Reply With QuoteThat's awesome.. reminds you how vast these remote regions are.
Original Kittyhawk HS-B Discovered
Some time in 1942, a lone Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk bearing the 260 Squadron “HS” squadron code and the aircraft letter “B” settled down over a wide and remote expanse of North African sand desert called Al Wadi al Jadid. Perhaps low on fuel, perhaps lost, or with mechanical problems, the RAF pilot chose to land in the vast North African Sahara. With his landing gear locked down, he flared low over the sand and settled onto it. The gear snapped off, the desert camouflaged P-40 collapsed onto its belly and slid for a hundred meters or more shedding its radiators and propeller hub.
After coming to a stop, the pilot exited the aircraft, closed the canopy and disappeared into the sands of history. The aircraft itself would remain undiscovered for seven decades, perhaps for much of it covered by the sands of time, or perhaps just so far out of the way that it was not seen or at least reported until March of 2012, when an oil exploration team came across the wreck in Egypt.
Read more here:http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNe...iscovered.aspx
8)
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
That's awesome.. reminds you how vast these remote regions are.
Fantstic! Reminds me of 'Glazier Girl' (Google it).
Again, very interesting story behind the find.
I'm still waiting for the Burma Spitfire story to unfold 8)
Fascinating. I`m really interested in military history, particularly WW2.
I visited the El Alemain cemetaries and museum a couple of years back. Very moving.
Paul
Very interesting. Not much chance for the pilot though.
Reminds me of this :
http://www.qmfound.com/lady_be_good_b-2 ... covery.htm
Very interesting, ta for posting. :)
F.T.F.A.
fascinating!
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
very cool,
Very interesting indeed. It's amazing what is still out there.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Looks in very good condition.
I wonder if the hot desert sand helped preserve it?
Cheers,
Neil.
I think this video is great.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jueDXiuU6aM
It would be so exciting to stumble across a FW190 on a walk in the forest.
I'm always amazed by what gets preserved in desert environments. One day I hope I'll get to visit Leptis Magna and the Mesolithic sites across the desert.
I find Ralphy's post incredibly sad. I assume, given that this is a recent find, that the wreck's location was very very remote. I do hope the pilot got home. :( but I can't help but think he has family still alive who haven't known anything for several decades.
The aridity helps a lot, but that has to be traded against the scouring effect of wind-borne sand. And now of course, the effect of man. :(Originally Posted by Neil.C
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Not in the same league but in the early '50's when my Dad was in the RNZN he told me that when he went on a cruise around the far Eastern islands there was still a lot of American equipment underwater including Jeeps that had just been sunk to the bottom of lagoons.
Cheers,
Neil.
Amazing find!!
Was expecting some fancy fruit pudding, on fire or something daft.
Brilliant 8)
There's a real elegance to the P-40 and it's ilk; they seem to me to have a similar stance and flow to cars like the E-type jag. It's very proper and correct that one should have an expanse of bonnet/fuselage in front where the engine is located 8)
Interesting. Reminds me a little of Kee Bird, if people remember that. A hugely ambitious plan to fly an abandoned B-29 from Greenland in 1995 that sadly ended in failure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kee_Bird
Chronological order:
The stuff dreams are made of - adventurous !!
Very interesting. Not much chance for the pilot though.
Reminds me of this :
http://www.qmfound.com/lady_be_good_b-2 ... covery.htm
From the site;The Army issue Elgin A-11 wrist watch still ran and was accurate to within 10 seconds per day. The survival map, which was British issue, was tested for fading and shrinkage.
:shock:
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