Shifting sands: The final resting place of the Kittyhawk P-40 has been discovered in the Sahara 70 years after it crashed there
Time capsule: Aside from the damage it sustained during impact, the aircraft appears to have been almost perfectly preserved in the sands of the Sahara
Chance discovery: The single-seater aircraft was found by a Polish oil company worker exploring a remote region of the western desert in Egypt
The RAF airman - believed to have been Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping, 24 - was never seen again. The crash site is about 200 miles from the nearest town.
The single-seater fighter plane was discovered by chance by Polish oil company worker Jakub Perka, who was exploring a remote region.
Despite the crash impact, most of the aircraft's cockpit instruments are intact. Its guns and ammunition were also still intact before being seized by the Egyptian military for safety reasons.
There are also signs of the makeshift camp made by the pilot alongside the fuselage.
Intact: Most of the plane's cockpit instruments were untouched and it still had it guns and ammunition before they were seized by the Egyptian military for safety reasons
However there are fears over what will be left of it after locals began stripping parts and instruments from the cockpit for souvenirs and scrap.
Historians are now urging the British government to step in and have the scene declared as a war grave so it can be protected before the plane is recovered.
Historian Andy Saunders, from Hastings, East Sussex, said: 'The aviation historical world is hugely excited about this discovery.
'This plane has been lying in the same spot where it crashed 70 years ago. It hasn't been hidden or buried in the sand, it has just sat there.
'It is a quite incredible time capsule, the aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's Tomb.
'It is hundreds of miles from anywhere and there is no reason why anyone would go there.
'It would appear the pilot got into trouble and just brought it down in the middle of the desert.
'He must have survived the crash because one photo shows a parachute around the frame of the plane and my guess is the poor bloke used it to shelter from the sun.
Bullet holes: The Kittyhawk appears to have been shot at (left), while its broken propeller lays nearby (right). Historians have described the find as the 'aviation equivalent of Tutankhamun's Tomb'
Well-preserved: The Kittyhawk's magazine of bullets were also found in the wreckage. The radio and batteries were discovered out of the plane
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'The radio and batteries were out of the plane and it looks like he tried to get it working. If he died at the side of the plane his remains would have been found.
'Once he had crashed there nobody was going to come and get him. It is more likely he tried to walk out of the desert but ended up walking to his death. It is too hideous to contemplate.
'The plane is in a very good condition but sadly it is being stripped by some locals who don't regard it as part of their heritage but as a piece of junk that may have some scrap value.
'Things are happening very slowly with the recovery, mainly because we are in the hands of the Egyptian authorities.
'The MoD needs to act and get the plane out of there as soon as possible rather than embarking upon a great deal of hand-wringing and meetings to discuss its future.'
Ft Sgt Copping was the son of a dentist and came from Southend, Essex.
In 1942 he was a member of the RAF's 260 Squadron, a fighter unit based in Egypt during the North Africa campaign.
Remote: The crash site is about 200 miles from the nearest town. No human remains have been found but it is thought the pilot's decomposed body may lay anywhere in a 20 mile radius of the plane
By June of that year the Allies were retreating from 'Desert Fox' Erwin Rommel and his German forces.
On June 28 Ft Sgt Copping and another airman were tasked with flying two damaged Kittyhawk P-40 planes from one British airbase in northern Egypt to another for repair.
During the short flight Ft Sgt Copping lost his bearings, went off course and was never seen again.
Military historians say they are 99 per cent sure the Kittyhawk found in the desert was the one flown by Ft Sgt Copping, based on identification numbers and letters on the plane.
It was documented at the time that there was a fault with its front landing gear which would not retract and the photographic evidence suggests the aircraft had its front wheel down when it crashed.
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