I wonder if the pilots survived, considering it was so well intact after it was hit.

From the story, 4th paragraph from the end...

"Two of the crew members died on impact, while two others, including the pilot, were taken prisoner and survived the war."

@Scott: My father was in England during the war for about a year before he took part in the Normandy Invasion. For a while he guarded German prisioners and told me that 99% of them were very glad to get out of it (the war) alive. I was just a little kid and I asked him once "Who won the war, Dad?" He thought a moment then told me, "In war nobody wins. Everybody loses."

Here here.

Mike in B-more: Would you please provide a source about the TEA BAGGERs (few can read). Thank you. I should ignore you like everybody else did.

In my experience, most liberals rarely debate the issues, relying on smear tactics rather than reason in their rants. They will do this in any forum for they are a very bitter group when they lose.

Another well known liberal tactic is dishonesty, why bother with the truth when is doesn't suit your agenda!

Mike in B-more is a great example of my argument! Thanks B-More!

Marine57, you failed the History Class in school, and in your training as a USA Marine

Hmmm. A curious position.

If I'm not wrong here, but restoration, rescue and preservation of items like this are done on a private basis from donations, sponsorships and not government monies... thus making it a philanthropic and cultural event.. to improve society and let future generations learn about our (not always perfect) past.....

Thanks Paul. I feel heartened that there are still intelligent people somewhere.

In reference to Marine 57's comment. "you can't fix stupid"

Marine57, a great sentiment; however please consider that the money spent on retrieval, restoration, etc. will create jobs which in turn will create more money into the economy, thereby adding more tax money to the coffers, and possibly allowing more parents to send their bright kids to college. For sure it will allow a few more people to eat better. All the money spent on the project will remain in the country.

And the study of history, in any fashion, is never a waste of time.

Freedom won in that war means people can spend their money however THEY see fit to do it.

We could all wear sack cloth and eat bread and water -so that all of our money could feed the poor. It still wouldn't be enough. One has to find a personal balance and be able to live with it.

Have a new home, drive a new car, have new furniture, or take a vacation (holiday) ?----then stop preaching and SHUT UP!

Salvaging this aircraft will take only a small amount as compared to the orange and tomato fights some European Country (Spain if I am not mistaken) has every year. Can these fruits not be given to the hungry every year?

If people would STOP having babies they cannot support!

Cool Aircraft.

Maybe the British DO have their priorities straight!

Why do so many people insist that their priorities must be everyones' priorities and their religion everyones' religion and their political views everyones' political views. That sort of arrogance exceeds stupid into the realm of narcissism.

@ tmrightnotyou -

The cancellation of 'plan parenthood' will bring about plenty of babies for the system to support. With that program it gives clinics and schools the tools and the means to teach these folks to 'cover up or take a preventive measures' before going down that road while out on a date. Plus, those outfits also helps in curtailing other sexual transmitted diseases on society like the spreading of VD (clap or gonorrhea); herpes; syshillis; viral hepetitis; genital warts; chlamydial infections; trichomoniasis; candidiasis; HIV; and others. Without health departments how would they stop VD from spreading throughout the neighborhood.

It might not effect you personally, but some where or somehow one of these ailment might effect someone thats dear to you. It not about killing unborn babies 'ass munch.' Let the women decide what they want to do with what will concern their bodies. Republicans sux dearly!!

Leave that war plane right where it rest because it has serve it purpose in history. And the world has enough crap stored in museums which governments do not want to continue to pay for. Right Repubs!!

Chris: Right on! Its about time somebody says that. It seems like no matter what the topic is people manage to weave their party affiliation into it.

Wrong @Dirk,

I'm a Republican & You're an idiot. Planned parenthood is going to get squashed because it is mostly a front for pimps to get free healthcare and abortions for their hookers. Some of their ppl were even helping the pimps to fill out the forms so the justice dept. would catch on that they are underage runaways. I'm all for some healthcare services for poor sick people, but being pregnant is not a disease, its a choice and a bad choice for some people. The money is better spent on other things.

Oh for crissakes, all of you just shut up already. You people turn an article about the Brits salvaging a WWII plane into a liberal-conservative Dem-Rep anti-abortion rant. That's pathetic. Really pathetic.

Trolls. Even before the internet, there was trolls...

regardless, they should recover that aircraft. History feeds the mind, young and old...

To succed in the future--you must remember your history --so you will learn from you past. We must never let another dictator try and rule the world again. Remember all the millions of people who died in WW2 and the people who were gassed in the concentration camps,some lined up along ditche and shot. NEVER--FORGET HISTORY. It is you freedom for tomorrow.

@Paul L. What the f%$# are you talking about. No where is this article does it mention anger, or even the war. Only the facts about a plane.

