View allAll Photos Tagged fighterplane
A restored USAF P51 Mustang from WWII flying during the Warbirds demo at the 2025 Abbotsford International Airshow. It flew alongside an F4U Corsair and a P38 Lightning .
Planes of Fame Airshow, Chino Airport (2004)
United States - West-Coast Tour 2004
Fairey Firefly TT.6, N518WB as Royal Navy WB518/201K”
Former Royal Navy WD828 and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) WD828.
Restored to flying condition as VH-HMW in 1965 as RAN "WD828/271K Mickey's Mouse".
Force landed near Camden NSW in 1987
Rebuild using Fuselage sections of WB518.
Photo selection
The real truth about this discovery was nothing like what you might have read or heard about in the news.
On 10th May 2012 the world's mainstream media organisations ran the following inaccurate story with this almost universal headline and copy:
"WWII fighter plane hailed the 'aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's Tomb' found preserved in the Sahara."
Articles went on to say:
"A Second World War aeroplane that crash landed in the Sahara Desert before the British pilot walked to his death has been found almost perfectly preserved 70 years later. The single-seater fighter plane was discovered by chance by Polish oil company worker Jakub Perka exploring a remote region of the Western Desert in Egypt, about 200 miles from the nearest town."
Having found the crash site location for myself, I can now reveal that bit about it being 200 miles from the nearest town is completely untrue.
The crash site is a mere 31.3 miles from the centre of the nearest town.
More over it is just 6.5 miles from the nearest asphalt road and only 26 miles from the nearest village.
The credit for the discovery attributed in the world's media to Jakub Perka is questionable. It has since been claimed, though not widely reported, that the discovery of the crash site was actually made on 12th Feb 2012 by an Italian expedition who were sworn to secrecy by the Egyptian authorities, and it would appear that Jakub Perka was a opportunist who got wind of the Italian find and sold rights to crash site photos to the BNPS press agency and made up the story of 'his' discovery and the rest as they say is history.
Italian, Andrea Mariotti of the Association of Independent Researchers Western Desert (ARIDO) wrote two reports in the Summer 2012 newsletter of The War Graves Photographic Project (TWGPP).
In the first report on the discovery he asserts the truth is:
“In early February 2012 we were returning from an expedition in which we had travelled from northwest to southeast of the Grand Sand Sea in order to map two or three possible routes on the trail of the exploring British groups during the Second World War in North Africa, which were framed in the Long Range Desert Groups. We had driven the track we familiarly call the “main route” and we went again to the wreck of one of the vehicles that were abandoned by the LRDG, probably due to a mechanical failure. After only 20 miles we stopped for the night and during the evening briefing we took the decision to take a chance on the next day and make a long range reconnaissance to locate the point where an acquaintance of ours, who lives in El Alamein, had told us that perhaps we could find an unidentified fighter plane still in good condition. It could be a free interpretation of the infinite fantasy of our Bedouin friend, but it was worth the chance, even if, in the past, we have used this sort of information which has proven, in most cases, not to be true.The next day at dawn, divided into three groups of two cars each, we began the search climbing and descending the plateaus that form the natural boundary of the “new valley” as it is called today, in the Egyptian Western Desert. At the end of many attempts and many tens of miles we found it. The aircraft is on a plateau almost impassable by the vehicles and still in excellent condition. We shot many pictures, took some measurements and left the aircraft after a few hours. On the same day (12th Feb) we were asked to keep the finding secret and not report anything on the internet which might identify the location. This was to prevent souvenir hunters finding the site and desecrating it. The police were informed and we were tasked to lead an expedition of the army and police up to the P40 on a date to be agreed. Since that date, despite our constant requests, we did not receive any information until the end of April 2012 when we were told that a group of soldiers were there to remove munitions and weapons from the aircraft. We organized a second expedition immediately and on May 2nd, 3rd, 4th 2012 we were back at the place of our discovery. Meanwhile, the same soldiers who went on site to remove weapons and ammunition from the P40 had begun to put online the photos taken with mobile phones. These were accompanied by the pictures and information sold to a well known press agency by an employee of an oil company, who reached the wreck later on. When we arrived there for the second time we found that the P40 had been damaged and some parts had been stolen. The real problem is that plunderers and looters are the new owners of the wreck and this is what is happening to the P40, so far, because of the bureaucratic delays and inaction of the authorities who should already have taken action to protect such a wonderfully preserved piece of history that is already becoming Illegal property of individuals without scruples or conscience."
