How last surviving Dornier bomber will 'fly' again at RAF Museum Cosford

In June the world witnessed the successful project to raise the only known German Dornier Do17 bomber from the waters of the Goodwin Sands, off the Kent coastline, three miles off the coast of England.

The plane, which was shot down after attacking an airfield in Essex during the Battle of Britain, has been on display at Cosford in a specially-made plastic tunnel since then.

And from next month, members of the public will be able to see a virtual reality Dornier as it would have been seen in 1940 through a new mobile phone app.

The display will form part of a new interactive interpretation zone that will open at the museum on October 16, thanks to a £75,000 grant from war games publisher Wargaming.

Additionally, the new interpretation zone will include images of the aircraft as it would have been seen in 1940, as well as a film of the painstaking recovery operation during the summer which saw the plane lifted from the seabed at Goodwin Sands and carried by barge to the port of Ramsgate.

Working with experts from Middlesex University, the museum developed a number of multimedia displays which tell the story behind the plane, which spent nearly 70 years on the seabed before being discovered by an amateur diver five years ago.

A new dedicated website will also be launched showing the history behind the Dornier.

Ian Thirsk, of the RAF Museum, said: "This aircraft is a unique aeroplane and it's linked to an iconic event in British history, so its importance cannot be overemphasised, nationally and internationally. It's one of the most significant aeronautical finds of the century."

Victor Kislyi, Wargaming CEO, said: "Wargaming is passionate about military history.

"When we heard about the effort to recover the Dornier 17, we jumped in to help conserve and exhibit the plane.

"We are honoured to be a part of this ground-breaking exhibition."

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