20th century AD. A mixed group of items recovered from the wreck of the B17F Flying Fortress 42-29540 comprising: a portion of the hand control wheel, stamped 'SQR 522'; a clip of three 0.50 cal bullets (professionally deactivated), two stamped 'SL43' and one 'LC43'; a pane from the cockpit side window; a radio receiver (type R1124A) plaque with stamped identification numbers; a radio receiver (type CZR43AAY) plaque with serial number 19651 and details of manufacture by Hazeltine Service Corporation, New York; a US Navy plaque with 'accepted by Navy' and 'placed in service' panels, undated; an information sheet relating the circumstances of the aircraft's ditching in the English Channel; a letter dated 5th May 2002 from the then sole surviving crew member, Gunner Merle Hilgert, with additional information on the subsequent fates of the crew. The items were recovered from the crash wreckage of the B17F which ditched in the Channel off Winchelsea, Sussex, on 6th September 1942. The aircraft was part of 91st Bomb Group, 323rd Squadron, and left Bassingbourne airfield on a mission to bomb Stuttgart, Germany. Cloud cover caused the formation to break up; some aircraft ran out of fuel on the return or crash landed. Aircraft 42-29540 encountered flak and sustained damage from fighter (FW190) attack, losing two engines and shedding fuel. The aircraft ditched in the Channel and some crew members were picked up by a British minesweeper. 1.5 kg total, control wheel fragment: 34cm (13 1/2"). Recovered by the vendor from the undersea crash site, off Winchelsea, East Sussex, UK, 2002; with a letter from a surviving crew member and an information sheet. [6, No Reserve]

Fine condition; control wheel fragment repaired.