Paul what the heck are you talking about?

im, gott,... look at YOUR comments. I simply mention the angry comments you evidently don't even see anymore....it has become your new norm... The article was interesting, educational and if you read into it... fills us in on how marvelous techonology is... and then the comments... anger, blame, bitterness about SOMEONE spending money to dig it up... or sending a bomb.... or sniping back at others.... THAT is where the anger is...

I wake up content, happy to be alive, sad that our great country has became a parody of itself because so many have the "ME ME ME" attitude... I'm no Dem... but the great, almighty, revered one.. John Kennedy had it right with "ask not what your country can do for you......Ask what you can do for your country." We lost that attitude and look where we are.....

@Paul,

There are lots of people on here who are little more than skin-bags full of anger. They contribute nothing to the world and certainly nothing to dialog. That's why we can put them on IGNORE!

Jeeze Paul, apparently people have no reading ability (viz your comment #5).

I encourage those of you who apparently did not understand what Paul was saying to read the previous 20 or 30 comments.

Finally a bit of sense and reason in an angry crowd.....

You are an Idiot!! Sell it? who gives a sh.it about that plane or the people that died in it...They were Germans or monsters not much Difference. How many people do you think died in England? due to this so called, piece of history.

You are an Idiot!! Sell it? who gives a sh.it about that plane or the people that died in it...They were Germans or monsters not much Difference. How many people do you think died in England? due to this so called, piece of history.

That whole "war reparations" thing did not work out so well after world war 1.

As to your comment ". Otherwise, some capitalistic entrepreneur will, and then end up making money somehow out of the deal..."

Just weird. Do you hate your fellow humans so much that you can't stand them performing a service and making a buck off it at no cost or harm to you?

Reminds me of that old 60's song. "Tax the rich, feed the poor, until there are rich no more."

Instead of a world where we are all poor, I'd prefer one where we are all rich.

I really hope some capitalist entrepreneur figures out a way of making a fortune off of this fascinating bit of history.

Let the "capitalist entrepreneur" make his fortune (doubtful). I know lots of folk who would pay to see this piece of aviation history. It is not going to bother my income even a small little bit.

Indeed. About 50 miles from where I live a company is manufacturing ME-262's. (with a bit more modern engines and safety equipment).

So cool.

http://www.stormbirds.com/project/index.html

wish I could fly and had a spare 2 milllion dollars :D

I can fly (or at least I used to be able to). Man it'd be fun to take one up for a spin.

A bunch of photographer buddies of mine are heading up to Mt. Vernon for the Tulip festival in a couple of weeks, and a fellow aviation buff and I are going to hit Payne filed on the way back. Looking forward to seeing an ME-263!

I just looked at the Stormbirds site and was very impressed at the sight of a pair of flying Swallows. Beautiful birds! I'd love to see them up close. Then I pulled up the part dedicated to the BF-109s and was surprised to see the two that I had seen before. I really hope that they can restore these to the condition they deserve after so long. I doubt, though, if the engines can be, unless the crankshafts are intact; there was an episode on the Military Channel where a Rolls Royce mechanic stated flatly that the specification to which it had been made were not reproducible. Still, even re-engined, it would be a pleasure to see in the air.

There are literally thousands of each mostly from WW2 many of which are in deep ocean and/or wreckage surrounded by a debris field.

And in lakes and forests in Maine...

Did you even read the article?

Why bother? I only look at pretty colorful pictures...

Mike in b,

Obsessed?

atleast he can infer that the plane is upside down. (some times you dont have to read to get the info you need)

LOL...got that right, but we have done it one time or other

More than a small majority of people are getting to the point that they read the headline, and ONLY the headline, and then look at the pictures. These are the same people who order food by pointing to a photo of the meal they want.

You mistake me for a simple person. I only took a small glimpse of the pic and could tell it was upside down. After that, based on visual recognition I could tell that it was a prop-job aircraft. After that, I deduced that it had to be from a long time ago, between 1920 and 1950, since an aircraft of that size would not have gone unnoticed too long after it went missing unless something more important was going on, say, oh I don't know- WORLD WAR II?!?!?

But hey, I'm no engineer and I am not an imagery analyst, but based on the pictures I was able to deduce what the rest of you had to read...And I sure as hell was able to deduce what those engineers spent an inordinate amount of time to draft up this article for the rest of the drones to read...

So they found an old airplane...BIG DEAL. Look long enough in combat zones you are bound to find a lot of stuff from those eras...Whatever...

Oh BTW, I did that assessment in less than 30 seconds...So gimme a bozo badge, a statue, and a parade in my honor...More importantly, I want a lollipop.

:-)

What is disturbing is that you had to read four paragraphs to figure out that it was upside down and I merely had to look at the image...

:-/

Ouch My Balls...

More Butter Please....

Can I have another glass of "Rondo"..whay aren't the plants growing?

Idiocracy is destined to overwhelm us....wake up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[O.o]: Are you going to deduce the lollipop before you shove it up your nose.

