Posted on 05/04/2013 2:32:22 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
Work begins on Friday to raise a unique World War II aircraft from the floor of the English Channel just off the Kent coast. The Dornier 17 aircraft is the last of its kind, and lies in 50ft of water on the Goodwin Sands. The salvage is just the start of a two-year restoration project by the RAF Museum in Hendon.
Summer 1940 and Britain stands alone in Europe against seemingly unstoppable German military success.
For weeks on end, wave after wave of German aircraft cross the English coast, under orders to destroy the RAF and pave the way for a Nazi invasion.
The Dornier 17 is one of the mainstays of those German bomber fleets waging what the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, soon christened the Battle of Britain.
Originally designed as a fast reconnaissance aircraft, slim and manoeuvrable, it had been converted by the Luftwaffe in the mid-1930s into a medium bomber.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Fascinating salvage job ahead, lets hope it goes well.
50 years in salt water, how much is left?
Lets hope for enough of it to resemble a plane when it comes up. If stuck in the sand for the majority of those 50 years, it might not have fared too badly.
Time will tell though, looking forward to seeing the end result (and yes, maybe being a little disappointed).
Later in the article some experts tell them not to get their hopes up. They were made with aluminium frames and it’s very likely much of the structure has been eaten away. Interestingly they think they know exactly what day it was shot down and by whom. The pilot and copilot survived the crash.
The warbird salvage guys will settle on a single usable part, a rivet, a rubber grommet, etc and build a new replica aircraft around it.
“Underwater footage of the wreck shows it largely intact. Some parts are missing - the bomb bay doors, the cockpit glazing, the undercarriage doors.
But the fuselage, the wings, the engines and propellers are still there.
And so is the landing gear, complete with fully inflated tyres.”
If they don’t muck up raising it, with the bits and pieces they already have I bet it will be restored to museum, if not flyable condition.
“The warbird salvage guys will settle on a single usable part, a rivet, a rubber grommet, etc and build a new replica aircraft around it. “
Yeah, it’s like buying a junker car for the VIN.
BTW, The Daily Mail has a better article than the IslamoMarxist BBC http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2318808/Last-surviving-Second-World-War-Dornier-bomber-raised-watery-grave-70-years-biggest-recovery-kind.html?ico=news%5Eheadlines
That's better than some original Gibson banjos from the 1930s that have had three replacement necks, two new resonators, and a new tone ring.
DO 17, nicknamed “The Flying Pencil”.
Reminds me of the auctioneer selling a hammer, said, “This hammer is over 200 years old! It’s had 2 new heads and 5 new handles!”
Methinks it’s not the same hammer, but that’s just me.
Cool! Last known one. There’s only 5 JU-87 Stukas left, one in Chicago’s MOS&I, another at the Imperial War Museum, the other three are piles of crash debris.
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