To date I have not seen definitive evidence to back up the discovery claims of Mariotti's ARIDO or Perka, and the more I research the topic the more I was inclined to believe Mariotti's version of events, although I do find his explanation for searching in this area - a Bedouin source in El Alamein a little far fetched - but the truth is often stranger than fiction. However the longer Mariotti's ARIDO refuse to publish definitive evidence to back up their claims of making the discovery before Perka, the less likely I am to believe they got there before Perka.
This story is certainly stranger than fiction.
So exactly who and when it was discovered remains disputed until conclusive evidence is put forward to determine which man got there first.
Whatever the truth is, the fact remains that the detailed satellite imagery of the crash site, a copy of which I have posted above, remained undiscovered despite being online in the public domain long before the physical crash site was visited by either Mariotti or Perka.
The fact that it went undetected online is remarkable. You can if you know where to look even find this crash site and make out the plane on the satellite imagery provided by DigitalGlobe, Inc here on Flickr.
According to the mainstream media's inaccurate story the crash site was apparently discovered by chance in March 2012 by Polish oil worker Jakub Perka. It is true the news of the discovery first appeared in a public posting of crash site photographs on 17th April 2012 on an online Polish scale modelling / aviation forum. The poster identifies the photographer as Sławomir Lubomski of Geofizyki Toruń. He also posted a link to the set of photographs credited to Jakub Perka on Picasa Web Albums.
The following day, 18th April, the story was picked up by The Aviation Forum and sparked of speculation surrounding the aircraft’s authenticity and identification. Sceptics initially called it an elaborate photoshopped hoax.
On 20th April video was posted on youtube of the 'oil worker's discovery' of the crash site. During the next few days aviation historians concluded the identity of the aircraft was the Curtiss Kittyhawk P-40 bearing the 260 Squadron “HS” squadron code and the aircraft letter “B” serial number ET 574, flown by 24-year-old RAF Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping which disappeared on 28th June 1942 whilst enroute from an Allied FOB Forward Operating Base to a repair depot behind Allied lines.
In the early days before the story broke in the mainstream media many questions were asked about the exact location of the crash site and concern was raised about protecting the site for fear of vandalism and/or souvenir hunting.
There are many conflicting, confusing and inaccurate reports and speculation about the whereabouts of the crash site and perhaps more importantly precisely who revealed what and when.
Whilst the initial public posting on the Polish online forum on 17th April 2012 did not reveal the whereabouts of the crash site, it is clear that on 2nd May 2012 the person who posted those initial photographs stated in the same online thread that the crash site coordinates were 27° 23' 48.70" N,
27° 37' 54.10" E. This follow up post giving the exact location of the crash site appears to have escaped the attention of many, but not everyone.
On 12th May a blog credits Jakub Perka with a screengrab of a satellite image (similar to the one I created and posted here) showing the aircraft, but with details of the coordinates deliberately obscured.
Since the news of the crash site discovery has become more widely known it has been revisited and sadly, but rather predictably, the aircraft has suffered from repeated mindless vandalism and looting.
Had the location been kept secret then the chances of this happening would have been lessened.
Even so it appears that those Polish / Egyptian oil workers connected to the Perka claim of discovering the crash site in March 2012 were responsible for damaging the aircraft. Inadvertently providing documentary evidence of their destructive actions to gain access the cockpit; the first video uploaded to youtube shows all the sliding canopy panes intact whereas the initial photographs credited to Jakub Perka show 2 smashed panes of plexiglas on the starboard side. By 16th June photographic evidence makes it clear another 7 panes have been smashed and removed from the cockpit canopy. Egyptian military personnel were sent to remove the still live ammunition, though thankfully they decided against cutting the 6 Browning machine guns out of the wings. Photographs and videos from subsequent visits to the crash site document the gradual damage and looting of the aircraft since its discovery. On 16th June the ARIDO team documented the condition of the aircraft and conducted a search for the pilot's remains. Evidence at the crash site strongly indicates that the pilot survived the crash. The ARIDO search discovered human remains approximately 5 miles from the crash site, but it is unclear whether DNA testing of these remains is going to be carried out to determine if they are the remains of Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping.
Later in June of 2012, a group of recovery experts, lead by the Royal Air Force Museum's Tim Manna, recovered the remains of the aircraft from the crash site. On 13th September 2012 photographs of the recovery of the aircraft were published online. In a further twist, during the recovery, it became evident that the bogies were retracted at impact, which is contrary to the suggestions from the 1942 flight reports which stated the aircraft had stuck landing gear.
The aircraft is currently stored in a shipping container outside the perimeter of the museum in El Alamein. Some say this is because the museum doesn't want it. Other reports say there are plans to display the aircraft at the museum at former RAF Hendon, London, UK.
