It has been lost to the sea since it was shot down during a fierce firefight in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

But more than 70 years after its final flight, the last remaining Dornier 17 German bomber has resurfaced thanks to a ground-breaking recovery mission organised by the Hendon RAF Museum.

Project organisers carried out “the most complex and delicate operation in the museum’s history” to successfully lift the famed Second World War plane from its resting place in the Goodwin Sands, 50 feet below water off the Kent Coast.

Staff were left “awestruck” when the aircraft finally broke the water on Monday evening at 6.30pm, following weeks of patiently waiting for clear weather conditions.

The plane is currently being broken up ready for ground-breaking restoration work at the start of a two-year journey that will eventually see it displayed at the Grahame Park Way museum.

Ajay Srivastava, of the museum, described the moment staff watched live as the aircraft, used widely in German raids during the Battle of Britain, broke the surface of the water on Monday.

He said: “We were awestruck – it was just a great moment. We’re all really excited. We have been working on this project for some time and to see its fruition is amazing – the recovery went perfectly.”

Dive crews were forced to call off their first attempt on May 2 because of bad weather and had to spend five frustrating weeks waiting for perfect conditions.

Mr Srivastava said: “You can only dive in the area at certain times of the year and we were running out of good weather. There was a small window in which to do it and fortunately we were able to.”

The £600,000 project was largely funded by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, as well as private and individual donors.

Aviation and conservation experts are hoping to learn a lot from the wreckage, which was recovered upside down but largely intact.

Mr Srivastava said the museum plans to keep the plane as a wreck and it could even be displayed upside down in the form it was discovered.

He said: “It is a great project. It will help us better tell the story of the Battle of Britain, learn more about the technology involved and learn much more about conservation techniques.

“It is the biggest lift of its kind in English seas and we’re delighted to have succeeded.”