Historic WWII plane makes stop in Presque Isle

PRESQUE ISLE – The Northern Maine Regional Airport was a magnet for history buffs and aviation fans over the weekend as the World War II-era airplane known as Glacier Girl made a longer-than-expected stop.

The P-38 fighter is the only surviving relic of the “Lost Squadron,” which was forced to crash land in Greenland in 1942 after being hampered by bad weather.

After its landing on an ice cap, the plane spent 50 years encased in the ice until it was recovered and restored. It was tagged Glacier Girl after being chipped out of the ice in 1992.

Last week, the plane took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to finish the trans-Atlantic flight it started in 1942.

During its stop in Presque Isle, it was displayed for crowds behind the airport’s General Aviation Terminal, where both children and adults stared in awe and snapped pictures of the aircraft.

Pilot Steven Hinton is flying Glacier Girl, one of only three P-38s still in flying condition.

The P-51 Mustang Miss Velma, piloted by Ed Shipley, is accompanying the plane. Glacier Girl landed in Presque Isle on Friday evening and was scheduled to depart on Saturday, but bad weather at its next scheduled destination – Goose Bay in Labrador – forced the crew to scrub Saturday’s take-off.

An employee at the airport’s General Aviation Terminal said Sunday that crews were preparing the plane for departure and hoped for takeoff by early afternoon.

Glacier Girl’s journey began approximately 65 years ago, when the Army Air Corps warplane was part of Operation Bolero.

The operation was crafted to carry hundreds of U.S. fighters and bombers to England via Canada, Greenland and Iceland in the first months after America’s entry into World War II.

During the July 15, 1942, flight, Glacier Girl and seven other planes were forced to make an emergency landing in Greenland after they encountered foul weather.

The crews of the Lost Squadron were rescued, but the eight planes were not. They were left behind and sank, and snow and ice covered them for decades.

Glacier Girl remained there until the late Roy Shoffner of Middlesboro, Ky., led an expedition in the spring of 1992. Rescuers burrowed through 268 feet of ice to reach the P-38.

In 50 years, the glacier had carried the aircraft one mile from the point of impact.

Once Glacier Girl was extracted, Shoffner spearheaded a 10-year, $7 million restoration project to return the warplane to its former glory.

Although the plane has been flown at air shows in the past few years, this is the first attempt to recreate its aborted World War II mission.

Elizabeth St. Martin was in Aroostook County over the weekend to spend time shopping and visiting friends. When a pal told the New Brunswick resident on Friday evening that Glacier Girl was at the Presque Isle airport, she decided to take her 7-year-old son, Nick, to see it.

Martin said she was impressed by the size of the warplane – it has a 52-foot wingspan – and the crowd that turned out to see it.

“It was something,” she said as she took a break from shopping Saturday afternoon. “The plane just looked so huge to me, and the people there were really excited to see it. Everyone was admiring it. My son loves planes, so he was right in heaven. He wants to learn more about the plane’s history now.”

The plane will continue on to stops in Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland.

Real-time tracking of the plane’s journey is available on AirShowBuzz.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.