The severely damaged German Dornier Do17 Bomber, recovered last June, will soon get a major makeover, thanks to the collaboration of game developer Wargaming and British Royal Air Force (RAF) Museum. With a grant of £75,000 from Wargaming, the Dornier Do17 will be exhibited at RAF Museum in Cosford, Shropshire starting on the 16th of October.
The Dornier Do17 was first recovered last June from the English Channel. It is considered a major discovery since it could be the last of its kind in the world.
Most likely, the German bomber crashed over the English Channel during the Battle of Britain. It sustained considerable damage in the crash, not to mention the intensive corrosion it has after being submerged in the sea for over 70 years. Experts estimated that it would take up to 18 months to fully overhaul the salvaged Dornier Do17 bomber.
Aside from a refurbished Dornier Do17, Wargaming is set to launch a 3D, full scale, augmented reality model of the Dornier Do17. People will get to see how the Dornier Do17 would have flown in the 1940s. Visitors in the exhibition could view the Dornier Do17 through their smart phones via the “Apparition: Dornier17” app. The app will be available for download at the Apple App store starting October 16th. It will also be available on Google Play.
The RAF Museum also teamed up with Red Loop, the Middlesex University Design and Innovation Centre, to present the recovery of the Dornier Do17 from the Kent coast and its conservation efforts.
In addition, the RAF Museum has also partnered with Museo del Aire Madrid Spain, Warsaw Museum of Polish Military Technics Poland, War Museum Overloon The Netherlands, Great Horwood C of E Combined School England, Canada Aviation and Space Museum, The Air Force Museum of New Zealand Museum plus the Pima Air & Space Museum/Arizona Aerospace Foundation to celebrate the launch of the exhibition.
“Wargaming is delighted to be working with the RAF museum and its partners to develop an augmented reality application to bring history alive, and allow users to view the Dornier 17 bomber from locations around the world” said, Tracy Spaight, Director of Special Projects, Wargaming. “One of the challenges museums face is how to reach a younger generation, a demographic that author Mark Prensky called ‘digital natives’. Young people are used to interacting with content in ways that museums are only just beginning to explore. Wargaming.net is pushing the envelope to create interactive experiences that will help enrich our historical understanding and bring a new generation to museums.”