World & Nation

German WWII ‘Flying Pencil’ bomber recovered in English Channel

The wreck of a German World War II Dornier Do 17 plane is raised out of the English Channel.

The wreck of a German World War II Dornier Do 17 plane is raised out of the English Channel.   (Ian Duncan / AFP/Getty Images)

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The wreck of a German World War II Dornier Do 17 plane was lifted out of the water Monday off the coast of Kent at the mouth of the English Channel. Experts from the Royal Air Force Museum had spent five weeks preparing to recover the aircraft, which is believed to be the only Dornier Do 17 bomber plane left from the war. The aircraft was shot down during the Battle of Britain in 1940 and the operation to retrieve it was the biggest of its kind in British waters, the museum said.

German World War II Dornier Do 17

The project had suffered many delays because of poor weather. Now recovered, the aircraft will be preserved and put on display at the Royal Air Force Museum’s Hendon base in north London.  (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

The World War II Dornier Do 17 aircraft is lifted from the English Channel and onto a barge.  (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

The remains of the bomber are sprayed down on the barge. The aircraft was nicknamed the ‘Flying Pencil’ because of its narrow fuselage.  (Gareth Fuller / Associated Press)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

A salvage worker stands next to a water-damaged engine of the recovered bomber.  (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

The remains lay on the barge in the English Channel a day after being raised from the seabed Monday evening.  (Gareth Fuller / Associated Press)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

The World War II Dornier Do 17 aircraft is transported on a barge to a harbor near Ramsgate, England.  (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

The wreck is transported on a barge into the Ramsgate harbor.  (Will Oliver / AFP/Getty Images)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

Salvage workers inspect the aircraft in the Ramsgate harbor.  (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

Salvage workers stands near a still-inflated tire.  (Will Oliver / AFP/Getty Images)

German World War II Dornier Do 17

A water-damaged engine sits on the salvage barge.  (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

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