Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Rare USA World War II fighter plane parts found in Moray woods

Lossiemouth explorer David Hendry recovered parts of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning in Aberlour.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Remains of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning have been discovered in Moray. Image: CindyN/Wikimedia Commons

Part of a rare Second World War American fighter plane has been found in woods in Moray.

David Hendry, a Lossiemouth-based explorer known for documenting war sites and finding car wrecks, recovered the wheels of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning in Aberlour.

The single-seat plane was developed for the United States Army Air Corps, and when officially introduced in 1940 it was 100 mph faster than any other fighter in the world.

The two wheels of the aircraft were in the woods of Aberlour, just off the road. Image: David Hendry
The aircraft’s remains are in great condition. Image: David Hendry

10,037 were built, but only 26 have survived with just 10 still airworthy – making them, and their parts, incredibly rare.

Mr Hendry explained he drove to the site after he was alerted of the discovery by his friend John Reid.

HGV driver David suspects the wheels were abandoned by someone unaware of their value.

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was developed in 1937. Image: David Hendry
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was used in several battles of WWII. Image: David Hendry
They are safely stored now. Image: David Hendry

He told The Press and Journal: “It’s very rare to find this aircraft in Scotland.

“It was not a crash site – it looks like they have been recently dumped – someone who probably didn’t realise its value.”

He claims the “rare” remains were “just off the road”, adding: “It’s rare this was in this area as P38s weren’t stationed here.”

David plans to contact Moravya’s Aviation Museum in Kinloss, in the hopes they may be put on display.

David previously told The Press and Journal he is “obsessed with forests” and loves exploring deep inside them.

He has found more than 100 classic cars hidden across Aberdeenshire and Moray while exploring.

Conversation