P-38 "White 33" on May 7

Dan K · **Posted:** Sun May 08, 2016 9:21 am

A couple of glimpses for those (like me) who haven't seen her in a while:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/WestPac- ... =2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/pages/WestPac- ... =2&theater

Jesse C. · **Posted:** Sun May 08, 2016 10:51 am

Wow, that looks amazing! What a sight that will be when she takes to the air!!

Thanks for posting!

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7820

Very nice!

"White 33" back to base after clipping a Japanese fighter. Right wing tip damage.

P-38F "White 33". Col. Royal was former CO of the 39th FS

Great paint job.

Nathan · **Posted:** Sun May 08, 2016 12:04 pm

An early production P-38, Pacific war vet, kept in original markings, correct paint scheme, restored by a world class shop! A+++++++++++++++ :drink3:

Love the sharks teeth! Proof the P-40 wasn't the only one to carry them. Its refreshing to see them on something else!

:drink3:

Jesse C. · **Posted:** Sun May 08, 2016 2:30 pm

So, how complete is White 33 compared to Glacier Girl?

And I am referring to how much equipment is still onboard vs. stripped out show birds.

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7820

quote from link below: "entirely original with the exception of a modern radio" .... whatever that means.

http://www.ww2aero.com/p-38-white-33-is ... nal-pilot/

JohnTerrell · **Posted:** Sun May 08, 2016 5:47 pm

These are some older photos by Westpac of the restoration (from their Facebook page), showing the cockpit (not yet finished in this shot) and the level of detailing. The aircraft has been restored with all the same amount of authentic details as "Glacier Girl" plus more - including the armor glass, working turbo-superchargers, likely the gunsight (though I haven't yet seen a photo of one fitted), and all of the factory worker graffiti and inspection marks reproduced where found (as illustrated below).

Triplane102 · **Joined:** Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:55 pm **Posts:** 491

Thanks John T. ! I read/heard some where that part of the Leading edges on W.33 that are very difficult to reproduce were/are the most original of any restored P-38 so far ? Any Idea ?

...or ..maybe the beer talking again !! :drinkers:

C VEICH · **Joined:** Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:40 pm **Posts:** 1471

In the b&w photos the "33" on the tail appears much darker than the white in the insignia. I would have guessed yellow or maybe the same blue color as the spinners. Maybe they were greyed out but, if so, why not the star too? Could be just wishful thinking on my part as yellow or blue would add a nice splash of color to the scheme.

RyanShort1 · **Posted:** Mon May 09, 2016 8:49 pm

C VEICH wrote:

In the b&w photos the "33" on the tail appears much darker than the white in the insignia. I would have guessed yellow or maybe the same blue color as the spinners. Maybe they were greyed out but, if so, why not the star too? Could be just wishful thinking on my part as yellow or blue would add a nice splash of color to the scheme.

Could that be from exhaust?

Ryan Harris · **Posted:** Tue May 10, 2016 7:53 am

RyanShort1 wrote:

C VEICH wrote:

In the b&w photos the "33" on the tail appears much darker than the white in the insignia. I would have guessed yellow or maybe the same blue color as the spinners. Maybe they were greyed out but, if so, why not the star too? Could be just wishful thinking on my part as yellow or blue would add a nice splash of color to the scheme.

Could that be from exhaust?

I just thought yellow at first as well, but then I remembered that the P-38's tail tends to get pretty dirty with exhaust. I'm thinking that is probably the discoloration we are seeing as Ryan suggested.

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

The early P-38 used the leading edges as heat exchangers for the turbos as I recall. Glacier Girl has later leading edges because the team wasn't able to reproduce the early ones.

TBM Tony wrote:

I read/heard some where that part of the Leading edges on W.33 that are very difficult to reproduce were/are the most original of any restored P-38 so far ?

JohnTerrell · **Posted:** Tue May 10, 2016 12:37 pm

Some photos of the aircraft on a test flight have been posted to the P-38 Lightning Facebook group page, naturally with Steve Hinton at the controls. https://www.facebook.com/groups/662036060531177/

BTW, Westpac is now the registered owner of this aircraft.

Pretty cool that there are now 8 P-38's flying, two of which being the F-model.

bdk wrote:

The early P-38 used the leading edges as heat exchangers for the turbos as I recall. Glacier Girl has later leading edges because the team wasn't able to reproduce the early ones.

As I recall reading at one point, Westpac got the jigs and some left over components (including those early leading edges) from the Glacier Girl restoration to aid in the restoration of "White 33".

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

JohnTerrell wrote:

As I recall reading at one point, Westpac got the jigs and some left over components (including those early leading edges) from the Glacier Girl restoration to aid in the restoration of "White 33".

Maybe for some components. They did build a jig for the center section in Rialto off of another P-38 they were working on.

Jesse C. · **Posted:** Fri May 13, 2016 5:09 pm

JohnTerrell wrote:

Some photos of the aircraft on a test flight have been posted to the P-38 Lightning Facebook group page, naturally with Steve Hinton at the controls. https://www.facebook.com/groups/662036060531177/

BTW, Westpac is now the registered owner of this aircraft.

Pretty cool that there are now 8 P-38's flying, two of which being the F-model.

bdk wrote:

The early P-38 used the leading edges as heat exchangers for the turbos as I recall. Glacier Girl has later leading edges because the team wasn't able to reproduce the early ones.

As I recall reading at one point, Westpac got the jigs and some left over components (including those early leading edges) from the Glacier Girl restoration to aid in the restoration of "White 33".

Could you post some pics here for us Facebook impaired?

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P-38 "White 33" on May 7

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