Corgi AA38806 Dornier Do17, 5K+AR, August 1940

With its twin engine ‘pencil’ fuselage and twin fin configuration, the Dornier Do 17 was particularly distinctive. Operated by a crew of four over 400 Do 17s participated in the Battle of Britain, over the course of which nearly 200 were destroyed. On 26th August 1940, during the height of the Battle of Britain, a huge formation of Do 17s was en route to attack airfields in Essex. Having been intercepted by RAF Boulton Paul Defiant fighters, Do 17 5K+AR was shot down over the Goodwin Sands at low tide. The Dornier sat on the Sands until almost seventy years later when it was discovered in remarkable condition. 5K+AR was lifted from the sea in May 2013 and the task of post-recovery conservation of the aircraft has begun at Cosford.