British Fighter Plane
A rare gem from the Great Britain's Royal Air Force was recently discovered in the Sahara Desert. Despite having crash landed, this Kittyhawk P-40 aircraft was is good shape after all these years. It was discovered by an oil worker about 200 miles from the nearest town.
WWII Carrier Pigeon's Message
Since Wi-Fi hadn't been invented yet, carrier pigeons were commonly used to send messages back in WWII. But one poor bird didn't complete his mission. Instead he took a rest in someone's chimney and then died. His skeleton, along with the long lost message, was discovered 70 years later when the Surrey, England homeowner renovated his fireplace.
Nazi Art Cache Worth Billions Found in an Apartment
The Nazi's censored all kinds of things back in World War II and that included many great works of art which were confiscated. They were believed to have been lost forever until they turned up in the apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of the man who was in charge of collecting the art for the Nazis. He had been slowly selling them to live on. About 1,500 paintings worth billions of dollars were discovered!
Lost WWII Battlefield
An entire WWII battlefield, completely undisturbed, was discovered in Papua New Guinea in 2010. It is thought to be the site of the last major battle between Australia and Japan. It has remained untouched because the locals believe the spirits of the dead still live there and they don't want to bother them. Many amazing artifacts were found there including dead bodies, helmets perched on staffs to mark burials, canteens and spent ammunition.
Forest Swastika
In 1992, a pilot was flying of the forest near the town of Zernikow, Germany and saw a swastika clearly made out of trees below him that had been planted for decades presumably, based on the age of the trees. It was 40,000 square feet and created by planting deciduous trees which change color in fall so it is only really visible for about two months out of the year. The locals were embarrassed of their Nazi ancestors and cut the trees down.
Postcard from a Soldier's Parents Finally Arrives
It took 69 years to arrive, but a postcard that was sent by the parents of a soldier to his sisters while they were visiting him at Camp Grand in Rockford, IL finally arrived at their home in Elmira, NY in 2012! Of course new people were living in the house by then. The postcard read: "Dear Pauline and Theresa, We arrived safe, had a good trip, but we were good and tired."
Nazi Surveillance Post in North America
It might be completely shocking news to you that Nazi's did indeed invade the North American continent. They wanted to keep an eye on our weather patterns so they set up a weather surveillance post in Newfoundland, Canada. For camouflage they simply labeled it "Canadian Weather Service". And it worked! It wasn't discovered as a Nazi surveillance post until 1981, long after it was no longer in use.
Japanese Super Submarine
In WWII the Japanese had a super submarine called the I-400 that was the most technologically advanced sub of it's time. It could travel around the world 1 and a half times before stopping to refuel. The sub was captured by the US at the end of the war but went missing until it was spotted recently off the coast of Oahu, submerged in 2,300 feet of water.
Nazi Bunker
It isn't all that unusual to find a lost Nazi bunker in Berlin, but in 1998 construction workers were breaking ground to build a Holocaust memorial and found one that was a little more special than usual. It was the underground bunker used by the famed Joseph Goebbles.
Millions in Silver from a WWII Shipwreck
Recently, a British ship that was sunk by a Nazi U-boat in 1941 was discovered 300 miles off the coast of Ireland. It's haul? 61 tons of silver worth about $36 million dollars!
Color Photo of the Germans Surrendering
It was very rare for color photography to be used back in World War II, so when this blurry color photo from the era was discovered, it was already a remarkable find. Then someone figured out what was happening in the picture: the Germans were surrendering, ending World War II. This is the only color photo in existence of this momentous occasion.
Missing WWII Bomber and Remains of Marines
A WWII dive bomber carrying two soldiers went missing in 1943 after it left the island nation now called Vanuatu. Though many searches tried to find the plane, none were successful until 2010 when the plane and the remains of the two marines were found. Many artifacts were found still in the plane even though it was underwater, including dog tags, captains bars and coins.
German U-550 Submarine
In 1944, a German U-boat attacked a US gasoline tanker. It tried to get away but it was spotted by two other US vessels who hit it with depth charges, heavily damaging it. It's crew abandoned ship, leaving explosives to sink it behind them, leaving it's final resting spot a mystery until it was finally discovered 70 miles south of Nantucket, MA.
Barrels of WWII Lard
After a merchant ship was bombed and sunk during WWII, many barrels of lard were lost to sea. But every once in a while when a big storm hits, several of them will wash ashore. This one landed on a Scottish beach, just south of Edinburgh. The truly amazing thing is that the actual barrel is long gone. The only thing left is the lard covered in barnacles.
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