Posted on 08/22/2009 1:23:49 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
View of the fighter plane’s cockpit with human remains still resting inside.
A group of divers, who found a downed WWII British fighter plane within relative shallow waters off the North African coast, can now confirm the existence of human remains inside the cockpit of the Curtis P40. The group are still seeking to discuss the find with the British Government and Ministry of Defence with the intention of arranging the recovery of the plane from the sea and the repatriation of the remains of the pilot who was presumably shot down during a mission.
At a difficult time for the British Military currently serving in several theatres of war, veterans have expressed concern at the apparent inaction by the MOD in relation to this find and indeed to try and identify the pilot who paid the ultimate sacrifice during World War II.
(Excerpt) Read more at chronicle.gi ...
Thanks for fixing the pictures ... I wasn’t sure what I was looking at on the original article.
...the plane is still in very good condition...
I wonder what they mean by "good condition". It looks like a big lump of coral to me.
Good condition = mostly intact vs. strewn across the sea floor...
I suppose they mean it is still in one basic P40-shaped piece, not missing a wing or somesuch.
Interesting that there seems to be a lot of recovery of WW2 aircraft going on. I guess the demand is high for repairable aircraft.
“I guess the demand is high for repairable aircraft.”
No doubt that’s strue. The problem is that there is too much corrosion of these parts to use in an actual aircraft. The easiest thing to do, literally, is build the airframe parts up from scratch. Sheet metal is easy. Engine parts are another thing and more problematic. My personal feeling is that they are recovered, primarily out of a sense of moral or ethical responsibility. In the case of pilot remains, they would come out first to be identified and repatriated to the next of kin. The military is very good about that. After that, what little is left of the airframe is recovered out of curiousity, and potentially as profitable items. Interesting military artifacts, but of no functional use.
The P-40’s were sitting ducks against the fast and nimble Messerschmidts.
RIP.
They were used primarily on ground attack missions and to intercept enemy bombers, like the Hawker Hurricane.
The P-40’s of the AVG were pretty effective against the Zero (a fast and nimble aircraft) in the Pacific. Were the tactics they used in the Pacific better? I know they could dive away from the Zero, but I don’t know if that would’ve worked against the 109.
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