0.o, you ASKED if it was upside down. if you knew then you would have STATED it was upside down.

Moelarrycheese: "0.o, you ASKED if it was upside down. if you knew then you would have STATED it was upside down."

Worse....despite his pedantic nonsense, he asked a question that would have been unnecessary if he had only read the article that accompanied the picture, thereby saving that oxygen for a more worthwhile effort.

What we have is...."look at picture, ask pointless question."

Even reading the headline of the article would have rendered 1/3 of his observation moot.

I, too, was able to determine the plane was upside-down and the bomb bay doors open (though I wouldn't use the term 'jettison their cargo' to describe the reason), but I read the article to get information and confirm what I had deduced.

I would accept "...jettison their deadly cargo," although, being a bomber aircraft, the cargo would most likely be bombs, so the sentence is factual as stated.

To those who would prefer to feed the poor: the scrap value of the artifact is less than the cost of retrieving it (but jobs would be created by the task). Even after museum restoration, the artifact would never be functional as an aircraft, but the restoration process would create yet more jobs.

So the question is, does the artifact benefit the poor more by lying upside-down under 50 ft of sea water, or by creating work for skilled people?

My vote is for restoration.

Restoring this aircraft will not create more jobs. My belief is that it will go on a 'waiting list' for the folks who are already expert to get around to doing it.

The question as I see it is this. "Will recovering and restoring this relic add anything new (and therefore valuable) to our understanding?"

I suspect not. Speak to any historian with a specialism in WW2 and they will be able to talk ad-nauseum about these aircraft.

I say, leave it where it is and open the site up to divers. They will have fun, maybe make a buck or two, and the result will be a no-cost option to the museum. British taxpayers contribute to the museum upkeep, and as one myself, they have enough relics already to keep me interested.

I totally agree...most people will just look at a few words or comments and fire off some nasty rant that usually just shows their ignorance... I am worried at what we are becoming. It seems MOST people (not all) are SO intent on giving their opinion without looking at, much less studying the facts.

The Dornier 17 was replaced by the better Junker 88.

At Chino airport in So Cal they have a Raiden at the Planes of Fame Museum and they have the only all original flyable Japanese Zero. All the ones used in the movies(Tora Tora Tora, Midway, and Pearl Harbor) were actually North American SNJs and AT6s that were modified to look like Zeros. Dornier made some of the largest seaplanes back in the late 20s, 30s, and 40s with some having up to 12 engines configured in a push pull design all mounted on top of the wing. Then they built what was probably the fastest propellar driven aircraft in the DO 335 Arrow. It had an engine in the nose and another in the tail section.

fat cat , the replacement for the dornier 17 was actually the dornier 217 which was classified as a heavy bomber. the junkers 88 was developed as a heavy dive bomber and later played many roles , where as , the dornier 17 was classified as a "schnellbomber" aka fast bomber.

no-it-call:

Vielen Danken, Mein Herr.

Hey, Dave.

The arrow is one cool/fast aircraft.

@davefromdanapointca

If I am not mistaken they also have one of these DO 17 bombers at Chino. I was there a few years back and I recall seeing one out in thier "Bone yard" awaiting restoration. 

No. The Nazi regime came into existence in the mid 1930s. The conception and design of the Dornier occured before the Nazi came to power, although the Nazi war lovers converted many benign machines into weapons.

Amazing the ignorance out there regarding the National Socialist regime and its influence(s). But hey, at least everyone who knows so little has an opinion, thats what counts!

So, enlighten us, Riley.

Riley: You do understand that despite the name the Nazis where not socialists. That they used the name because it created an image that was palatable to Europe in the 1930's. That as rabid fascists they were trying to destroy the socialist movement in Europe. It would be like the current republicans calling themselves the National Liberal party, when we all know that the current republican party is our fascist party.

@Bluelake: Thats for damn sure. The Nazis were not socialists. Unfortunately, the unenlightened read a bit too much into words they can't comprehend. Besides, why was the Nazi government referred to as fascist. And did they not aid Franco's fascist Spain in the 30's? There ya go.

Hmmm, Bluelake, I guess that makes the Democrats our Communist party.

And given the commies knocked off something like a 100 million people, I'd say it makes 'em far worse than National Socialists.

badchess--No the democrats are NOT communists. They are not socialists. @!$%# man!they are not even good liberals!! The Nazis killed millions! The Stalinists killed millions!! Where does that leave you and me?? I grew up with conservative republican parents. When I got into my late teens I realized that my parents were(politically) full of @!$%#. During 'Nam I became, and am today, a left of center, progressive liberal. And @!$%#ing proud of it!!! The republicans that my parents were, however, seem to be gone. Goldwater? Rockefeller? They'd be out of the publicons today! So, here we are... And there we go...

You do know a Kindle is an electronic book, right? You still need to read it.

Brilliant!!!!!

Israel would like one to thank you!