The plane, a Martin 187 Baltimore light attack bomber, was lost 80 years ago when it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. Detectives searching for the plane have now finally located the remains after six years, relying on British, Italian and Commonwealth officers. data to put the mystery together.
The bomber was on a surveillance mission at the time of its fateful end.
The squadron’s records stated that the bomber left for a reconnaissance mission at 12:45 PM on June 15, 1942.
An entry in the squadron’s Operations Record Book said: “Stuck on a shipping search in the Pantelleria area, but did not return to base.
“No wireless contact.”
The plane had flown from its base in Malta before being forced to dive into Mediterranean waters.
Speculation suggests the plane was hit by enemy fire or suffered from engine failure.
The Baltimore crashed about 500 meters off the coast of Linosa, a small island south of Sicily.
It floated for a few minutes before diving under the waves, giving local fishermen time to wipe out and try to rescue the four crew members.
The personnel involved have been identified as Sergeant Francis Baum, an RAF pilot; Flight Sergeant Alick Greaves, a Royal Australian Air Force observer; Sergeant William Edward Fincham, a radio operator and gunner for the Royal Canadian Air Force; and Sergeant Robert Tettrell Purslow, an air gunner with the RAF.
Sergeant Greaves is believed to have lost his life in a collision, in which his body was transferred to the Medjez El-Bab War Cemetery in Tunisia.
The plane was found on the seabed in 2016, but it took locals six years to get war records and eyewitness accounts from locals together before they could identify it.
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Thousands of Martin Baltimore bombers were made during World War II, but they were mostly scrapped at the end of hostilities – the example found today is among the best preserved in the world.
Speaking of the find, the team said: “The wreckage is in an excellent state of preservation, apart from a crack midway through the fuselage and a small missing part of the left wing.
“It’s only partially submerged in the sand — the wings and tail are still raised above the seafloor.”
Alberto Samona, the official responsible for cultural heritage for Sicily, said: “Once again, a collaboration between local people, fishermen, divers and maritime heritage specialists led to the discovery of an exceptional wreck.”
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The wreck, found at a depth of 85 meters, was originally thought to be a very different aircraft: an RAF Bristol Beaufort.
But it has now been positively identified as a Martin Baltimore, flown by the RAF’s 69 Squadron when the unit was stationed at the Luqa airstrip in Malta.
Historians have said, “The squadron’s missions were mainly concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean and Ionian Seas, the Libyan coast, and later the Sicilian Channel.”
The Martin 187 Baltimore was a twin-engine light attack bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company in the United States as the A-30.
The model was originally ordered by the French in May 1940 as a follow-up to the earlier Martin Maryland, then in service in France.
With the fall of France, the production series was shifted to Great Britain and after mid-1941 supplied by the US as Lend-Lease equipment.
During production 1,575 units of the aircraft were produced.
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