Discovered after seventy years in the sand... (1 Viewer)

[Rob]

Posted pics a few weeks back, but here's the full story and better pics. Sad to learn pilot never made it out of the desert and moving to see his chute he used as a shelter from the Sun. Great news that RAF Hendon are working to bring it back to museum;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Dennis-Copping-discovered-Sahara-desert.html

Rob

 

[AIDMAN]

Rob

A very interesting but also very sad story..A terrible and lonely death for a Hero, One could never imagine the emotions that went through that man as he tried to walk out of the Desert....He was skilled enough to land his crippled plane just to die in the Desert...Shame on the authorities for letting the crash site be robbed...Bet they would get there quick enough if it was an ancient burial site, Money matters!!!.
Would be nice if they could find the guy and give him a Resting place, but it would be like finding a needle in a haystack i"m afraid!!.
Thanks for posting again.

Steve

Remember and Respect

 

[Terp152]

Beautifully preserved relic. Hope they salvage her. Should be able to save her if a P38 can be brought back to flying condition after lying in a glacier on Iceland for 50+ yrs. Very tragic regarding the pilot. THey wouldn't have known where to search for him (when he went missing) if he flew off course. Chris

 

[Terp152]

Interesting article in this month's issue of Britain At War about the P40 found in the desert. There was another P40 accompanying the lost aircraft. The other pilot tried to get the errant aircraft to follow him back on course to no avail. He also tried radio contact without success and eventually had to give up and fly on to their destination. Article does not mention what altitude they were flying. THe lost pilot may have been hypoxic, my conjecture. Chris

 

[TomNT]

Beautifully preserved relic. Hope they salvage her. Should be able to save her if a P38 can be brought back to flying condition after lying in a glacier on Iceland for 50+ yrs. Very tragic regarding the pilot. THey wouldn't have known where to search for him (when he went missing) if he flew off course. Chris

and to think at the end of the Second World War countless thousands of WWII Warbirds including these aircraft, Mustangs, P38's, Spitfires ect were deemed surplus and scrapped. My dad told me a story about when he was a boy he saw hundreds of surplus Kittyhawks and some Spitfires lined up in Oakey QLD Australia that were going to be sold off for scrap. He said some of the farmers brought them for there engines and tyres etc.

Tom

 

[Rob]

and to think at the end of the Second World War countless thousands of WWII Warbirds including these aircraft, Mustangs, P38's, Spitfires ect were deemed surplus and scrapped. My dad told me a story about when he was a boy he saw hundreds of surplus Kittyhawks and some Spitfires lined up in Oakey QLD Australia that were going to be sold off for scrap. He said some of the farmers brought them for there engines and tyres etc.

Tom

Makes you weep doesn't it Tom, they could all be in museums or some even flying again now, shame.

Rob

 

[TomNT]

Makes you weep doesn't it Tom, they could all be in museums or some even flying again now, shame.

Rob

Your not wrong Rob and i said to my dad that it was a pity he didn't have a few pounds in his pocket (Oz had your currency in those days) and bought a Spit or Kittyhawk and then stored it away in a shed. He would be a rich man now and hopefully would have given me a bit of that money so i can buy more TS's....:rolleyes2:{sm3}

Tom

 

[Larry Allen]

Great Story!
Has all the ring of the "Lady Be Good" story. That is an excellent read if you gents haven't already done so.
If I remember correctly, the Airforce found 7 out of 8 of the crew. Kinda' sad to think that one body is still missing .... alone.

There was a real good episode on a TV show (The Twilight zone) that had the crew of a B17 (I think) who were ghosts that couldn’t leave the plane site. Richard Basehart was the one crewmen that bailed out and lived but shouldn’t have. Spooky!
Thanks for the sad but good read. -- Larry

 

[Terp152]

Great Story!
Has all the ring of the "Lady Be Good" story. That is an excellent read if you gents haven't already done so.
If I remember correctly, the Airforce found 7 out of 8 of the crew. Kinda' sad to think that one body is still missing .... alone.

There was a real good episode on a TV show (The Twilight zone) that had the crew of a B17 (I think) who were ghosts that couldn’t leave the plane site. Richard Basehart was the one crewmen that bailed out and lived but shouldn’t have. Spooky!
Thanks for the sad but good read. -- Larry

I saw that episode, very good show and have always remebered it. In real life the AF flew a lot of reconnaissance sorties to search for the crew after finding the wreckage. A diary was discovered and the AF would not release all of it out of deference to the families as it described the suffering the survivors were experiencing. As always the press insisted they have access to all the sad details until the AF relented. Chris

 

[Larry Allen]

Happy 4th Chris;
I am a big advocate of “Freedom of the Press” and “Freedom of Speech” (even here on the Forum ) …. BUT!!!!!!
A person’s privacy should take a higher position.

When I hear the (insert BAD word here) reporters asking a family member or a loved one, “How do you feel?” after a death of someone close, I would like to see them take the microphone and shove it ……. well you know what.

I wonder how many more sites are still out there, in the desert of North Africa, in the jungles of Burma, the islands of the Pacific or the bottom of the ocean. RIP our heroes!!! -- Larry

 

[Terp152]

Happy 4th Chris;
I am a big advocate of “Freedom of the Press” and “Freedom of Speech” (even here on the Forum ) …. BUT!!!!!!
A person’s privacy should take a higher position.

When I hear the (insert BAD word here) reporters asking a family member or a loved one, “How do you feel?” after a death of someone close, I would like to see them take the microphone and shove it ……. well you know what.

I wonder how many more sites are still out there, in the desert of North Africa, in the jungles of Burma, the islands of the Pacific or the bottom of the ocean. RIP our heroes!!! -- Larry

Hi Larry, hope you had an ejoyable 4th. Seems like there are stories about remains being recovered/identified every month. Lots of stories in our local (Louisville) paper about remains from Korean and WWII being returned to families for burial. Glad they are able to bring closure, mostly younger brothers, sisters, nephews now. Chris