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Jakub Perka
The discovery of the Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk in the Sahara Desert was described by one military historian as "the aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's Tomb."
A remarkably well-preserved fighter plane that crashed in the Sahara Desert during World War II has been found 70 years later, shedding new light on the pilot's struggle to survive.
The American-made Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk was discovered by a Polish oil worker, Jakub Perka, who was exploring the desert in Egypt, The Telegraph newspaper reported. It was about 200 miles from the nearest town.
It is believed that the pilot, Dennis Copping, 24, ran into trouble while flying in 1942 but still managed to land the plane on the sands, the paper said.
Military historian Andy Saunders said that the British flight sergeant "must have survived the crash" because a photograph of the plane showed a parachute had been put up on the side of the plane, apparently as a form of shelter, The Telegraph reported.
"The radio and batteries were out of the plane, and it looks like he tried to get it working. If he died at the side of the plane, his remains would have been found," Saunders added. "Once he had crashed there, nobody was going to come and get him. It is more likely he tried to walk out of the desert but ended up walking to his death. It is too hideous to contemplate."
He said the discovery was "the aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's tomb."
Air enthusiasts excited
The Vintage Wings of Canada website speculated that the plane had a mechanical problem, ran out of fuel or that the pilot simply got lost.
The website said there seemed to be a growing consensus that the plane's serial number was ET 574, based on what could be made out from photographs. If this is confirmed, the website said it was possible that Canadian flying ace James "Stocky" Edwards had previously flown the fighter.
Jakub Perka
The plane's cockpit is in remarkable though dusty condition.
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"To say we, at Vintage Wings, are excited by this find is an understatement," the website said.
It expressed concern the plane had been "seriously vandalized -- a travesty the whole aviation world seems unable to stop."
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Michael Creane of the Royal Air Force Museum in London, U.K., told NBC News that it was "incredible" the plane had not been submerged by the shifting sands of the desert.
He said the museum was "hell-bent" on bringing the aircraft to the facility, although he said there were "lots of hoops to jump through."
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Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
I spent a lot of time in the Libyan Desert
with the U.S. Army. I was always amazed at how well preserved and active the armaments
from WWII were. The Lady B Good has some Twilight Zone stories to go with it.
Guppy
Look this is NOT like a bunch of Star Trekkies, arguing over the uniform of some cast member. First because this is actual REAL stuff, second and more importantly the reason the title was a BIG deal is this Jets were barely in existence in WW2, and history says that they operated ONLY in Europe in this time period. For a WW2 jet to have been found in Africa would mean that we would have to re-write history, to answer the question why was is a jet from WW2 in this area? Was it on a secret diplomatic mission that we never knew about? Finding a WW2 Jet in Africa would be like finding a polar bear in Brazil, basically unheard of. Now do you get the idea why the title is a big deal?
Hey, re-read the heading...this was not a jet - it had one propeller. The first jets in WWII were German. All jets are planes, but not all planes are/were jets. SciFi is fun, but History can be scary reality.
I only hope that GOD had mercy on him in his final hours. I worked the desert for eight years before I retired. Not GOD forsaken but mercyless. Rest in peace hero.
There was a movie where vessels and craft that dissapeared in the Bermuda Traingle reappeared years later in the desert. Someone remind me of the name. The scene looks just like the picture above.
Maybe I'm thinking of Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
Yes, the planes were TBF Avengers. They were supposed to be from Flight 19 that "disappeared" off Florida in 1945.
That's right, the lost squadron. I remembered the scene but drew a total blank on where I saw it. lol
Its simple, they called it a jet because the writer was not familiar with WW 2 aircraft and he looked at the picture provided, with its open front, it resembles a jet!
The prop is lying next to the plane.
Where's the pilot?? Obviously he is in Hollywood. He flew the "Flight of the Phoenix" script there years ago.
One more mystery solved.
Fellow aviation buffs correct me, but I thought only the D version of the P40 was the Kittyhawk? That doesn't look like the D variant to me, am I wrong?
How awesome. Imagine all of the stuff buried under the sands in North Africa that we haven't even found yet.
i`m sorry but i`m not up all nite into the wee early hours to check if a news writer is putting up the right info......i read the story then read comments (sometimes) then see how many people can screw things up because they dont read thouroghly before commenting (my bad...lol)
unknowntoyou gets a pass; I read his latest post (my bad...lol) as a mea culpa.
Did I write that correctly, franklytrue?
