Project Description

July 20th to August 27th

The Sicily I project is in conjunction with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The DPAA works to provide the fullest possible accounting for missing personnel to their families and the nation.

There are currently still more than 70,000 MIA service members from WWII. In 2021, the AVAR team will work to account for the crew of a P-38G Lightning that crashed during Operation Husky.

According to Lockheed Martin, “a total of more than 10,000 P-38s—including 18 distinct models—were manufactured during the war, flying more than 130,000 missions in theaters around the world. P-38 pilots shot down more Japanese aircraft than any other fighter and, as a reconnaissance aircraft, obtained 90 percent of the aerial film captured over Europe.”

Operation Husky, known as the Allied Invasion of Sicily, began on July 10,  1943, and involved more than 3,000 ships carrying over 150,000 ground troops, protected by more than 4,000 aircraft.  There were approximately 24,850 American, British, and Canadian casualties.

More Information on the P-39G Lighting

• A Legend In Its Own Time
• The Only Remaining Complete P-38G

More Information on Operation Husky

• National WWII Museum
• History Channel