely to be a in a lot better state than the Dornier. Judging by a P-38 – more accurately, an F-5 – wreck on a Welsh mountain not so very far away, the type was built like the proverbial brick outhouse …

I think about April time. Doesn’t look so secret given that you can judge the back drop. That wing has been dry for a while as well and it hasn’t fallen apart. Very concerning state of affairs i say. I’m not trying to sh** stir things by the way if anyone thinks that. I’m just an avid enthusiast who frequents the area, and is concerned over the fate of this wreck. I certainly wouldn’t drag it out with tractor and chains, but it’s just that frustrating. They could be trying to unbolt the thing instead of bloody measuring it!!

When was the video taken? as it appears to be in a depth all of 3ft! and as to the structural integrity, they are walking on it! has there been a licence issued, does it even need one?

£1M? that is one expensive poly tunnel…….

Yup, survey after survey. Meanwhile joe bloggs with his hacksaw and lump hammer is waiting in the wings to get a trophy, and he doesn’t even need to get his feet wet.

If it’s now that accessable, I would humbly suggest that it needs to be recovered as quickly as possible before it gets picked over. (cf the Sahara P40) I don’t mean quickly in terms of a half-ar5ed attempt to drag it out – but a more considered rcovery to minimise further damage – the dichotomy of course is that such recoveries take time to plan, finance, fabricate frames etc by which time its too late. Perhaps it just ought to be gently re-covered with sand until such time as it can be rescued.

Do TIGHAR actually have the exclusive rights to recover this – and fif so why hasn’t anything happened yet? – or could someone else step in to do it

She doesn’t seem that well protected or that fragile looking at this http://www.skyonix.com/wwii-lockheed-p-38-lightning-discovered-on-welsh-beach/

That poly tunnel at Cosford will be empty sometime soon as well. Perfect!. The P38 would be a very manageable project to preserve once broken down to it’s smain assemblies would it not?. Just as an idea, it could be left to soak in an average sized home swimming pool?

OK Beachcomber !!
Here’s my 3 pennies worth of a recovery strategy.

Depending on how long that channel that its in, stays that way and guessing that the water depth in there is 10 to 15 ft, guys in diving gear operating from shore could get flotation bags strapped all around close in to wreck, with an alumium or Carbon Fibre “Girder” underneath the Wing/fus to keep it in one piece. Then (no doubt with a lot of unseen problems too ) inflate bags and (hopefully ) float her up to just under surface. It looks like the tail/empennage has come adrift, so that would be a separate search and rescue task.
Then a large wide-ish flat boarded trailer could be pushed into sea and wreck floated over top of her and dropped on, then the “Dragging her out with chains and tractors would apply. With a gang of “Cosford treatment” specialists waiting on shore to take over and transport/Crane or hiab, to whisk her away to the designated treatment poly tunnel.

OK !! again, that’s my simplified version, easy to say, difficult to apply, but I’m sure that wouldn’t cost £1 million.

Bill T.

When i say ‘what’s up with folk?’, i’m refering to the powers that be that always seem to take hold of situations like this and then make a mountain out of a mole hill. I’m not naive as to the red tape, and recognise that there are hurdles to overcome before a recovery would be made, but the actual physical recovery of said item really wouldn’t be beyond the realms of the forum folk would it?. As regards preservation, again, this could be achieved with the help of a local museum. I bet us normal folk could pull this off.