The British air force bomber Martin Baltimore, sunk in World War II, is controlled by an expedition diver off the Sicilian coast.
A plane that crashed in the Mediterranean 80 years ago during World War II has finally been identified as a British Royal Air Force (RAF) bomber, according to experts. The plane, forcibly crashed from 500 meters off the Italian island of flax seed in June 1942, it is a Martin Baltimore bomber Made in the USA but managed by the RAF.
He had four people on board: two from the RAF and one from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
The wreck, discovered in 2016, is described by the authorities as in an “exceptional state of conservation” and of “great historical and symbolic value”. No other World War II Martin Baltimore is known to exist in such a well-preserved state, they claim.
The Martin Baltimore bomber was built in the United States but also operated for the British RAF during World War II.
Experts separately knew who the crew members were on the plane and where they were last seen, but until they confirmed the identity of the remains they have not been able to gather all the information. The findings are based on a combination of war documents, new wreck investigations and eyewitness accountsincluding that of a local who saw the plane fall from the sky during its fateful reconnaissance mission 80 years ago.
The results of many years of research that led to the unraveling of this mystery were announced by Superintendence of the Seathe Superintendence for the Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the Sea, a body of the Autonomous Region of Sicily.
“The mystery and the fog that enveloped the identity of the sunken wreck in front of the ‘Fanalino de Linosa’ it has finally dissipated … To date, no aircraft wreckage of the Second World War so well preserved has been reported in the Sicilian seas “, reads a note.
The Martin Baltimore bomber, controlled by an expedition diver off the Sicilian island of Linosa
The bomber took off at 00:45 on June 15, 1942 from the airport of Luca, in Malta, to observe the naval traffic in the area around the island of Pantelleria. But he crashed off the Italian island of Linosa, probably because he was shot or his engines failed. The RAF light bomber is now in action 85 meters below the water surface in front of Linosa.
Martin Baltimore aircraft in such excellent condition after surviving WWII and any subsequent decommissioning are unknown to this day, the Superintendency of the Sea said. In fact, only a handful of museums have similar aircraft parts; in Greece there is one but it is semi-destroyed.
Experts say this particular Martin Baltimore (serial number Mk II AG699) is partially submerged in sand, but the wings and tail are still raised above the seabed, however the wreck has some damage. Has a crack in the middle of the fuselage and a small part of the left wing is missing.
RAF bomber Martin Baltimore is missing part of the left rear wing.
It was first found in 2016 and filmed as part of a seabed mapping and habitat monitoring project using a remotely controlled vehicle (ROV). Divers of the Capo Murro Diving Center in Syracuse they returned to the shipwreck this year to make “substantial video documentation”.
“The collaboration between the local population, fishermen, divers and maritime heritage specialists has led to the discovery of an exceptional wreck,” he told the British press. Alberto Samonaofficial in charge of the cultural heritage of Sicily.
According to Royal Air Force Commands, a forum for RAF investigators, the Baltimore II AG699 had four people aboard: the British pilot sergeant. Francis William Baum; The observer sergeant of the RAAF Alick Greaves; RCAF machine gunner, sergeant. William Edward Finchamand the RAF gunner, the sergeant. Robert Tettrell Purslow.
Sergeant Greaves was killed on impact as the bomber hit the sea and it was buried in the war cemetery of Medjez El-Bab, Tunisia. The other three were rescued by local fishermen who rowed towards the wreck, although Sergeant Purslow died in a prison camp in Wolfsberg, Austria in December 1943.
The wreck reportedly floated for a few minutes before diving, giving fishermen a chance to do so save the three men.
The attacker is in an “exceptional state of conservation” due to various fortuitous circumstances, including a soft amortization with engines off, as evidenced by the integrity of the structure. Furthermore, the depth of the wreck and its distance from land mean that it has been largely inaccessible to tourist divers and the use of sports equipment.
Source: Clarin