Now there is nothing left at the crash site I can reveal its exact location without worrying that further damage will result from my disclosure of the GPS coordinates of the crash site.
Looking for the needle in the haystack.
This is the story of how I found an aircraft with a wing span of just 37' 4" in the vastness of the Egypt's Western Desert without the help of any GPS coordinates.
Having read news about the discovery of the crash site on 10th May, I had not heard anything about it since. A couple of days ago I went looking online for more news and clues to its whereabouts. I was also curious to know if there was detailed satellite imagery of the crash site and if there was, whether I could piece together the clues and find the plane for myself using satellite imagery. It was clear that since the discovery many people had tried to do the same, but I found no evidence that anybody had successfully done so and publicised it.
During my initial search I found the reference to the screengrab credited to Perka which had no coordinates. I used this as my primary source to pin point the whereabouts of the crash site for myself. It was clear that the Perka screengrab was taken from Flash Earth so I used this app as my search tool, along with Google Maps / Earth as the mid range imagery of the Western Desert in Google is significantly clearer than Flash Earth's.
As it turned out Google Maps / Earth does not have detailed close up imagery of the crash site, whereas Flash Earth does. So anyone looking using Google will never find the plane.
In the course of looking for references to the location of the crash site I sifted through numerous sources, many of which had conflicting descriptions which turned out to be inaccurate.
Like the often quoted " a remote region of the Western Desert in Egypt, about 200 miles from the nearest town."
Other articles stated "The aircraft was found in Egypt’s Western Desert, west of the Farfara depression and the Qasr Farfara oasis. This lies south of the famous White Desert."
National Geographic stated the site was found in March in the Wadi al-Jadid region of southern Egypt.
After weighing up the many potential search areas, I began searching a few I felt more likely. It took about 2 hours of searching before I stumbled across familiar looking rock formations and then sure enough there it was just sitting there.
So if you want to see it for yourself have a look here on Flash Earth
www.flashearth.com/?lat=27.397909&lon=27.629218&z...
Crash site coordinates in Flash Earth are:
27° 23' 52.4"N
27° 37' 45.1"E
In Google Maps you'll only get a more distant satellite overview at these coordinates
27.397909N, 27.629218E
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This image is not to be downloaded, used, copied, duplicated, transmitted, manipulated or reproduced in whole or part, in any medium, physical or electronic, for use on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission. All rights reserved - Copyright © Libyan Soup
A restored Supermarine Spitfire XVI (1945) at Vintage Wings of Canada in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.
The Supermarine Spitfire XVI was manufactured in August 1945 at the Supermarine works of Vickers-Armstrong Ltd., England. It bears the serial number SL721 and is registered under the call sign C-GVZB. Over 22,000 Spitfires were built in nearly 30 variants during World War II.
A second RCAF CF-18 Hornet performing the CF-18 Demo in the evening show of the 2022 Abbotsford Airshow. It cool seeing the demo at night, the Hornet's afterburners could be fully seen. It was a loud demo too, the pilot didn't hold back.
A Vought F4U Corsair flying in the 2026 Abbotsford Airshow. One of three Warbirds that flew in the flyover. This is one of my favorite planes from WWII and it's always a delight to see one fly.
A second RCAF CF-18 Hornet performing the CF-18 Demo in the evening show of the 2022 Abbotsford Airshow. It cool seeing the demo at night, the Hornet's afterburners could be fully seen. It was a loud demo too, the pilot didn't hold back.
A Vought F4U Corsair flying in a demo the 2026 Abbotsford Airshow. One of three Warbirds that flew in the flyover. It flew a solo demo later on in the airshow and was fantastic, pilot handled the old warbird well. This is one of my favorite planes from WWII and it's always a delight to see one fly.
A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II belonging to the Royal Netherlands Air Force on the static display at the 2022 Abbotsford Airshow.
Eventhough we were working and couldn't venture far from the Sony booth, I managed to make some photos
An overview: on the blog
A short video - on Instagram.
A longer video - on Clapper
A pair of classic British fighters (Supermarine Spitfire Mk V.b and a Hawker Hurricane Mk I) in side by side formation at the Yorkshire Airshow, Church Fenton, UK. I shot this photo back in 2015 at what was to be a one-off Yorkshire Airshow, but re-processed it recently and thought that this toned monochrome version might be of interest as an alternative presentation or the reprocessed colour version posted last week. Best viewed (L)arge.
A second RCAF CF-18 Hornet performing the CF-18 Demo in the evening show of the 2022 Abbotsford Airshow. It cool seeing the demo at night, the Hornet's afterburners could be fully seen. It was a loud demo too, the pilot didn't hold back.
