Posted on 05/11/2012 10:29:11 AM PDT by Neil E. Wright
The Kittyhawk P-40 has remained unseen and untouched since it came down on the sand in June 1942 and has been hailed the "aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's Tomb".
It is thought the pilot survived the crash and initially used his parachute for shelter before making a desperate and futile attempt to reach civilisation by walking out of the desert.
The RAF airman, believed to have been Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping, 24, was never seen again.
The single-seater fighter plane was discovered by chance by Polish oil company worker Jakub Perka exploring a remote region of the Western Desert in Egypt, about 200 miles from the nearest town.
There are also signs of the makeshift camp the pilot made alongside the fuselage.
No human remains have been found but it is thought the pilot may lie within a 20 mile radius of the plane.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Yup. "Baited Breath" means that you most likely have a hook in your mouth.
Historians are urging the British government to step in sooner rather than later and have the scene declared as a war grave so it can be protected until the plane is recovered
Dr. Zahi Hawass: So sorry! This plane is a relic from a pre-existing muslim holy site that has been there for thousands of years, and it will not be released to infidels.
If it turns out there actually was a second WW, then the Holocaust might have happened too.
Whereas I normally have baited breath:
Yummy!!!!!!!!!
Now to hit the kitchen; get some munchies!
What about the P-38 found buried in ice in Greenland which was recovered intact?
Still, with all reverence to aviation history, comparing any find like this WWII plane to be the equivalent of finding King Tut’s tomb is a little over the top.
As a later poster said, location: Burma. The details I’ve read, first reports only, are that there are maybe ten or a dozen Spitfires in freaking crates, some assembly required, brand new “never used”. I am sure a juicy TV special can and will be made out of this, but count me in as an eager viewer.
I think they arrived on site after the Japanese were chased out of the area, so...*using* them woulda been criminal!
Anyway, can’t wait to see the pix of those things, if indeed the story is true.
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