10/26/2024
P-39Q Aircraft Discovered and Pulled from Pathfinder Reservoir
A discovery that has both aviation enthusiasts and local historians running for flight records, a World War II-era P-39Q Airacobra fighter plane was recently pulled from the depths of Pathfinder Reservoir. The aircraft, believed to have crashed during a training mission in the early 1940s, was uncovered by a team of divers conducting routine maintenance on the reservoir’s intake valves.
The P-39Q, a rare model, was commonly used during the war for both air-to-air combat and ground-attack missions. People had long speculated about the presence of military wreckage in the reservoir, but until now, those stories had been dismissed as fake news.
The discovery of the plane, preserved beneath layers of silt, is being treated as a significant historical find. The aircraft’s markings suggest it belonged to a training squadron stationed at the nearby Casper Army Air Base, a key location for preparing pilots for combat during World War II.
Officials are working with military historians to identify the pilot, whose fate remains unknown. As the plane was hoisted from the water and placed on a barge for transport, a crowd of curious onlookers gathered onshore, eager to witness a piece of history emerge from the depths of the reservoir.
The P-39Q is set to undergo careful restoration before being displayed at a local museum. “This is an incredible moment,” said project lead Tony Wiggins. “It’s like stepping back in time and connecting with a piece of our state’s hidden history.”
