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Europe
Buy a WWII British bomber, get German lake for free
2004-09-07
Plane sold "as is."
A lake near the former Nazi V2 rocket facility with a crashed British World War II Lancaster bomber resting at its bottom has been put up for sale by the German government, an auction house announced. The 43 hectare lake at the Third Reich's Peenemuende rocket plant on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom will be auctioned off on 23 September. Peenemuende was where the Nazi scientists developed the V1 and later the V2 rockets which were fired at targets in Britain and Belgium at the end of the war. The "V" in the rocket's name stood for "Vergeltungswaffe" or vengeance weapon.
I never even thought to ask about the "V" in V2. Huh. Learn something every day.
The Peenemuende facility was destroyed by British bombing raids in 1943 and it is assumed the Lancaster at the bottom of Koelpinsee lake was shot down during those raids. According to the auction house, Norddeutsche Grundstuecksauktionen AG, the bomber is classified as a historically protected site and removing it from the lake would probably not be allowed. The starting price is EUR 29,000. More information on the sale is available at the websites: www.ndga.de and www.ostsee-auktionen.de.
Posted by:Seafarious

#4  Not just curves.... compound curves that us barely passers of Geometry II can truly appreciate.

Or, they damn sure built 'em pretty.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-09-07 6:29:26 PM  

#3  Mmmmmmmmm...Victors.
Ship, the B-52 is the Other Woman in my life and has been since 1978 - but for sheer grace and poetry of line, nothing has ever beaten the last and greatest product of the Handley-Page bomber works. Little known but true fact - every one of those beautiful curves was done with a slide rule and mechanical calculator - no computers as they didn't exist for that purpose yet.
Now - re the Lanc - several bombers have been salavged from lakes and rivers throughout Europe, most notably in the Netherlands. Not entirely sure why this one is specially protected, unless of course its a war grave in which case it stays right where its at.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2004-09-07 10:28:45 AM  

#2  Yeah, you'd want something a little more modern.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-09-07 6:26:04 AM  

#1  ...the bomber is classified as a historically protected site and removing it from the lake would probably not be allowed.

It's probably just as well; it would be hard to restore to flight status, it's obsolete, and it would require further modification to handle JDAM's.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2004-09-07 12:22:46 AM  

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