Warbird Information Exchange

Am I correct in my recollection that it is going BACK to PNG?

Don't think so - are you thinking of the Paul Allen aircraft, one of which is scheduled to be returned once complete?

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Tony Andrews

hmmm another local to there are you crow eater? I'll be heading over there as well.

1st class restoration work!! she's gonna be deadly beautiful!!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

No, I know which one this is. I know that the P-38F FHC has is going back to Australia. I had heard that this one (Classic Jets, right?) was going back to PNG a few years after the restoration is completed.

Think that's what will happen to one of the A-20's, at whichever museum restored them (can't think of the name of it).

Actually, I'd heard that 43-9436 (A-20) was going back to PNG as well as 42-66841 (P-38). Something about a legal battle when Larkins recovered it. It then sat outside on the docks in PNG for a while, finally a deal was made, it was sent to the museum where it is being restored. I can't remember where I read this, but it went on to state that the P-38 would go back after a while.

Hi all

As far as I know Bob Jarrett owner of the P38 in Australia is keeping it here for the museum in South Australia - a lot of confusion and Bull is circulating about various P38s at present - real insanity. A lot of P38s will be surfacing in the next few years but it is going to take a lot of sorting fact from fiction here. As an aside Bob also recieved the considerable remains of another P38 which could account for some of the confusion.

Regards
John P

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Air Vice Marshall
Sunshine State Air Farce

good to see you here again Setter, does that mean you are back from your trip?

Any news? Hint,hint PM if necessary.

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Wow, has it really been that long since I last visited?

I read a while back at Pacific wrecks site that this lightning would return to Png upon the death of Bob Jarrett. Checked again but this is no longer on their site.
Spoke to Bob a couple of weeks ago at an airshow south of Adelaide at Goolwa and asked what was happening to the P40 wreck that had gone to Wangaratta, in the hope that Adelaide might get a P40 to sit alongside the P38. But was told that he had traded it for a static P39,I'm not complaining!

Hi everyone, been away and busy but just getting back up to date with the topics and saw this on Bob Jarretts P-38's.

Setter is correct on all his responses to this question that is, the quality of work is to the highest standard, in fact you would be forgiven if you thought it could fly, the attention to detail on colour and fit out is a credit to Bob and his team. The aircraft will not be going anywhere, unless Bob has other plans which I doubt. There was a number of other P-38 parts recovered to provide spares and patterns for this aircraft but I am not sure it would constitute a second airframe, I would be glad to be corrected on that. I will be visiting the museum again (tomorrow) as they have an open day and look forward to seeing the P-38 again. To add some more fire to the rumor mill, I will be asking Bob what he knows about the existence of yet another P-38 going to South Australia - this maybe one that Setter was refering about earlier and that it could be an Australian RAAF serial number too!, now for us here in Australia that would be something special and if anyone could pull such a venture off it would be the Classic Jets Team, the quiet achievers as I call them. With regards to the P-39 and P-40 links, yes Bob is getting a static P-39 from Murray grffiths I believe but I also know of yet other P-39 and P-40M projects being commenced by a private party in Adelaide, this is in addition to the recent arrival of a Boomerang project and a T-28 and the rumoured recovery of the remains of a Fairey Battle from the Mid North in that State, this is in addition to the one already at the Port Adelaide Aviation Museum. The warbird scene is really taking off - pardon the pun - in South Australia however some of the owners are very secretive about these ventures. I will certainly be questioning Bob Jarrett to find out more about his projects and what he knows about these others. If I can find out anything more I will update the forum and especially if I can clarify the existance of a second P-38.

All the best

Shelldrake
"If you can't see it ain't there, so keep your eyes closed!"

Hi Shelldrake

Great Post - very informative. I may be able to shed a little info on the RAAF S No P38

For many years there were rumors that the substantial remains of one of the 3 RAAF machines (yes we only ever had 3 ) still existed - this being the one that crashed at Coomalie after a recon mission over Timor - I believe that the cupola burnt out but the wings/booms were largely intact and discarded . I went looking for it but never found it - it is a very large area and I think it had already been recovered in any case, Since the 1980s there have been various stories of it being in storage and a little too many to be BS so I guess it would not surprise me if it were true. I will have to narrow down which one of the two crash victims it was but I believe it to be A55-1 lost on 2/8/1944 but it could have been A55-3 lost on 10/12/1943. A55-2 was withdrawn from service and supposdly scrapped but it could even be that this survived for some reason.

regards
john p

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Air Vice Marshall
Sunshine State Air Farce

Hi again

To add a little more spice on Australian P38 info- there are strong indications that Rebuilding will soon comence on 3 to 4 P38S with a very large restorer here. I cannot yet discuss with whom or the source/identity but it is very likely to happen. I will post more when I can.

Regards
John p

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Air Vice Marshall
Sunshine State Air Farce

Thanks Setter,

Yep I have heard news of further P-38 restorations too and will only speculate these could be done in Victoria. I agree with the rumours of the recovered P-38 from the NT, there are just too many stories getting around fo it to be all BS as you say. I also recall being told several years ago after a conference in Queensland about a twin engined American aircraft that was recovered from the Cape York area. I have never been able to confirm this nor locate any reports of a crash that I could firmly link to this story. Obviously the US operated many of them here via ferry to PNG etc so I guess it is possible several wrecks could exist. I would love to see one of these aircraft flying in Australia and especially see one in an RAAF scheme. Based on the details discussed just on this thread, if we halved the number rumoured to exist we could still end up with a healthy 3 or 4 P-38's Down Under, now that would be something to see!
I recall posting a rumour once before about a P-38 sale to a US party and got poo - poohed for that but it seems that with possibly 3 or 4 more coming on the scene these will go the same way as all the other batch order rebuilds, that is, one will go back to the source country, one to the rebuilder here and the others to overseas buyers. Makes good business sense and as a result we get several of the type back in the air. Do you have anymore details on this second Classic Jets P-38? as I said before I thought it was purely a source of parts and patterns but I am going out there today and if it does exist I wouuld love to get pictures.

until next time
Shelldrake

Hi shelldrake

If I recall correctly the remains Bob got of the second P38 were mostly a complete wing and some other parts - not a complete aircraft - but aircraft have been resurected from less. I will chase up the details which I have here somewhere.

Regards
John P

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Air Vice Marshall
Sunshine State Air Farce