Salvagers hope to raise the only German Dornier Do-17 bomber left after World War II from the depths of the English Channel this week, the Royal Air Force (RAF) Museum said on Monday.
Efforts have so far been hampered by rough weather conditions, which forced salvagers to adopt a more risky strategy to recover the bomber.
“The forecast now suggests two weather windows this week when we can return to the wreck site and complete the lift,” said spokesman Ajay Srivastava.
“These are Monday June 10 between 1530 – 1800hrs and early Tuesday morning between 03.30 – 06.30hrs.
“If this proves to be the case, and we know how erratic the weather has been this year, we will raise the Dornier early this week,” he added.
The aircraft was shot down during the Battle of Britain in 1940 and the operation to retrieve it is the biggest of its kind in British waters.
The bomber was only discovered in 2008 when it was spotted by divers at Goodwin Sands, off the coast of Kent in southeast England.
Sonar scans confirmed it was a Dornier Do-17, and experts say it is in a “remarkable condition”.
The painstaking operation to raise it to the surface is expected to take around three weeks.
Divers are building a metal frame around the wreck, which they will use to carefully hoist it the 15 metres (50 feet) from the seabed.
Dornier salvage bid could resume this week
