British engineers aid attempt to save German bomber

The researchers from Imperial College London are working with the Royal Air Force Museum to clean the Dornier Do-17, known as The Flying Pencil (Fliegender Bleistift), and prevent further corrosion once it is removed from the water.

In 2010, shifting sands uncovered the aircraft, which lies off the Kent coast and was previously protected by layers of sediment, exposing it to the corrosive effects of seawater and threatening to destroy the aircraft entirely.

Dr Mary Ryan from Imperial’s Department of Materials, who is working on the project, said: ‘This is the last remaining intact Flying Pencil of its kind in the entire world, so the significance of this project to our history cannot be underestimated.

‘We have been analysing fragments already brought to the surface and it is absolutely fascinating to see how this bomber, which crash landed more than 70 years ago, has been so well preserved by the layers of sand.’