Copping, part of the RAF's Egyptian 260 Squadron, was trying to get the American-built plane back in fighting condition in the run-up to what would prove to be the pivotal Battle of El Alamein.

CNN: British WWII fighter found in Egyptian desert

His connections with the Company had begun in 1955 on the plane home from fighting in Korea, when he was given a name and a number to call by a man who then disappeared.

ECONOMIST: Edwin P. Wilson