WWII bomber lifted from seabed on show

Minister of Culture Malgorzata Omilanowska (R) and Director of the Krakow Aviation Museum Krzysztof Radwan, Gdynia, 3 November. Photo: PAP/Adam Warzawa

The wreckage was handed over at the Naval Port in Gdynia, northern Poland, after being cleaned by specialists from the National Maritime Museum in Gdansk.

“It's sensational that it was possible to retrieve such a well-preserved wreck from the bottom of the Baltic,” the minister reflected.

During the cleaning process, a red star was found on the side of the aircraft, confirming that the Douglas A-20 Havoc plane had been manned by Soviet airmen.

“The aircraft was shot down by a German ship,” Omilanowska said.

Damage was found on the left engine, and staff at the National Maritime Museum have researched the incident.

“We know that the bomber crew survived. The plane went down, but the crew managed to escape.”

Only 16 Douglas A-20 aircraft have survived to this day, despite the American model being widely used by both US pilots and their WWII allies, including the Soviet Union.

The wreck was lifted from the seabed 4km away from the shore, on 6 October.

The Aviation Museum in Krakow envisages that it will take about three years to prepare the wreckage for display, meaning that it is unlikely the plane will be on view until Independence Day (11 November) in 2017 at the earliest.

Director of the Aviation Museum Krzysztof Radwan indicated that there are plans to exhibit the wreckage in a vast pool of water, simulating the Baltic seabed. (nh)

Source: PAP/Gazeta Wyborcza