BOMBER DRAWINGS HANDED TO RAF MUSEUM

From left Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff; Peter Dye, Director of the RAF Museum
and Robin Southwell, CEO of EADS UK

Design drawings which could help restore a shot down Second World War German bomber recovered from the English Channel have handed to the RAF Museum at the at the Royal International Air Tattoo today (July 21).

The drawings, presented by aerospace and defence company EADS on July 21 will assist with the rebuilding process of the example recently recovered from the seabed of the English Channel.

Shot down in August 1940, this Dornier's historical importance is immense as the recovered aircraft is the world's only surviving example of the type, despite the fact that more than 1,500 airframes were manufactured.

The most numerous model was the Do-17Z-2, operated by a crew of four and carrying a maximum bomb load of 2,000lbs. Over 400 Do-17 participated in the Battle of Britain during the course of which nearly 200 examples were destroyed, and research by the Air Historical Branch and the RAF Museum suggests that the wreck is a Do-17-Z2 lost on 26 August 1940, the height of the Battle of Britain

Robin Southwell, CEO of EADS UK, made the presentation to Peter Dye, Director of the RAF Museum, alongside Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff.

Speaking after the presentation, Robin Southwell said: "Now that the aircraft has been recovered from the water, we can see not just that it is in remarkable condition, but how much work needs to be done, and to do that we need to understand how the aircraft was constructed in the first place.

"EADS has access to more than 7,000 drawings which would actually enable the aircraft to be built from scratch, and these are the first 2,500 of those drawings, and should help us restore the aircraft to as close to its original state as we can.

"The work of the RAF Museum is absolutely vital. You cannot decide where you are going unless you know where you have come from. The aerospace industry is all about knowledge, and then applying that knowledge innovatively.”