A British salvage team has lifted a German World War II bomber from the seabed off the coast of south-east England.
The Dornier Do 17 was shot down during the Battle of Britain in August 1940, but was only discovered by divers in 2008.
Covered with barnacles and missing a wing, the dripping wreck of the plane was slowly raised 15 metres to the surface at Goodwin Sands, Kent, at the mouth of the English Channel.
Experts from the Royal Air Force (RAF) Museum had spent five weeks preparing the aircraft for salvage.
It is believed to be the only Dornier Do 17 bomber plane left from the war, and the operation to retrieve it was the biggest of its kind in British waters.
"The discovery and recovery of the Dornier is of national and international importance," said Air Vice-Marshal Peter Dye, director general of the RAF Museum.
"The aircraft is a unique and unprecedented survivor from the Battle of Britain and the Blitz," he said.
The Dornier 17 was nicknamed the Luftwaffe's "flying pencil" because of its narrow fuselage.
Work will now begin to conserve the Dornier and prepare it for display at the museum's London site.
Air Vice-Marshal Dye said the plane would provide an "evocative and moving exhibit" that would highlight the sacrifices made by young men from all sides.
"It is a project that has reconciliation and remembrance at its heart," he said.
The Battle of Britain began on July 10, 1940, and ended on October 31 the same year.
More than 2,900 British, Commonwealth and Allied airmen took part in some 600 planes, while the Germans had 1,750 aircraft at their disposal.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, the RAF defeated the Luftwaffe in what is considered a turning point in World War II.
Hundreds of German bombers were shot down during the battle, almost all of them were smelted and turned into British aircraft, according to the museum.