A P-51 Mustang sits on the tarmac, ready for flight. The iconic World War II fighter plane is a symbol of American air power and innovation. Its sleek design and powerful engine made it a formidable opponent in the skies, helping to secure victory for the Allied forces.
@Mont de Marsan Airbase 118 during Exercise VOLFA 22 back after a mission,performing a go around during - SPA160 - Diable Rouge Escadron de transformation Rafale 3/4 Aquitaine
USAF Thunderbirds performing a high altitude maneuver at the Baltimore Fleet Week air show. The photo is cropped significantly as the aircraft were very far from the camera when the photo was taken. I also post processed the photo to highlight the jet engine afterburn and to try to minimize the effects of atmospheric haze. Photographed at Baltimore, Maryland.
You can't trust me anymore!! I have finally caved in and bought CS6 (Photoshop) and am really struggling to learn how to use it. I uploaded 2 of my photos -a photo of a sunset then one of a model Warbird and fiddled around with layering and magnetic Lassoos! Suddenly up this came! Sadly I have no idea what I did and can't do it again! Steep learning curve! I promise not to post a lot of these mock ups as Ido feel it is kind of cheating, but this is pretty cool !
A Supermarine Spitfire Mk V.b and a Curtiss P40F Warhawk flying in formation at the Yorkshire Airshow, Church Fenton, UK.
Photo of the SR-71 Blackbird on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. Taken with the Fuji X-Pro1.
For more of my images check out www.fstopguy.com
Follow me on Twitter: @krowland3
In high speed flight mode from below. Most of the underside of the fuselage has been SNOT'd for ease of handling and aesthetic smoothness. This angle shows the lean of the air intakes quite nicely too, I had to incorporate those for this build.
You can just see the main landing gear doors tucked in between the engine nacelle and weapon pylon. A smaller than scale tyre had to be used, as anything larger threw the scale out entirely. This clocks in at approximately 1:40 scale.
A single Super Hornet flying past me and then maneuvering a hard bank right, then flying straight upwards in to the skies to rejoin the second plane and whilst doing so firing flares; see previous photograph.
Photograph by: Rouben Dickranian
I rebuild my old fighter plane, Dragonfly, with modifications. This is it, Dragonfly v2.0. 8th addition to my new Victory Squadron.
Lackland A.F.B. S.A. TX
HDR~ORTON~
This photo is for the new group ~**Top Gun**~{ Invite } Post 1 Award 1**~
Top Quality ,Elite photos~
One of the most agile fighter aircraft in the world comes in to land after a demonstration involving a bombing run at RAF Leuchars Air Show 2013. With a stationary to supersonic time of less than 30 seconds, it is one of the fastest accelerating aircraft in the world.
Taken at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, USA. The French aircraft company, Société pour l'Aviation et ses Dérives (SPAD) developed this aircraft in 1917. The US adopted the SPAD as its fighter aircraft in 1918.
When I was but a Wee Lad, a friend of mine and I went to a Summer Camp for three weeks one year. We had a blast. They had all kinds of fun things to do. One of the things they had was a shooting range and if you were the ripe old age of 13, which we were, you could join that class and go shoot at targets. Being raised in the desert in summers, my Uncles and Dad would take me out in the middle of nowhere and shoot cans and bottles. Needless to say, I could shoot a bug off a lizards head. On the other hand, my friend could stand five feet away from a big ole barn and, well ... still miss the barn.
The class was outdoors with a row of stalls for all of us to stand in. The targets were placed about 100 feet away with a small sand bag wall behind them and a big hill of dirt behind that. We each stood in our own stalls, rifles in hand as the instructor marched behind us giving us strict instructions of what to do and most important, what NOT to do and that there would only be one shooter at a time. He finished by saying there is no tolerance for shooting anything living that might wonder onto the range or you will be asked to leave and not come back. We all nodded and replied we understood.
With that, I raised my rifle, aimed and shot dead center of the target. My friend looked over, gave me a high five then proceeded to aim his rifle. He steadied the barrel, breathed out, pulled the trigger and ... well a lizard about five feet to the left of his target ran across the top of the sand bag wall and kind of just sorta disappeared instantly. So did we as big hands from behind us grabbed our collars and yanked us off the range as we protested that it really was an accident. No tolerance was our answer back.
For punishment, we were forced to join the basket weaving class. Do you know how many people where in the basket weaving class at a Summer Camp for boys? Two.
I have to say though, the basket came in handy. I filled it up with Cow Patties and stuck it in the tent next to us.
View facing forward at all times, safety on, and respect for all living things. No tolerance
for
Cliche Saturday HCS