Quote:
Originally Posted by whoarmongar
As someone has already said the canopy was closed so its a fair assumption the pilots remains were still inside.
The wreck therefore should be considered a war grave it just seems sacriligious to bust the canopy open and desicrate this site, irispective of the archiological importance of this find.
Even on a financial front surely the aircraft recovered complete has a far greater value than the transportable parts just sold as bits on ebay.
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That's speculation,considering the fact that the plane safely belly landed,the pilot walked out of it and probably closed the canopy shut to protect the inside: think about it,if you had to abandon your car wouldnt u still make sure it's shut?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mazex
Well, it's been there is the desert for 70 years without anyone stealing those old .50 guns/rounds - I guess getting a working AK for a few bucks in that region is a lot easier than going out there picking up those dusted up guns  It just hurts seeing them tear those ammo boxes away...
It looks extremely well preserved (due to the dry climate naturally). But one can wonder what happens to aluminium that has been exposed to extreme heat every day for 70 years, and then rather harsh cold every night I was in the Sahara not far from there long ago and the temperature range you go through in a 24 hour period is rather impressive... |
Well removing explosives and ammunition it's the first thing you do before moving a wreck,and that's whats happening: they surely know the value of their find and as we speak it wouldn't surprise me if the wreck is already on a lorry to somewhere. As for the preservation,the first thing that you notice is that most of it looks sand blasted,while the rear section of the fuselage is still retaining most of its original paint! It wouldnt surprise me if the wreck was half buried in the sand for decades. A dry hot environment is the best way to preserve such materials (think of the huge desert depots in the US),still the plane is far from being an easy restoration.