:-/
Not to nitpick, but MSNBC is in serious need of simple research. When you write the headline, "WWII jet fighter found preserved in Sahara Desert," and you identify it as a Kittyhawk, does anyone at MSNBC understand what the plane actually was? It was propeller-driven plane, powered by a 12-cylinder Allison engine. Jets were under development in 1942, but the first operational fighters came much later in the war, and not from the Americans. Hello, MSNBC?
Oh good, now they have pictures. You can even see the jet engine in the background :::rolls eyes:::
Actually Ron, that's a turbo thruster, it helps the plane travel through time. :)
Brought back "The English Patient" movie memories.
How old is Hitler or was?
The scene in the photo reminds me of an old 'TWILIGHT ZONE' episode!.....(please don't confuse it with that 'Twilight' vampire crap)
Thats awesome! Sorry he had to parrish out in the desert like that though, seems sad when there was a city 200 miles away. I think it's strange that it was just now found though, seems like technology would have allowed us to see along time ago.
Gee, I thought that just like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind someone would flick the fuel guage, turn the ignition switch and they'd fire right up. Damn.
thanks, I asked the question earlier on what movie this seemed like. I thought it was close encounters but wasn't sure.
TFNJ- Didn't see your question, sorry. Great movie, still.
Definitely was. The picture reminded me of that scene in the beginning.
This find says volumes about exactly how amazing it is that there are still vast uncharted parts of the world where people don't go.
Imagine where you are right now, and think of a town 200 miles away from you.
Now imagine that 200 miles is nothing but empty desert sand.
For example - I live in Orlando, Florida. The equivalent would be if almost all of Florida, minus the Panhandle, was EMPTY of life or human impact.
Its kind of mind-boggling to try to wrap your head around that kind of desolation.
It's a P-40, a plane with a love/hate relationship, this plane does not have what is a called a 'bubble' canopy. Originally this was to shield the pilots from 6 o'clock gunfire, but as the war progressed, it became more and more apparent that the Axis powers were becoming much more agile in the air, especially with aircraft such as the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and perhaps most famously the Jap Zero. Eventually, it was decided to go with bubble canopys which gave a much better visibility to the pilot, and the expense of shielding. This decision led to multiple aircraft such as the P-47 thunderbolt, the p-38 lighting and the P-51D Mustang, one of the most badass and successful North American aircraft ever built.
@myspellcheckerisbroken: RE: your comment about a teenager asking why there is no video from the Civil War?? OMFG. Just scary. That's all I can say.
No worse than VP Biden telling about Pres. Roosevelt going on TV to talk to the American people during the depression.
Now tell me that WMDs can't still be BURIED in the Iraqi desert!!!!!!!!!!!!!
24 year old young pilot.
World War II
Crash
Out in Desert.
Mystery.
Based on a true story.
Sounds like a film in the making to me.
Where is Cameron? Get him on the phone and lets get this into pre production.
Who do we get to play the leading man?
Leo?
McGreggor?
Oh wait here we go!
Time for the situation to make his major movie debut!
"Forget about it!"
I know they say he was an eglish chap but acting is acting and we can change some things.
Make him an American or keep him British doesn't matter.
Love story going on.
Need a strong lady type to play the roll. She is a nurse during WWII.
Ok
Or how about a factory worker?
Living in Egland getting bombed every night. Dealing with it every day.
She is young out on the town when bombing starts and she runs for a bomb shelter and that is where she meets him.
They are alone and sparks fly. Very romantic as they can't control their animal lust for one another as the world explodes around them.
Ya, ya.
She gets pregnant!
He flys off to fight over there on a secert mission.
Never to return.
I can see Oscar written all over it.
Forget Cameron get Speilburg on the horn.
Fascinating, but very tragic!
The Sahara is an ocean of sand, moving with the wind tides. This plane could have been covered with sand until one of the strong windstorms moved the covering layers aside, leaving a window of time for the plane to be discovered by a passer-by. Sunrise on the desert is unique: always changing. Hope they move the plane to El-Alamein.
They mention that it may have run out of fuel or had mechanical problems.
After taking a look at the propeller, I see it's rolled over pretty dam good so it seems the planes engine was running well during the crash landing.
So, I figure that it had some kind of mechanical failure that would keep it in the air. Maybe it was dark and his altimeter wasn't working properly.
One last thought would be that maybe there was a huge sand storm he flew into that brought him down. Who knows. Maybe they'll do some forensics and figure it out. Stay tuned........
Amazing! Maybe with a little luck they can find the remains of the pilot.