The Goodwin Sands Dornier Do 17 hasn’t revealed its exact identity as of 2019
In both the bomber and reconnaissance roles, the Dornier Do 17 initially made an appearance as a military aircraft during the Spanish Civil War. Together with the Heinkel He 111, it served as the foundation for the German bomber arm over Poland at the outbreak of World War II. The Do 17 was also responsible for fulfilling the Luftwaffe‘s reconnaissance requirements. Before actively participating in bombing missions during the invasion of France, Belgium, and the Low Countries in May 1940, Do 17Ps did indeed perform these tasks during the “Phoney War.”
However, the Do 17 was ready to be replaced by the Junkers Ju 88 by the time the Battle of Britain began because of its limited range and small bomb load. Nevertheless, Do 17 units carried out a variety of sorties over southern England, some of which were against RAF fighter airfields at relatively low altitudes. Before moving to the Balkans and ultimately the Soviet Union, a number of units took part in the Blitz of 1940–1941. Even after switching to the Ju 88 or Do 217 at the very end of 1941, elements of the two bomber groups continued to fight on the Eastern Front.
By the end of the war, the ruins of Do 17s were all over the airfields in northwest Europe and the East, as Chris Goss explains in his book Dornier Do 17 Units of World War 2. However, none of its variants, like so many other significant combat aircraft types of World War II, were ever preserved. But in 2013, things changed. Many airplanes were present on the Goodwin Sands, and local fishermen operating out of ports around the Kent coast were aware of this fact. In 2008, one such well-known wreck started slowly rising from the bottom and lying about 52 feet below the surface.
The plane was lying on its back and appeared to have two engines. A bomb bay was visible in the middle of the fuselage, indicating that the plane was a bomber.
When side-scan sonar imagery of the wreck was taken in 2008–2009, it was immediately recognized as a Do 17Z. Dives on the wreck and multi-beam scan sonar imagery taken in 2011 later confirmed this. The last remaining Do 17 in the world is the “missing link” in the collection of Battle of Britain aircraft owned by the RAF Museum, which has experience in retrieving combat aircraft. But it wasn’t until May 3, 2013, that it was formally announced that the bomber would be raised, and the next day a floating rescue platform was placed over the disaster.
The RAF’s Air Historical Branch had spent more than three years planning, raising funds, and conducting research to get to this position. They thought the wreck was Do 17Z-2 Wk-Nr. 1160 5K-FAR of 7./KG 3, which was lost on August 26, 1940. When the wreck was lifted, it was unclear if munitions or human remains would be discovered.
In order to place a specially designed lightweight lifting frame around the wreckage, divers had done a thorough inspection of the aircraft. They found that the now-exposed aircraft had weathered the winter storms of 2012–2013. Conditions were always challenging on-site since tides only permitted 50–90 minutes of diving per day with an invisibility of no more than 16 feet. Divers discovered that several parts of the airframe were extremely delicate, something the RAF Museum had expected, which is why they built the specialized lifting structure. Depending on the weather and tides, it was anticipated that the recovery would take three to four weeks to complete.
The aircraft’s preservation began long before it was brought to the surface and ultimately to land. Given that the Do 17 had been submerged in seawater for more than 70 years, it would start corroding as soon as it was exposed to air. Eventually, the remains would disintegrate. Therefore, the RAF Museum proposed to put the aircraft in two specially constructed hydration tunnels at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, each measuring 65 nft × 23 ft and 11.5 foot in height.
With 36 nozzles hanging from the ceiling and a moisture spray system, each tunnel was able to continuously soak the remnants. Each tunnel’s drainage system would distribute the water, which would then go through special filters before returning to a tank and being pumped back into the hydration tunnels. In order to carefully remove the salts and chemicals that had accumulated on the airframe over time without harming the paintwork or any of the parts inside the wings and the fuselage, a reading of the water would be obtained before it was recirculated.
Due to unfavorable weather and tide circumstances, the initial recovery that was supposed to take place on June 2-3, 2013, had to be postponed. A change in the recovery approach was also required due to meteorological delays and problems with the bottom geology. The Dornier’s rear fuselage was strengthened instead of a frame being built around it, and lifting strops were fastened to the airframe’s recognized strong points. Access to these strong places was not a problem because the aircraft was lying inverted on the bottom, and at 18:26 on June 10, the Do 17 was successfully raised and mostly unharmed. After that, it was brought to Ramsgate Docks, from where it set out the next day for RAF Cosford, where conservation and identification will take place.
However, as of 2019, the Goodwin Sands Don17Z has still to reveal its true identity.
Dornier Do 17 Units of World War 2 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by Crown Copyright, Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-341-0489-10A / Spieth / CC-BY-SA, Commons: WikiProject Aviation/recent uploads/2012 April 21-30