Do 17 to be recovered off Kentish coast

Rheged · May 03, 2013, 02:36:25 AM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22380915

see also

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22394606

PR19_Kit · May 03, 2013, 05:21:28 AM

That'll be truly amazing if they do manage to lift it out and conserve it. It seems they'll be doing the work at Cosford too, not so far away from me.

NARSES2 · May 03, 2013, 07:38:47 AM

It's a Defiant "kill" as well

Rheged · May 04, 2013, 09:43:02 AM

Update:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-22411430

darthspud · May 04, 2013, 10:35:59 AM

Fairly sure the lead historian of this project is a former boss of mine from my RAF days.
Looks the spitting image of a former DAMO at Brize Norton.

Father Ennis · May 04, 2013, 02:00:55 PM

Saw this on BBC America,last night. I was wondering what because of the crew ? Anybody know

darthspud · May 05, 2013, 01:14:42 AM

It's just off the Goodwin Sands, and at certain tide times it's above sea level in that area.
The Dornier is well under water permanently, but the crew may well have got out.

I doubt permission would have been agreed had it been still occupied by the crew.

NARSES2 · May 05, 2013, 02:40:07 AM

Quote from: Father Ennis on May 04, 2013, 02:00:55 PM
Saw this on BBC America,last night. I was wondering what because of the crew ? Anybody know

Pilot and one other survived, the rest died of their wounds.

As said if there were bodies on board then it would be a war grave and if permission were given to raise it then those bodies would have to be recovered first and given a full military funeral. My reading is that there are no bodies aboard and that the crew died away from the aircraft.

Leading Observer · May 05, 2013, 03:42:54 AM

The reports I've seen say that there are no human remains on the aircraft and that all the live ammo has also been removed

aston · May 05, 2013, 07:18:48 AM

Good to see this happening .... people getting excited about recovering an historic item. I read a while ago, I think, a Government statement, that underwater aviation relics were of little interest and, in effect, don't bother us with them - but if this Dornier has survived others might have elsewhere and there could be treasures including freshwater elsewhere. Don't stop looking frogmen! BOO!! to those who have removed parts from the Goodwin Sands Dornier though some have been recovered apparently. It is said it will be displayed at Hendon ..... so put the Defiant near it with the turret in its direction!

Nick · May 05, 2013, 02:02:23 PM

Good to hear of another WW2 aircraft being rescued! As the only intact one left it deserves to be preserved safely and the RAF Museum is a good place for it.
I wonder how they plan to rearrange the Battle of Britain Hall to fit this one in? It'll make a nice offset to the wreckage of the Hurricane they recovered from the Essex mudflats. Must be time for a full overhaul of the whole building.

albeback · May 05, 2013, 03:37:34 PM

Quote from: aston on May 05, 2013, 07:18:48 AM
Good to see this happening .... people getting excited about recovering an historic item. I read a while ago, I think, a Government statement, that underwater aviation relics were of little interest and, in effect, don't bother us with them - but if this Dornier has survived others might have elsewhere and there could be treasures including freshwater elsewhere. Don't stop looking frogmen! BOO!! to those who have removed parts from the Goodwin Sands Dornier though some have been recovered apparently. It is said it will be displayed at Hendon ..... so put the Defiant near it with the turret in its direction!

I tend to treat Government statements with the same utter contempt in which I hold politicians!! Best ignore them! I'm sure these worthless hypocrites will be equally quick to praise the ingenuity & skill of the salvage teams if they smell an opportunity to "promote" British firms & expertise!

Personally, I'd love to see a complete restoration but, I suspect the Dornier is probably too far gone for this. If I remember correctly, there is a Dornier 215 lying in shallow water off the Dutch coast?. Even if it cannot be fully restored, I think the earlier suggestion about posing the wreck next to the wrecked Hurricane is a good one. A poignant reminder of the very human costs involved. Knowing that the pilot of the Hurricane had died in the engagement in which it was shot down made me feel very humble the first time I saw the wreck.

PR19_Kit · May 05, 2013, 04:46:45 PM

Quote from: albeback on May 05, 2013, 03:37:34 PM
A very poignant reminder of the very human costs involved. Knowing that the pilot of the Hurricane had died in the engagement in which it was shot down made me feel very humble the first time I saw the wreck.

I can't pass by that wrecked Hurricane without weeping. All those names on the wall behind it just gets to me.

rickshaw · May 06, 2013, 11:50:22 PM

Most poignant memorial I know is in a small side gallery in the Australian War Memorial. It consists quite simply of the passport sized enlistment photos of those who died in the Sandakan Death Marches (in Borneo, in 1945). Simple, elegant and poignant. I always pause for a moment's reflection when I pass. I always get moist eyed. So many young lives, cut short.

albeback · May 07, 2013, 12:17:45 AM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on May 05, 2013, 04:46:45 PM
Quote from: albeback on May 05, 2013, 03:37:34 PM
A very poignant reminder of the very human costs involved. Knowing that the pilot of the Hurricane had died in the engagement in which it was shot down made me feel very humble the first time I saw the wreck.

I can't pass by that wrecked Hurricane without weeping. All those names on the wall behind it just gets to me.

Know what you mean. When I took my girlfriend to the museum, I'm sure I saw a tear in her eye. She has a son who is about the same age as a lot of the lads who died (on both sides).