SPA Modeler

Kari, thank you. When I read the article it was part of another article that had been cut and pasted quite a few times. Unable to locate the source despite tracking the photos, I opted to summarize a few paragraphs focusing on the pilot. I was really emotionally attached to the story which reminded me of the true story written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery about crashing with his navigator while on a mail run in the desert.



I was frankly obsessed with this story of survival... both stories. In Saint-Exupery’s case he survived to write The Little Prince... but sadly for the pilot of the Kittyhawk he marched 20 miles to his death. Even now the enormity of his decision weighs upon me. However you are absolutely right about the botched retrieving and subsequent restoration effort on this aircraft. Brush the sand off as gently as possible, and let the aircraft rest. Sigh.



The photo above is from the same abandoned aircraft. For some reason, Special Hobby’s instructions mention a decal for the instrument panel, but I am unable to locate it. Honestly I do not know what to do yet. Any ideas?

Tom! Thank you, Tom! The young beggarman is now on my radar. He is using Santa Monica Boulevard as a kind of live/work zone. Now that he made himself known I know who he is, and if he trespasses or decides to punch me he will be reported to the authorities. I love visiting New York. Maybe I should live there and toughen up a bit.

It’s remarkable that P-40 survived in the condition it was found 70 or so years later. Dry desert heat does preserve it compared to a wet climate. Has there any plans to retrieve the aircraft and restore it? Has the body found given a proper military burial back in the U.K.?

I don’t live in NYC but in Utica, NY. I have been to NYC several times, recently as last summer. Other times were day bus trips there.

Hi Tom, the handling of the wreckage was bungled by souvenir hunters, local authorities and the agencies of respectively Great Britain and Egypt. As far as I know, a private salvage firm removed the aircraft and it was placed in a shipping container outside a museum in Egypt.

RAF Museum bosses paid a salvage team an original Spitfire from their collection to retrieve a Second World War RAF Kittyhawk P40 plane that was found intact in the Sahara Desert 70 years after it crashed. The museum, of which Prince Phillip is a patron, has conceded they may have lost the Spitfire with nothing to show for it after the political unrest in Egypt stalled negotiations to bring the Kittyhawk back to Britain.

A team from Essex-based Kennet were given permission to salvage the aircraft and secure it in a shipping container which was then taken to a site at El Alamein – the scene of the battle that resulted in the Allies’ first victory of Germany in World War Two. Since then the country has been gripped by political turmoil and the Kittyhawk is not high on the Egyptian government’s agenda.

The Egyptian government refused to release the aircraft to the RAF Museum for conservation and did their own botched job of repainting what was essentially a complete time capsule. As far as the status of the pilot’s remains, I will have to research a bit more.

Wow... just wow. Now imagine if we or the UK restored the pyramids to its original state as it was built during ancient times. I’ll bet Egypt would have fainted at the notion. You just can’t fix stupid...

It is a shame, Tom—and a loss to history—a disgrace to the pilot and the RAF. Currently I am confirming the color for the top surfaces which will then be painted over in desert camouflage (as the real aircraft was): DuPont Dark Green.

If a USAAF build P-40, the aircraft was likely build in in Olive Drab 41 over Neutral Gray 43, possibly with a disruptive pattern of Medium Green 42 over the wings and stabilizers. And then fo service in North Africa, it would receive a repaint of Sand over the upper surfaces. Others for Lend Lease shipments or MTO service were painted in one of two schemes, Dark Green and Dark Earth over Sky Gray or Sky Blue, or Dark Earth and Mid Stone over Azure Blue. The first scheme using DuPont colors did not match RAF color specs, the second one did.

Thank you, Carlos! I appreciate your correction, sincerely!

And here is the ”restored” result in Egypt..




- Kari

Here is another P-40 from the same photo batch as 13/...- (Morse code “V”). Note the small bombs under the wings in addition to the 500 pounder on the centerline rack

Carlos! Thank you so much! I was working today and I am interviewing for a job tomorrow, so my mind has by necessity been elsewhere. I just saw on FB that artist Roy Grinnell has passed. Rest In Peace. His work for Aurora was top notch!