Lost WW2 German Fighter Plane Finally FOUND

Unearthed After 80 Years

A long-lost Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter from WWII has been discovered in Malta, uncovering a story that dates back to April 1942 during the brutal Siege of Malta.

The Bf-109F, flown by 22-year-old Luftwaffe pilot Hans Pilz, was part of a standard raid on April 1, 1942. During the mission, Pilz pursued a lone Hawker Hurricane but unknowingly became a target for groundfire. The aircraft was hit, forcing Pilz into a crash landing near a village. He survived the impact, was captured by local police, and spent the remainder of the war as a British POW.

After WWII, Malta prioritized rebuilding infrastructure, using bomb craters and landfills to bury wreckage scattered across the island. Pilz’s downed Bf-109 was similarly buried and forgotten—until February 2023.

During construction in the town of Paola, workers unearthed the aircraft’s remains, revealing a giant German cross in the soil. Quick verification by the Malta Aviation Museum confirmed the plane’s identity through its ID number as the very one flown by Hans Pilz.

The museum plans to clean and preserve the wreckage in its current state rather than restore it. This approach will allow visitors to see the aircraft as it was found—an authentic piece of WWII history preserved for future generations to appreciate.