My Gal Sal (aircraft)
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My Gal Sal was the nickname of a World War II B-17E-BO Flying Fortress that crashlanded on the Greenland icecap and was later recovered for restoration. It is the only intact B-17E in existence.
On 27 June 1942, B-17E 41-9032 - part of the 342nd Bomb Squadron of the 97th Bomb Group - was one of 13 B-17s flying the Labrador-to-Greenland leg of a ferry flight to the United Kingdom as part of Operation Bolero, the military build-up in Europe. Bad weather broke up the flight; five B-17s returned to Labrador, while the remainder continued on to Greenland. Over Greenland three of the aircraft were forced to land by the weather, including My Gal Sal.[1]
All of the crew were soon rescued, but the aircraft were abandoned, not to be seen again until a 1964 overflight by a U.S.A.F. reconnaissance aircraft. At that time, My Gal Sal appeared to be intact. 31 years later, My Gal Sal was recovered from the ice, although high winds had flipped the plane completely over and damaged it. The plane is currently being restored to a static configuration in Cincinnati. [2].
On July 15, 1942, six P-38F's of the 1st Fighter Group and its B-17 escort were also forced down on the Greenland icecap by bad weather after unsuccessfully attempting to fly to Iceland. One of the P-38s has been recovered and restored as Glacier Girl.
[edit] References
- ^ B-17E “MY GAL SAL”. National Museum of the USAF. Retrieved on 7 February, 2007.
- ^ History Of The B-17E "My Gal Sal". www.ultimatesacrifice.com. Retrieved on 16 January, 2007.
