- Pilot of the Kittyhawk P-40 was thought to have survived crash, but died trying to walk out of the desert
- Aircraft was found almost perfectly preserved, unseen and untouched, after it came down in 1942
- Historian describes find as 'an incredible time capsule' and 'the aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's Tomb'
A Second World War plane crashed by a British pilot in the Sahara desert, before he walked off to his death, has been found frozen in time 70 years later.
This was at The Daily Mail.
Interesting story with amazing pictures of how the desert can preserve things.
The sad part of this “discovery” is that unless action is taken within the very, very near future, this piece of history will be lost, even more than it is already, to looters and ignorance. Knowing the (dare I say it? I do, I do!) glacial pace at which Egyptian bureaucracy moves, it will be long gone before a recovery permit will be granted.
This reminds me of the B24 Lady Be Good – I remember even when in flight school 25 years ago (the opposite aviation spectrum of Lex – small Cessnas and Pipers!) – but the lesson of navigation was always pointed to this particular B24 – flying a good 400 miles past their base – wandering south – until they ran out of fuel…
http://www.damninteresting.com/the-remains-of-lady-be-good/
And it is sad to have learned the British pilot (this was one of the Lend Lease planes given to Britain) – died while wandering off in search of civilization – violating the “normal;” rules but then who would have found him had he stayed? (other than 70 years later)