Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: earl1937 on May 31, 2013, 02:28:49 PM
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:airplane: The Royal Air Force Museum is pleased to announce the start of a ground-breaking operation to raise from the English Channel the last surviving Dornier Do 17, an historic World War II German bomber shot down 72 years ago during the Battle of Britain.
The operation will see the retrieval of what is the only known survivor of the Luftwaffe’s “flying pencil” bomber from the Goodwin Sands, off the coast of Kent where it crash-landed in 1940. Using pioneering techniques, it will take approximately three weeks to complete the lift which has been made possible thanks to a grant of more than $5.3 million from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF
FYI- Tried to post pic here, but unsure how to do it....I am a computer dumbie!! LOL
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:aok
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/ (http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/)
"It is hard to both appreciate and visualise what had just happened to this bomber(http://www.constable.ca/caah/do17z2.jpg) and its young German four-man crew the last time it was in fresh air-just after lunchtime on 26 August 1940. What must the four of them have thought as being used as bait to lure RAF fighters into what was hoped to be a massive German fighter trap as they lifted off from their Belgian airfield and hour or so earlier? The trepidation they and the other bomber crews must have felt approaching the Thames Estuary must have been eased by the sight of so many Messerschmitt 109s only to see the RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes fighters pounce on their would-be protectors. This then allowed the Boulton Paul Defiants (http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQocZb7ejSkW3nfzf9aR42_AZw9WvR3gmqTr-yzOqc73zvQ1GY_Jg) of 264 Squadron to approach the bombers from underneath and which then opened fire with their quadruple machine guns. The German crews must have been aware of their approach and the fear and no doubt panic as the British bullets ripped into their bomber, crippling their aircraft.
Some bombers managed to struggle back to France, others like this crew were not so lucky-mortally damaged, they limped over the British coast with France and safety just in view, their bomber descended towards the Channel and eventually flopped onto the surface of the sea. It is not known if this crew baled out or whether they were in the plane when it hit the water. Two survived-picked up by whom it isn’t known but they spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war in Britain and latterly Canada before returning to their families in 1946. Two died-their bodies being washed ashore in Holland and the south coast of England, countries where they still remain buried."
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:aok
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/ (http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/)
"It is hard to both appreciate and visualise what had just happened to this bomber(http://www.constable.ca/caah/do17z2.jpg) and its young German four-man crew the last time it was in fresh air-just after lunchtime on 26 August 1940. What must the four of them have thought as being used as bait to lure RAF fighters into what was hoped to be a massive German fighter trap as they lifted off from their Belgian airfield and hour or so earlier? The trepidation they and the other bomber crews must have felt approaching the Thames Estuary must have been eased by the sight of so many Messerschmitt 109s only to see the RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes fighters pounce on their would-be protectors. This then allowed the Boulton Paul Defiants (http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQocZb7ejSkW3nfzf9aR42_AZw9WvR3gmqTr-yzOqc73zvQ1GY_Jg) of 264 Squadron to approach the bombers from underneath and which then opened fire with their quadruple machine guns. The German crews must have been aware of their approach and the fear and no doubt panic as the British bullets ripped into their bomber, crippling their aircraft.
Some bombers managed to struggle back to France, others like this crew were not so lucky-mortally damaged, they limped over the British coast with France and safety just in view, their bomber descended towards the Channel and eventually flopped onto the surface of the sea. It is not known if this crew baled out or whether they were in the plane when it hit the water. Two survived-picked up by whom it isn’t known but they spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war in Britain and latterly Canada before returning to their families in 1946. Two died-their bodies being washed ashore in Holland and the south coast of England, countries where they still remain buried."
Appreciate you posting the Pic's....wasn't sure how to do it!
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Appreciate you posting the Pic's....wasn't sure how to do it!
Anytime..
Behind the scenes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cqSEc5W6II&feature=c4-overview&list=UUpwYa4YXxdFZE-ishI7CuxA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cqSEc5W6II&feature=c4-overview&list=UUpwYa4YXxdFZE-ishI7CuxA)
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Think the actual operation to raise it was yesterday, but I haven't seen any results?
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Think the actual operation to raise it was yesterday, but I haven't seen any results?
Postponed due to high winds.
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Thanks for the info.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22846645
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Earl, great story. What is the story of the pretty picture by your name?
boo
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They got her! Way to go team! I can't wait for her to be refurbished and put on show. Pity she is so fragile, I had hopes that she may be flyable when I saw how intact she was. Very dubious now, but I can still dream.