Reconnaissance Aircraft Post-Sortie Damage Report
Damage report compiled by Lt. A. Walters, 145th Special Bombardment Group, USAAF
The aircraft in question was an F-5 long-range reconnaissance variant of the P-38 Lightning, fitted with drop tanks and cameras for this mission. No sign of ballistic or explosive damage was noted anywhere on the aircraft. However, upon a full tear-down inspection, extreme warping and bending was noted to the internal spars and framing, as though the entire aircraft had been twisted. It is a testament to the strength of the airframe and skill of the pilot that the aircraft continued to fly at all.
It is important to note that there was no evidence of this damage externally, barring a few small areas in which skin panels had ‘crumpled’ slightly. It is unknown at this time how such damage occurred, nor how it left so little external evidence.
Additionally, although the pilot stated that he did not intentionally take any exposures of the target area, it appears that at some point during the flight he did activate his camera trigger at least once, likely under stress. However, the film was, when recovered, found to have dissolved into a foul-smelling sludge, from which nothing could be discerned.
The airframe is considered to be damaged beyond repair as a result of enemy activity, and has been recovered to Los Alamos for further testing, along with the pilot.
