Simviation Forum - P-40 Kittyhawk found

May 10^th, 2012 at 8:47am

expat Offline
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A P-40 Kittyhawk has been found in the Sahara Desert in amazingly good condition. Even the cockpit instrument glass in still in one piece. Link below.

Kittyhawk P-40 has been discovered in the Saharan desert 70 years after it crashed.

Matt

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Reply #1 - May 10^th, 2012 at 11:02am

RichD Offline
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You beat me to it, Roll Eyes

A great read and some brilliant photo's, hope the pilot didn't suffer too long. R.I.P.

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Reply #2 - May 10^th, 2012 at 11:08am

C Offline
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expat wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 8:47am:

A P-40 Kittyhawk has been found in the Sahara Desert in amazingly good condition. Even the cockpit instrument glass in still in one piece. Link below.

They were in one piece when it was found. It needed rescuing pretty quick before it was destroyed by locals...

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Reply #3 - May 10^th, 2012 at 3:45pm

ozzy72 Offline
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Interesting Cool

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Reply #4 - May 10^th, 2012 at 6:29pm

andy190 Offline
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That's a great find.

The Egyptians should be ashamed of themselves though.

The Brits & the Commonwealth save the Egyptians in WW2 & what do the Egyptians do? Loot a War Grave. Angry

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Reply #5 - May 10^th, 2012 at 6:49pm

Hagar Offline
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andy190 wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 6:29pm:

That's a great find.

The Egyptians should be ashamed of themselves though.

People do that everywhere. It's a human trait, not related to a particular country or race.

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Reply #6 - May 10^th, 2012 at 7:26pm

andy190 Offline
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Hagar wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 6:49pm:

andy190 wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 6:29pm:

That's a great find.

The Egyptians should be ashamed of themselves though.

People do that everywhere. It's a human trait, not related to a particular country or race.

I know that people everywhere do it & I was not implying that it was only Egyptians who did it.

I was just saying that in this particular instance it was the local Egyptians who looted the plane.

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Reply #7 - May 10^th, 2012 at 7:37pm

Hagar Offline
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andy190 wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 7:26pm:

I was just saying that in this particular instance it was the local Egyptians who looted the plane.

If it had been found in my country it would have been looted by local British people. That was my point.

It's not a war grave as there's evidence that the pilot survived the landing.

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Reply #8 - May 10^th, 2012 at 7:49pm

andy190 Offline
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Hagar wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 7:37pm:

andy190 wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 7:26pm:

I was just saying that in this particular instance it was the local Egyptians who looted the plane.

If it had been found in my country it would have been looted by local British people. That was my point.

It's not a war grave as there's evidence that the pilot survived the landing.

As it’s not a War Grave is there any way to protect it from looters?

I assuming it still belongs to the RAF.

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Reply #9 - May 11^th, 2012 at 5:14am

Hagar Offline
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andy190 wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 7:49pm:

As it’s not a War Grave is there any way to protect it from looters?

I assuming it still belongs to the RAF.

Technically yes.* In practice it's whoever can arrange salvage. As the RAF Museum is involved it will be their problem. I also doubt that it will ever fly again.

*That's actually a moot point. I presume this aircraft was supplied under Lend Lease in which case it could officially still belong to the USA. A lot of brand new Lend Lease material was destroyed at the end of WWII to avoid having to pay for equipment that was no longer required. The final repayment was made by the British government on 29 December 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease

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Reply #10 - May 11^th, 2012 at 6:07pm

andy190 Offline
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Hagar wrote on May 11^th, 2012 at 5:14am:

andy190 wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 7:49pm:

As it’s not a War Grave is there any way to protect it from looters?

I'm assuming it still belongs to the RAF.

Technically yes.* In practice it's whoever can arrange salvage. As the RAF Museum is involved it will be their problem. I also doubt that it will ever fly again.

*That's actually a moot point. I presume this aircraft was supplied under Lend Lease in which case it could officially still belong to the USA. A lot of brand new Lend Lease material was destroyed at the end of WWII to avoid having to pay for equipment that was no longer required. The final repayment was made by the British government on 29 December 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease

It could have been one of the French Hawk 81A-1's that didn't arrive in time for the Battle of France & were subsequently diverted to British and Commonwealth service.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-40#French_Air_Force

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Reply #11 - May 11^th, 2012 at 7:08pm

Hagar Offline
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andy190 wrote on May 11^th, 2012 at 6:07pm:

It could have been one of the French Hawk 81A-1's that didn't arrive in time for the Battle of France & were subsequently diverted to British and Commonwealth service.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-40#French_Air_Force

The Hawk 81A-1 was called the Tomahawk by the RAF. According to the news reports this is a Kittyhawk.

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Reply #12 - May 11^th, 2012 at 8:52pm

andy190 Offline
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Hagar wrote on May 11^th, 2012 at 7:08pm:

andy190 wrote on May 11^th, 2012 at 6:07pm:

It could have been one of the French Hawk 81A-1's that didn't arrive in time for the Battle of France & were subsequently diverted to British and Commonwealth service.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-40#French_Air_Force

The Hawk 81A-1 was called the Tomahawk by the RAF. According to the news reports this is a Kittyhawk.

Ah I missed that. I guess I'm so used to people calling all Marks of P-40's Kittyhawk’s that I just ignored it.

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Reply #13 - May 12^th, 2012 at 10:16am

Flying Trucker Offline
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Interesting and good find...well done... Wink

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

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Reply #14 - May 13^th, 2012 at 11:35am

C Offline
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C wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 11:08am:

expat wrote on May 10^th, 2012 at 8:47am:

A P-40 Kittyhawk has been found in the Sahara Desert in amazingly good condition. Even the cockpit instrument glass in still in one piece. Link below.

They were in one piece when it was found. It needed rescuing pretty quick before it was destroyed by locals...

Further to my last, having just seen some more pictures, the cockpit glazing has been almost entirely destroyed, and numerous new bullet holes have appeared on the airframe. The armoured windscreen has also been used for target practice, and is scarred with new damage.

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