World War II Kittyhawk found in desert...
Comments
18 June 2012, 07:04
Frank KrauseWow! Thanks for sharing! Astonishing good condition of the wreck. Close to the sea it would have surely looked differently...
18 June 2012, 07:34
Steve WilsonI agree, I only found out about this this morning. The engine looks as if it could start up...
18 June 2012, 07:40
Steve WilsonLooking into this mystery I found this about the Pilot he was a Canadian who joined the RAF like many... Here is a link:
vintagewings.ca/Vint..uage/en-CA/Hero.aspx
18 June 2012, 07:55
Steve WilsonYes! Holger... And a fitting tribute to this great guy who having survived being shot at and crash landing, but succumbing to the conditions he finds himself in...
18 June 2012, 08:14
Holger KranichBut Steve, you are right, this was a brave soldier! But when the sh*t hits the fan... You know what i mean!;)
18 June 2012, 09:01
Steve WilsonThat my friend goes for anything and everything, but in a situation like this guy finds himself in thats Brontosaurus faeces. It couldn't have fully sunk in until a couple of hours into his horror story, Hellraiser stuff!!!... Sudden desperation.
18 June 2012, 09:12
Holger KranichI love the pinhead;) Oh yeah, the canadian pilot really raised hell, for himself!
Do you know where the wreck is located?
18 June 2012, 14:14
Steve WilsonAccording to reports, Captain Paul Collins, the British defence attache to Egypt, confirmed there will be a search carried out of the area around the plane in the hope of finding his remains. "It is likely he walked away and was clearly lost. We are talking about a 100 square kilometre area and it is extremely unlikely that we will find any remains. The scene is close to a smuggling line from Sudan and Libya. We will need to go there with the Egyptian army because it is a dangerous area."
18 June 2012, 14:39
Aghis BarberopoulosClearly these smugglers have no appreciation of aircraft...
Amazing that the lack of moisture has kept the metal looking fresh after 70 odd years!!! Time travel in the making 😉
18 June 2012, 15:19
Steve WilsonOr of life full stop Aghis... Their just the same as the Sudanese Pirates, no respect for anyone or thing. Including themselves...
18 June 2012, 15:22
Christian BruerHi Steve, thanx for sharing the interesting story and photos. It is good to know that the pilot is not forgotten after 70 years! May he rest in peace! dailymail.co.uk/news..ked-sands-death.html
18 June 2012, 16:02
Christian BruerYep Holger agree! My grand uncle was missed in action in February 1942 on the Northern Front in Russia, but my Grandmother never stated him dead because she believed he could have survived. But that is only one more fate of millions more. So let us hope, that things like that never happen!
18 June 2012, 17:11
Aghis BarberopoulosI can only agree with you - But let us do more than hope: do whatever little bit we can to prevent the return of tyrrany due to interests on loans imposed by central bankers. It was mainly the Treaty of Versailles that led to WW2 through the destruction of the German economy and pride...
18 June 2012, 18:13
Holger KranichAghis, i can only agree and hope, that mankind has learned something since that days...Sometimes i doubt, but sometimes i see hope at the horizon! Lets hope together!
18 June 2012, 18:19
Steve WilsonWhat amazes me is, if Sherif Sharmy hadn't asked me to be his mate, I might never of seen his post on this subject, I wouldn't have delved into this and allowed this discussion to happen. Proving this fantastic site works, where else would you find militatry and auto modellers palling up and chatting together...
18 June 2012, 20:27
RobbieSo has there been an update on what is planned/status about the plane? Is it going to end up like the Lady Be Good ?? I personally think it should be crated up and the crash scene duplicated at the IWM.
18 June 2012, 21:33
RobbieShows how much I know about the museums in the UK. Ok RAF Hendon it is 🙂
I am sure any museum in the UK will be better then where it is at now. If we could just link it to a Pharaoh or something.... Hmmm. Now where did I put my tin foil hat ?
18 June 2012, 22:31
Steve WilsonRobb! Now I did see somewhere an article comparing it to Tutankhamun tomb...
18 June 2012, 22:59
RobbieNow is the time for some Decal company to come out with a special edition set of decals about 'Great finds in the Desert'. You get all the markings you need to make the above P-40 and as an extra bonus all the markings needed for the 'Lady Be Good'. Make it cheap 'cause most modelers are poor but if not take the modeling world's definition of over price product and call it 'Limited Run'. That's the ticket... oh make it available in 1/72 and 1/48
18 June 2012, 23:08
Steve WilsonYeah! I agree, but that scene is just so poignant it's crying out for one...
