The remains of this aircraft are scheduled as an ancient monument (Cadw ref: ME269). It is a criminal offence to carry out any works that would disturb a scheduled monument or the ground within a scheduled monument's defined area without first obtaining scheduled monument consent from Cadw. This aircraft is also designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. The Act makes it an offence to interfere with the wreckage of any crashed, sunken or stranded military aircraft without a licence from the Ministry of Defence. For further information about the legal protection given by the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, please contact the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, RAF Innsworth, Gloucester, GL3 1RZ.

Event and Historical Information:
Originally conceived to meet a requirement for a high-altitude fighter and designed by the Lockheed design team under H L Hibbard in 1937. The first prototype, Model 22, was accepted by USAAC on 23 June 1937 and a single prototype was ordered. The first prototype was flown by Lt B S Kelsey on 27 January 1939, and by August 1941, the first fully combat standard machine, P-38D, had been introduced. The RAF placed an order for 667 P-38 in March 1940, but the order was cancelled after the aircraft could not be supplied with turbo superchargers. However, production totalled 10,037 aircraft with seven major variants. The planes were powered by a pair of Allison V-1710 engines. The first P-38s to reach Britain were those of the of the 1st and 14th fighter groups in the summer of 1942. The 14th Group flew the first operations in late July 1942. Some shortcomings were recognised in encounters with the Luftwaffe's single engined fighters, but reconnaissance models were particular successful and mapped large areas of occupied Europe. Only 32 complete airframes are believed to survive, with 10 aircraft still flying. The P-38 Lightning discovered on the sands near Harlech was brought to Britain in the summer of 1942. It had been delivered new on 26 June 1942 and been flown for 105:05 hours, including combat missions over the Dutch and Belgian coasts. On 27 September 1942, Second Lt. Robert F. Elliott, 24, of Rich Square, North Carolina, was on a gunnery practice mission. He took off from Llanbedr at 14:00 The aircraft took off from Llanbedr at 14:00 and climbed to 6000ft. Elliot flew the range in the usual manner with another aircraft firing at the target he was towing. After 55 minutes, the left engine lost power. Believing the problem to be the propeller, he tried to correct it with manual controls. Elliot then decided to go into land. With the aircraft trimmed for single engine flight, Elliot flew over the airfield at 1000ft. He dropped the target, then circled again and began a landing approach. At around 800ft and 2 miles from the airfield, the right engine stopped . Elliot then turned to glide down onto the beach. Undershooting, he landed in 2ft of water. His statement to investigators notes that he later checked the tank, found that they were still set on reserve and realised his error (he had been flying for 1 hour and 5 minutes). The investigators concluded that it was carelessness on the part of the pilot - he should have switched to the main tank about 15 minutes before take-off and immediately prior to landing switched back to the reserve tanks. A memo from the Office of the Engineer Officer dated 2 October 1942 noted that the damage by crash landing and salt water was extensive and that it would be necessary to salvage the entire airplane. It appears to have been abandoned after the guns were removed.

A shift in a channel through the sands revealed the plane to a family of beach walkers on 31 July 2007, but the aircraft had been partially re-covered by the shifting sands in October 2007. It was affectionately nicknamed 'The Maid of Harlech' in the press. The site was scheduled in July 2019 in recognition of rarity - only 28 airframes of this type of aircraft are known to survive; and it is the only surviving USAAF 8th Air Force P-38 combat veteran. The aircraft is illustrative of the American operational build-up in Wales during the Second World War and rapid advancements in technological capabilities and applied material science in aviation design.

Sources include:
Eden, P (ed), 2004, The Encyclopaedia of Aircraft of WWII, pg 300-5
US Army Air Force Report of Aircraft Accident 43-06-24-508, RCAHMW Digital Collections
Cadw Scheduling Description, reference number ME269

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/12/ww2-wreck-of-fighter-plane-off-welsh-coast-gets-protected-status 

WWW resources:
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,156222,00.html?wh=wh

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, August 2019. Edited Feb 2024, RCAHMW