Unearthed 'Lost Squadron' Aircraft Unveils Fresh Enigma

Essential Insights

During World War II, numerous U.S. aircraft traversed the North Atlantic to reach bases in England via the treacherous "Snowball Route." This route required stopping in Greenland for refueling before continuing, often facing severe snowstorms. Approximately 10 percent of these planes crashed, and rescue missions sent to retrieve them sometimes met the same fate, as detailed in Nicholas A. Veronico's book "Hidden Warbirds: The Epic Stories of Finding, Recovering and Rebuilding Lost Aircraft."

Decades later, the Fallen American MIA Repatriation Foundation claims to have located one of these lost planes using a heavy-lift drone equipped with ground-penetrating radar. The aircraft, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, was found buried under hundreds of feet of ice on Greenland's east coast. This P-38 belonged to the renowned "Lost Squadron," a group of six P-38s and two B-17s that were forced to crash-land in July 1942 due to severe weather while en route to Iceland. While the crews were saved, the planes were left behind and eventually buried under ice and snow. (Another P-38 from the squadron was recovered in 1992, as recounted in a 2007 Air & Space Magazine article.)

Jim Salazar, a California-based entrepreneur and pilot, has partnered with fellow aircraft enthusiast Ken McBride. He believes this P-38 discovery could lead to an even more significant find. Salazar mentions in an interview that the team plans to return to Greenland in 2019. Alongside recovering the P-38, they aim to search nearby Koge Bay using radar-equipped drones to locate a Coast Guard Grumman J2F-4 Duck. This small amphibious plane disappeared during a storm in November 1942 while attempting to rescue a downed B-17 crew. The team hopes to find the wreckage and recover the remains of the decorated pilot, Lt. John A. Pritchard, Jr., his radioman, Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Bottoms, and U.S. Army Air Corps Cpl. Loren Howarth.

"Our mission is to bring these heroes home," Salazar states.

The integration of drones and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has the potential to revolutionize the search for long-missing aircraft in Greenland and beyond. In the past, search teams had to drag radar equipment on sleds across the ice, constantly risking falls into hidden crevasses. "You're hauling a sled across the ice cap, never sure if the ground will give way," Salazar notes. With drones flying just 32 feet (10 meters) above the surface, larger areas can be scanned much faster.

The team dedicated several years to integrating a lightweight GPR system with a drone and creating the necessary software to operate it. While the technology excelled in European trials, Salazar emphasizes that "the Greenland ice cap presents a whole different challenge."

Upon arriving in Greenland, the technology surpassed all expectations. "We deployed two teams—one using traditional sleds and the other equipped with the newly developed drone," Salazar recounts. "By the time the sled team had geared up and prepared their equipment, the drone had already taken off, detected the P-38 using radar, and returned to the ground. The ability to view real-time data from the drone's perspective was nothing short of astonishing."

While the radar could only identify a large object beneath the ice, the team deployed a steam probe to investigate further. The probe retrieved hydraulic oil, confirming the presence of an aircraft. (For a comprehensive narrative of the search and discovery, the team shared their story with Warbird Digest, a publication catering to military aviation enthusiasts.)

Salazar acknowledges that locating the Duck will pose a greater challenge. The amphibious plane was smaller than the P-38 and, unlike the fighter, was constructed from wood and canvas, making it less detectable by radar. "Our focus is on finding the engine casing," Salazar clarifies.

Past attempts to locate the aircraft have failed. In 2013, a U.S. military team visited the suspected site but found nothing, as reported by the Associated Press in 2014.

Discovering the Duck would bring closure to a tragic tale that began on November 28, 1942, when Pritchard and Bottoms embarked on a mission to rescue the nine-man crew of a downed B-17 stranded on the ice. As detailed in Mitchell Zuckoff's 2013 book, "Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II," Pritchard successfully reached the B-17, landed on the ice, and even managed to take off with two of the bomber's crew—a groundbreaking achievement in Greenland's harsh conditions."

After heading back to their base ship, the Northland, Pritchard and Bottoms returned to the crash site on November 29 to rescue additional crew members. By that time, rescuers on motor sleds had also arrived at the bomber's location. However, one rescuer had fallen into a crevasse and was in peril. Pritchard, Bottoms, and Howarth boarded the plane again, attempting to fly back to the Northland for assistance. Unfortunately, they were caught in an unexpected storm and crashed.

A week later, a B-17 pilot discovered the wingless fuselage of the Duck along the coastline. However, adverse weather and uncertainty about the exact location forced search teams to abandon their efforts to reach the wreckage. As Zuckoff recounts, Pritchard, Bottoms, and Howarth remained on the ice where they perished. Pritchard and Bottoms were posthumously honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross. The rescuer trapped in the crevasse also died, and the surviving B-17 crew endured a grueling winter on the ice before being rescued in the spring.

Salazar remains optimistic that the advanced technology will help his team locate the Duck and recover the remains of the three servicemen. "Once we succeed in this mission, we aim to apply the same approach to other potential recovery sites," he states.