Daniel Kristiansen, 14 years old, was given a school assignment about the history of world war two.
Daniel lives in Denmark, which was occupied by Germany during this era.
The student asked his father, Klaus, if he could help with the homework.
Instead of telling him some boring facts about Germany, WW2, D-day…, Klaus used a different methodology…
He recalls that his grandfather told him that a German plane crashed in the family-owned farm. So he decided to look for it with his son using a metal detector.
After a while, the device emitted an audio signal. They started digging and they found some metal fragments. They knew there should be something more important if they dig deeper.
In order to do that, they borrowed an excavator. After digging for a few feet, they found the German fighter they were looking for.
They reported their find to the experts. The specialists at the museum examined the wreckage. It belongs to a Messerschmitt BF 109 that crashed on October 10th, 1944.
They also managed to identify the pilot. His name is Hans Wunderlich. The plane’s parts will be kept in the Historical Museum of Northern Jutland In Denmark.
35,000 of Messerschmitt airplanes were made during the WW2. So it’s not uncommon to find one of these planes buried somewhere.
To find them, you need to learn history. You also need the right tools.
There are many variants of this plane and the specifications may differ from one variant to the other.
At the end of the war, this plane has a top speed of 452 miles/hour (727 km/h). It is 28.67 feet (8.74 meters) long and 32.35 feet (9.86 meters) wide.
Klaus and his son could have simply used google or went to the local library to learn more about the history of Denmark during WW2.
The kid will certainly learn valuable info. But it is no match to the knowledge he acquired after this discovery. He now has an amazing story to share with his classmates instead of some boring cold data.
If you want your son to get a similar experience, check out this article. It will help you pick a good metal detector that you can use with your son. If you are still confused, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments section.