r/WWIIplanes

Date and carrier unknown.

On February 18, 1944, Second Lieutenant Edward W. Getter took off on a routine VFR flight near Summit, Alaska. He never made it back. His P-51A Mustang, serial 43-6006, went down in heavy snow with only 43 hours on the airframe. Lt. Getter was killed. The aircraft remained on that mountain, exposed to the Alaskan weather for over 30 years. Hunters who stumbled across the wreck left their mark — literally scribbling their names on the engine valve covers.

In the fall of 1977, Waldon "Moon" Spillars and two friends climbed that mountain and brought her home.

With almost no P-51A parts available anywhere, Spillars spent years piecing her back together using components from P-51Ds. On July 3, 1985 — 41 years after she went down — Polar Bear flew again.

She went on to race at the Reno Air Races — powered by her original Allison V-12, not the Merlin that transformed the later Mustangs into legends. While everyone else on the flightline was running Merlins, Polar Bear showed up with the engine most people considered the lesser powerplant and still took home a Bronze Victory in the Silver class. Mustang purists took notice.

She flew the airshow circuit up and down the West Coast for years, charming everyone who heard that distinctive Allison sound coming down the flightline instead of the Merlin growl they expected.

I photographed her at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California in 2007. She was everything the name promised — dark, menacing, and carrying a story most people had never heard.

She has since been sold, fully restored to P-51A specs, and repainted. The Polar Bear name and nose art are gone. She flies today as "Shanty Irish."

Airshow shot I got last summer, with great timing.

I have recently come into the possesion of this item, it appears to be a part of this plane, i think my dad must of brought it from a museum at the time (potentially) im not sure if its real or a replicia, or if it has any value at all, i dont know a lot about planes, so any help would be appricated. thanks

My grandfather was a radio operator in the 7th Bomber Group stationed at India. He loved his camera and took photographs on missions and around the base. He snapped this one of a B-24 after it somehow returned and one getting overhauled. His album has alot, I scanned the ones that interested me but can upload more later.