It's been decades since World War II, but a 14-year-old Danish boy just uncovered a wartime mystery while doing research for his history class.

CNN reports that Daniel Kristiansen and his father, Klaus, discovered the wreckage of a German World War II plane—what's believed to be a Messerschmitt fighter plane—with remainders of the pilot in the cockpit.

"We went out to the field with a metal detector," Klaus Kristiansen told CNN. "I hoped we might find some old plates or something for Daniel to show in school."

Instead, they discovered the remnants buried in their field on the farm near Birkelse in northern Denmark. After using an excavator from a neighbor, they dug down several meters.

"At first we were digging up a lot of dirt with metal fragments in it. Then we suddenly came across bones and pieces of clothes," Kristiansen said. "It was like opening a book from yesterday."

Kristiansen told CNN that his grandfather said there was a German plane that had crashed on the farm in November or December 1944. "I mainly thought it was just a good story," Kristiansen said.

The curator at the Historical Museum of Northan Jutland believes they'll be able to confirm the pilot's identity soon. "We found the pilot's papers, and I think we have a name," Torben Sarauw, curator and head of archaeology at the museum, told CNN. "It's quite a special find."

The pilot was also found with his suit, hat, three unused condoms, and his wallet, which contained Danish coins and food stamps for hte canteen at the Aalborg base. "Maybe he can have a proper funeral," Kristiansen said.

(H/T CNN)

From: Esquire US