P-38 F-1 Glacier Girl with wrong US insignia
 

Can someone tell me why Glacier Girl's US National Aircraft Insignia is the old star with red dot? This version of the insignia only lasted until May 6, 1942 and after this date, the red dot was removed. Photos taken after the P-38 crash landed in Greenland clearly show only the familiar blue and white insignia. Since this Lightning crash landed on July 15, 1942, it would seem something is wrong.

Hal

Re: P-38 F-1 Glacier Girl with wrong US insignia
 

Hello Hal. What pics are you referring to? Are you sure the pics are Glacier Girl? From my reading, if the props are bent, it's not her.
These 2 extracted from a video show Glacier Girl's wing on recovery.
Cheers
Peter

Re: P-38 F-1 Glacier Girl with wrong US insignia
 

I suspect that the red dot has been covered with white, some of which has peeled away.

Re: P-38 F-1 Glacier Girl with wrong US insignia
 

Thank you Peter and Graham!

Peter: Your two photos certainly could tell the story. And, the photo I recall seeing was indeed a P-38 with bent props...so
Graham: Frankly, I think your suggestion about chipping off of the white cover-up paint could also be correct. Considering the dates involved, I'm now inclined to go with this possibility.

Hal

Re: P-38 F-1 Glacier Girl with wrong US insignia
 

No worries Hal.
I suspect the photo you've seen before is of the a/c in the attached pic. I'm not sure about the red dot peeling - it all looks pretty clean in the photo, which looks like it was taken at the time.
If you're interested in the recovery story, have a look at this link (the story is 6 pages) -

https://www.airspacemag.com/history-...tory-19218360/

In it, it says that Smith feathered his props before belly-landing, so the props would not be bent. The pic of Glacier Girl inside the cave they made confirms this.

Cheers
Peter

Re: P-38 F-1 Glacier Girl with wrong US insignia
 

Peter:
Fascinating story. It looks as though Glacier Girl's national insignia could go either way depending on what time period was chosen. Again, thank you for your helpful thoughts which are much appreciated.

Hal