WWII Soviet fighter plane wreckage found in Hungary with pilot's items

The wreckage of a Soviet World War II fighter plane was recently uncovered about 17 feet underground in the village of Törtel, Hungary, according to the Hungarian Museum of Military History and local media.

Excavators recovered several relatively intact parts of the Yakovlev Yak-1 aircraft, including a piece of the red star insignia and part of the fuselage showing the jet's side number, museum officials said.

Alongside the plane debris, personal items belonging to the pilot were found, notably a book containing the pilot's signature, which museum experts are currently restoring.

Researchers traced the wreckage to a November 1944 aerial duel over Törtel between German Lt. Peter Düttmann and Soviet Lt. Alexander Semyonovich Andrianov, with the Soviet plane shot down and the pilot captured after parachuting to safety.

The Hungarian military museum plans to exhibit the best-preserved pieces after completing restoration and documentation work by its archaeology department.