Wreckage of a World War II Nazi 'Flying Bomb' Found in English Forest

A detonated German V-1 flying bomb from World War II has been uncovered by archaeologists in the English countryside, Live Science reports. Also known as a “doodlebug,” this particular unmanned cruise missile was likely bound for London when it was launched in 1944. Instead, it was shot down over the Packing Wood forest in Kent, England, where it laid for more than 70 years.

The flying bomb was found last month by Research Resource, a private archaeological group run by brothers Colin and Sean Welch. Their research revealed that the V-1 was brought down by a Polish pilot on August 6, 1944.

"Kent was never a target, and the V-1s that fell were either brought down by fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft gunfire, the balloon barrage, or malfunction of the device,” Colin Welch told Kent Online. "This site at Packing Wood is remarkable as it appears that the missile crashed pretty cleanly in that its remains are within the center of the crater.”

Nearly 10,000 V-1 bombs were directed at targets in southeast England between 1944 and 1945, according to Colin Welch. Many were launched from German-occupied Holland.

These 1700-pound missiles were considered “retaliation weapons” and were ordered by Hitler in response to Allied bombings of German cities in 1943. V-1s were responsible for more than 6000 deaths in Britain—not to mention a great deal of destruction. One of these bombs obliterated George Orwell’s home in London in 1944 and nearly destroyed his manuscript of Animal Farm.

The Welch brothers have conducted several war-related projects in the Kent region, including a three-year excavation of the site where a V-2 rocket crashed. The brothers want to create an online museum to showcase 3D renderings of the weapons they’ve found.

"This is our history, and it's got to be documented somehow in a responsible way," Welch told Live Science.

[h/t Live Science]