YUP you got my number just a couch potato; However the basic assumption is that it has been saved, well how much has been saved? I doubt very much that the Egyptians will show you all the bits they skipped in the process of salvation; when you have worked on a single piece of airframe for several months in order to conserve it, then you might understand.
With regards to whether the spitfire was complete of otherwise it was more complete than anything returned to the air in a long time.

Even in this country finding an RAF A/C on your land doesn’t convey right of ownership, SOC or not, so why would that be any different for another country?

Personally I would have thought that pre hostilities (of a more recent time) the RAFM would have made arrangement with the Egyptian government before sanctioning a recovery, had they not as you suggest, then clearly more heads needed to roll, but we will probably never know.

I don’t believe that the primary reason for the “restoration” of ww2 artifacts (or indeed those from any other era) should be the encouragement of tourism, and clearly they have no interest in the history of this particular A/C, other wise they might have placed a notice board nearby themselves; did they ask for help in the restoration process, again we will probably never know, personally I doubt it.

Is it displayed in the correct place, well that is subjective, like many I believe it should have been conserved, and displayed as found, not just as a memorial to Sgt Copping, but to a wider conflict ; it must have taken courage to fight in such an inhospitable environment.

The only reason it survived for so long, is that Egypt is third world, ultimately it has become a victim of that environment,(as it would have, had it been left in the desert) and who knows another uprising may be just around the corner, giving the opportunity for someone to destroy it completely.

The blame falls entirely at the feet of the RAFM, who should have been smart enough to state “freight on board” in the contract; as said above there was no guarantee that the Egyptians would ever let it leave the country even before the “Arab spring”.

The director has long since resigned, and his replacement has successfully dismantled at least part of the museum that would have been it’s home; (but it’s early days, she may yet be able to ruin Hendon completely) fair to say that the RAFM haven’t learned any lessons.

Robert, the coaming isn’t as difficult as it seems; BUT be warned, if the gun sight bar is a reproduction, it will almost certainly be too small (point to point) mine was 3/4″ out and had to make the coaming pieces so they flared out at the end to accept the gun site casting.

There is a drg for this measurement, which I do have, but unsure where at the mo.

Is this entire thread written in code?

I don’t believe they are still active; something in the back of my mind says Ramsden, the Cater museum in the high street (if it’s still going) had photos, of the crash site I believe

I must admit when I squint I can kind of see Taurus, or orion, or even an escort or fiesta…….

I like to think in those days we applied racism in a more even handed manner, they were all “bl00dy foreigners” unless born in England, and that included the jocks the taffs and the paddys; it will probably be an ATA pilot, with previously unknown lesbian tendencies, and an African parentage recently discovered through my ancestory . bolok …….