The Temnac P-38G Lightning is a historic military aircraft, now on display at

Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson is a United States military facility in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army's Fort Richardson, which ...

. It is a

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

, military serial number 42-13400, which entered service in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

at what was then known as Elmendorf Field in 1942, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was assigned to the

54th Fighter Squadron The 54th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 3d Operations Group, being stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It was inactivated on 28 April 2000. History World War II Activated ...

. In January 1945 it was taken out on a training mission over the western

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

by 2d Lt. Robert Nesmith. While flying low over the Temnac River valley on

Attu Island Attu ( ale, Atan, russian: Атту, link=no) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is the westernmost point of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabite ...

, Nesmith experienced fluctuations in one of the engines, and was forced to put the aircraft down. He crash-landed the aircraft in the valley without injury to himself. The aircraft was abandoned at the crash site, the Air Force stripping it of salvageable materials. The hulk remained ''in situ'' for many years, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1979. The hulk was recovered in 1999 by Air Force veterans and brought to Elmendorf AFB, where it underwent restoration to correct the ravages of weather and damage done by the original salvage operation. It was placed on display at Elmendorf in 2000.

References

Transportation on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Lockheed aircraft 1940s United States fighter aircraft Aircraft on the National Register of Historic Places World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska National Register of Historic Places in Anchorage, Alaska 1942 establishments in Alaska Individual aircraft of World War II {{Alaska-NRHP-stub

See also

References