18 June 2012, 23:23
RobbieSo what would be the best preferred kit to do said diorama? Some of the links say it was a P-40D but I don't see any guns in the cowling. Would this be a E / Tomahawk 1a ? So Hasegawa 1a in 1/72 pops into mind (yes I took the tin foil hat off now).
18 June 2012, 23:41
RobbieWhile trying to answer my own question I found this link...
vintagewings.ca/Vint..HS-B-Discovered.aspx
18 June 2012, 23:49
Steve WilsonWell done Robb I've saved those pics... Judging by the content it's an older article than the one I posted by the same site, more updated info on that one...
19 June 2012, 06:56
RobbieAn Update article but this time about the pilot
vintagewings.ca/Vint..uage/en-CA/Hero.aspx
This is becoming a P-40 version of the B-24 'Lady be Good' story
19 June 2012, 22:47
RobbieOops, Steve already posted the link. Guess I should view ALL links before posting something. Must remember to scroll up ;P
19 June 2012, 22:51
Bill GilmanThere are some videos on-line that show the "smugglers" removing the ammunition belts from the plane. Sorry I don't have the link right now...the ammo belts looked brand new, and they were still loaded.
When this story first broke several weeks ago it was fun to read the forums where the "experts" showed us all that the photos were fake, and were CGI or models, etc. It turns out the joke was on them!
20 June 2012, 01:16
Bill GilmanThis video unfortunately shows the amount of destruction that has already occurred at this crash site by vandals. It is most obvious on the canopy. The discovery pictures shows most glass still intact; later pictures show the glass has been broken. Some of the other videos on YouTube clearly show some idiot trying to walk on top of the front canopy. Instruments have been removed from the cockpit as well.
Youtube Video
I've read that the ammo may have been removed by the Egyptian Military - no way to confirm. In the video that I saw which showed the ammo being removed no one had any uniforms on. But out in the middle of the desert, they may not be a good idea anyway! I think the original discovery was by some geologists working for an oil company back in February/March.
20 June 2012, 01:30
Bill GilmanHave a look at this as well, and consider donating to the effort to raise one or more of these TBD-1 Devastators:
tighar.org/Projects/Devastator/tosave.htm
Although TIGHAR is more well known for its Amelia Earhart search (personally, their theory is the only one that makes any sense to me, read their site!) they also participate in other aircraft rescue efforts. Here is a P-38 offshore in Wales:
tighar.org/Projects/P38/welshlightning.htm
20 June 2012, 01:37
Bill SpargoThanks so much for sharing, that looks like a diorama for someone to me.
8 December 2014, 21:01
Steve Wilson...
Don't tell anyone, coz I only build Ferrari's, but I'm in the middle of doing one!!!
8 December 2014, 21:08
Bill GilmanWhatever happened to this plane? It was found several years ago, and there was some talk of the British retrieving it. But I don't recall hearing any more.
9 December 2014, 00:05
Bill GilmanIt looks like the pilot's remains were found in 2012:
warhistoryonline.com..egyptian-desert.html
9 December 2014, 20:56
Steve Wilson...
Yeah! saw that, but since then the planes been pillaged and goverments still negotiating...
But no final decision has yet been reached as to what becomes of what's left of it🤔
9 December 2014, 21:11
Album info
The plane was piloted by Sergeant Dennis Copping from Southend England, the son of a dentist. The British RAF airman was reportedly flying the plane, along with a fellow Canadian airman, on June 28th 1942 from one British North Egypt Airbase to another Northern Egypt Base. The plane was due to be repaired on arrival, for damage caused from a previous attack, 24hrs previous. But found himself lost and disorientated due to the damage to his P40 instrument panel. It had also sustained damage in the attack to the P40's undercarriage, one landing gear was locked in landing position this would have caused him handling problems. Finding himself lost and out of fuel, he set the plane down in the middle of the desert. Close to Sudanese Libyan border, about as far as you could get away from your destination without leaving Egypt's airspace. Removing the radio from his stricken plane, he realized it also had been deemed useless whilst he was under fire the day before. Desperation and panic must have started to kick in,