(REUTERS) - The remains of a World War II Soviet plane and its two man crew have been discovered in a lake in central Poland.

The plane is believed to be an Ilyushin Il-2 and it is believed to have been shot down by the Germans in 1945.

"It was a Soviet plane. All inscriptions on it were written in Cyrillic script. The gun cartridges found on the plane indicates that the plane was shot down in 1943," said Zdzislaw Leszczynski, the director of the Wisla Muzeum in Wyszogrod, Poland.

"However the pilots wore furry shoes and were dressed in sheepskin coat - it suggests that the plane was shot down in January 1945."

For 70 years, the war plane and its crew remained buried in a watery grave until this summer when an extreme drought caused the lake water-levels to sink to an all-time low.

"People knew about the plane. The wreckage has even been examined by touch several times. However, it hasn't been excavated due to water-level which is usually two meters higher here, at least. Now it's possible to retrieve the wreckage," said Kamiona resident Boguslaw Ksyna.

A group of explorers and experts from a museum in Wyszogrod coordinated the excavation.

The wreckage and crew remains have been taken to Wyszogrod for further examination.