flyajetfighter logoflyajetfighter logoflyajetfighter logoflyajetfighter logo
  • Home
  • Book Flight
  • Fly L39
    • Fly the L39 Albatros in Paris
    • Fly the L39 Albatros in Reims
    • L-39 Albatros Formation flight in Reims
    • Fly the L-39 jet fighter in Grenoble French Alps
    • Fly the L-39 jet fighter in Avignon South of France
    • Fly L39 Albatros La Roche sur Yon
    • Fly the L39 Albatros in Bordeaux
    • Fly the L-39 jet fighter in Rouen Normandy
    • Fly the L-39 jet fighter in Deauville Normandy
    • L-39 Albatros jet fighter Formation flight Dijon
    • Fly the L-39 in Lydd, UK
  • Fly Fouga Magister
    • Fly the Fouga Magister jet fighter in Abbeville
    • Fly the Fouga Magister jet fighter in Aix en Provence
    • Fly the Fouga Magister jet fighter in Beauvais
    • Fouga Magister Formation Flight in Rennes
  • Fly MiG29
    • Aerobatic flight in the Mig 29 Fulcrum
    • Supersonic & aerobatic flight in the Mig 29 Fulcrum
    • Edge of space flight in the Mig 29 Fulcrum
  • About us
    • Contact us
    • Events
    • Testimonies
    • News
  • FAQs
  • PlanePedia
✕

British WWII fighter found in the desert

  • Home
  • News
  • news from Fly a jet fighter
  • British WWII fighter found in the desert
Fly the Fouga Magister in France
8 May 2012
2 killed in L39 crash in Boulder
21 May 2012

British WWII fighter found in the desert

Published by admin at 14 May 2012
Categories
  • news from Fly a jet fighter
Tags
  • british fighter aircrfat
  • british wwii fighter
  • fighter aircraft
  • fly jet fighter
  • kittyhawk

As German Gen. Erwin Rommel chased British forces across the North African desert, a stray Royal Air Force fighter crashed in the blistering sands of the Egyptian Sahara on June 28, 1942. The pilot was never heard from again. The damaged Kittyhawk P-40 – a couple of hundred miles from civilization – was presumed lost forever. Until now. In what experts consider nothing short of a miracle, a Polish oil company worker recently discovered the plane believed to have been flown by missing Flight Sgt. Dennis Copping. And almost 70 years after the accident, it’s extraordinarily well-preserved. The fighter’s “state of preservation is incredible,” British military historian Andy Saunders told CNN. “The thing just landed there in the desert and the pilot clearly got out. … It is a complete time capsule really (and) an exceptionally rare find. These things just don’t happen.” Copping’s plane — authorities have not confirmed his identity, though it has been widely reported in British newspapers — crashed after the 24-year-old pilot got lost while trying to fly it from one RAF base to another for repairs to its front landing gear, which wouldn’t retract. Copping, part of the RAF’s Egyptian 260 Squadron, was trying to get the American-built plane back in fighting condition in the run-up to what would prove to be the pivotal Battle of El Alamein.

The young pilot, according to Saunders, apparently became disoriented during the flight and headed in the wrong direction. Another RAF pilot flying nearby “tried all sorts of things” to get his attention, but Copping “bizarrely” ignored a series of warnings, Saunders said.
By the time Copping realized his mistake, he was too low on fuel to turn around. Several pieces of evidence at the crash site — including a parachute believed to have been used as shelter from the sun — indicate the strong probability Copping survived the landing. He almost certainly could not, however, survive the blazing Sahara heat for long. Copping “would have stayed by the aircraft initially,” Saunders noted. While the plane’s glass valve radio was likely knocked out of commission by the crash, “the parachute gives him shelter and a means to be identified from the air. The guy also would have had a little silver signaling mirror to attract passing aircraft and a pistol with a limited number of flares.” Why would Copping leave the wreckage? “Maybe he got desperate when he saw nobody was coming for him, and thought (the) only way to survive was to walk out” and look for help, Saunders speculated. RAF pilots in North Africa at that time didn’t have much in terms of rations. Copping’s supply would have been very limited, assuming he had food or water at all. Pilots were “flying with very basic life support systems,” Saunders said. “His chances of survival were not good.”

As Copping’s story becomes known, British authorities are hoping to bring his plane back to the United Kingdom and put it on display at the RAF Museum in London. Museum representatives are working with the British Embassy in Cairo and Britain’s Ministry of Defence on a possible recovery operation. ”It’s an incredible story,” said museum spokesman Michael Creane. “It’s a perfect story in so many ways. It’s incredible the plane sat there in this untouched part of the world for so long. … We’re dedicated to recovering it as fast as we can. This would be a fantastic asset.” Most of the plane’s fuselage, wings, tail and cockpit instruments remain intact. For safety reasons, Egyptian officials have removed its ammunition and guns.

Share
0

Related posts

Dassault Rafale
9 December 2022

French Rafale are striking at Daesh


Read more
3 November 2022

F-15C/D Eagle deployed to Japan are retiring


Read more
18 August 2022

Qatar receives its first Eurofighter Typhoon


Read more

About us

We fly jet fighters! And you too, can get in the cockpit and feel the thrills of being a fighter pilot for a day. We are based in France where we operate jet fighters and we have teamed up with other operators around the world to provide you with the best flying experiences you can find - with the security that we know them and how well they maintain their aircrafts.

Video – a taste of what we do

Recent Posts

  • Weapons systems of fighter jets
  • The categories of military aircrafts
  • Fighter jets to train fighter pilots
  • Selecting a multi-role fighter or a specialized fighter
  • Fighter pilots and the artificial intelligence
  • Sukhoi fighter aircraft: History and innovations
  • A dogfight between the North American F-86 Sabre and the Mikoyan Gurevitch MiG-15 Fagot
  • Why some fighter jets are famous
  • The perfect fighter jet
  • What is Lockheed’s Skunk Works?

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Facebook

What to expect

A jet fighter ride is a physical experience and you will expect to feel the famous G Force. Anyone can fly a jet fighter, you just need to be rested, be happy about what you are about to experience as you will soon become part of the elite who have flown a jet fighter.

Get in touch

Flyajetfighter.com is a subsidiary of French group Tematis. Our offices are in France:
Tematis
278 Avenue de la Marne
59700 Marcq en Baroeul
France
Tel 0033328364871

© 2023 Betheme by Muffin group | All Rights Reserved | Powered by WordPress