Do 17 Found!

[FLYBOYJ]

Nazi warplane lying off UK coast is intact - Yahoo! News

A World War II era German bomber is seen using high-tech sonar equipment on the sea floor off southeast England

 

[Milosh]

In the news back on 3 September 2010.

BBC News - WWII German bomber to be recovered from Goodwin Sands

 

[LA2019]

What a find. Hopefully thay can raise it safely and refurbish it...

 

[Gnomey]

Very cool! Hopefully it can be raised.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

In the news back on 3 September 2010.

BBC News - WWII German bomber to be recovered from Goodwin Sands

Yeah when I was at the RAF Museum in London back in October 2010 they had a thing set up talking about this and posted the same pictures as above in it.

Very cool! Hopefully it can be raised.

At the RAF Museum they said it was going to be raised and restored.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Very cool! There are not to many of these around are there?

 

[GrauGeist]

It sure looks to be in pretty rough shape from the looks of that sonar image...

Even so, just raising it as it is would make it, what, one of only two existing Do17s in the world?

 

[Crimea_River]

Definitely would be nice to see that one come up.

 

[vikingBerserker]

That is so cool!

 

[syscom3]

That would be one nice addition to any aviation museum. The history behind it is mind boggling!

 

[Thorlifter]

Just read this on Yahoo. What a find!

 

[Airframes]

It will be the only Do17 in the world. There are bits and pieces of Do17 wreckage around, but no complete examples of any sub-type. It's now a bit of a 'race', as sport divers have already started looting the wreck, even though it's classes as MoD property, since the discovery was first announced about two years ago.

 

[Lucky13]

Don't know if this is the right place.....anyhoo: Nazi warplane lying off UK coast is intact - Yahoo! News

 

[imalko]

Cool find as it is, but there's already a thread about this "somewhere" on the forum...

 

[Lucky13]

Ah, right....didn't know that Igor, or I forgot!

 

[Bucksnort101]

Ah, right....didn't know that Igor, or I forgot!

Alchohol does that to a person

Sorry, you just left that one hanging wide open for a smart-a$$ remark and I just couln't help myself.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

There are actually 2 other threads started about it...

 

[Gnomey]

There are actually 2 other threads started about it...

Now all merged into one.

 

[Njaco]

Seems like they know the story behind it if 2 crew died and others were captured. Any info on that, like what unit, date, etc?

 

[Milosh]

Seems like they know the story behind it if 2 crew died and others were captured. Any info on that, like what unit, date, etc?

The Times newspaper article from August 2010:

"On that morning Do17Z, serial no 1160, was piloted by Feldwebel Willi Effmert, aged 24. With him in the cabin cockpit were its navigator Herman Ritzel, 21; wireless operator Helmut Reinhardt, 27; and bomb aimer Heinz Huhn, 21, whose job it would be to release the aircraft's 16 50kg bombs over one of the key fighter stations at either Debden or Hornchurch.

Huhn was never to get his chance. While flying above cloud over the Strait of Dover the Dornier became separated from the rest of 7 Staffel. Some time after 1pm it was flying on its own when it was jumped at 13,000ft over Deal by a Boulton Paul Defiant of 264 Squadron from RAF Hornchurch. A two-seat fighter with a four-gun power-operated turret, the Defiant had suffered severely from Messerschmitt Bf109s during the Battle of Britain. But it was more than a match for the Do17, in spite of the latter's six machine-guns With both his engines hit, and one out of action, Effmert put his aircraft into a shallow glide and made a wheels-up forced landing on the Goodwin Sands at low water. The aircraft appears to have "ground looped" just before final impact, landing on its back and killing Reinhardt and Huhn. Effmert and Ritzel survived to be captured, and spent the remainder of their war as PoWs in Canada."

Reinhardt Huhn bodies were both recovered with Huhn's grave at Cannock Chase (originally at Whitstable, moved to Cannock 30.10.1962), whilst according to Chris Goss, Reinhardt is buried in Holland.