Nazi Bomber Found Intact Off British Coast

This Nazi bomber probably isn't a threat to the British mainland.

A Dornier 17 that was shot down in 1940 has been identified as nearly intact despite being in the shifting sands underneath the English Channel for 70-plus years. And now, British officials want to bring the plane to the surface.

The bomb bay doors are open, so the bombs might well have found their targets and the plane was on its way home when it was struck down, landing upside down in the Goodwin Sands, off the coast of Kent.

Port of London Authority high-tech sonar scans revealed the near totality of the plane. Archaeologists have since become very excited. Their budget doesn't match their enthusiasm, however. The RAF Museum, where the plane would rest if if were brought up from the water, has begun a fundraising effort to help with the operation.

The scientists are so excited because the plane was an iconic instrument of death, capable of outracing most other planes in the sky, mainly because its sleek one-piece design, a retrofitted passenger plane plan, contained 100 percent aluminum.

As for the people flying the plane, we know what happened to them. Two of the four escaped the watery grave and were captured and made prisoners of war. They were alive when the war ended. The other two crew members died on impact.