By Dean Murray

Archaeologists are working to recover a young US WWII pilot from an Essex field.

2nd Lieutenant Lester Leo Lowry was just 23 when his fighter plane plunged into the ground on a cloudy day in 1944.

At the time, there was no indication he ejected and there was no sign of a body.

A six-week archaeological recovery is underway on private farmland in North Essex, to investigate the crash site of the P-47 Thunderbolt using modern techniques.

The operation, led by Cotswold Archaeology in partnership with the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), aims to locate evidence from the aircraft and, if possible, recover remains related to the young fighter-pilot for repatriation to the United States.

The team have already surveyed over 2,300m² and recovered close to 5,000

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