Salvage German fighter aircraft from WW2 started on Monday

Angeren/The Netherlands - Monday the Dutch Ministry of Defense started with the recovery of a fighter aircraft in the municipality of Lingewaard that crashed in World War II. It is probably a German Focke Wulf Fw 190 A5.

The salvage includes searching for mortal remains.

An Air Force team is responsible for the recovery. If they find remnants, the specialists of the Salvage and Identification Service of the Royal Netherlands Army (BIDKL) get to work. They take care of the salvage and identification of the pilot.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (EOD) is also present, because there also may be explosives near the aircraft. The recovery companies therefore proceed with caution. They excavate the ground around large pieces of wreckage layer by layer and check it immediately for explosives. At a nearby processing site, the soil is sieved and further checked for remains, personal belongings, aircraft parts and ammunition.

Heavy fighting took place above the Betuwe during the Second World War. The Focke Wulf is one of an estimated thirty fighter planes that came down near the village of Angeren (see map below). Excavation will begin there this week.

The salvage is part of the National Program for the Salvage of Aircraft Wrecks . This program focuses on the recovery of aircraft wrecks that may contain the remains of missing crew members. This may also be the case with this storage. An estimated 30 to 50 salvages will be carried out within this program over the next 10 years.

Source: Dutch Ministiry of Defense