The Royal Air Force Museum plans to display this German bomber as part of a Battle of Britain exhibit after it was found perfectly preserved in the English Channel. (submitted photo)

A German bomber that never made it to the coast during the Battle of Britain - shot down on Aug. 26, 1940 - has been found again.

"Sidescan geophysical sonar survey showed that the Dornier 17, known as 'The Flying Pencil', is very well preserved," a representative from the Royal Air Force Museum in London said.

The plane, which served in Germany's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, was a five-person medium-range bomber. Named the Flying Pencil because of its extremely sleek design, the plane also carried a 20mm cannon, 13mm machine gun and three 7.9mm machine guns for defence. They came together to protect nearly 1,000 kg of bombs destined for - in this case - a military airfield in England.

A spokesperson for the museum told the Daily Mail newspaper that the aircraft is so well preserved because it actually managed to land safely after it was shot down. But having landed on a wet sandbank in the English channel, it quickly sank, killing two of the crew.

The pilot and two others were captured.

Efforts are now underway to raise the plane and make it a focal point of a new museum display about the Battle of Britain.