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wreck hunter have see the wreck of a British submarine that sank near Greece in 1943 , work out an 81 - twelvemonth - old mystery about its disappearance .
HMS Trooper , designated N91 , go missing after a hugger-mugger mission in other October 1943 to land three Grecian resistance federal agent on Kalamos , an island on the west coast of Greece . The sub was then ordered to police in the Aegean Sea , where German force out were later hump to have pose naval mine .
The wreck of HMS Trooper was discovered at a depth of 770 feet in the Aegean Sea north of the island of Donoussa.
But the U-boat was reported leave out and all 64 of its crew presumed dead when it bomb to arrive in Beirut on Oct. 17 , 1943 .
Researchers led by Greek underwater expertKostas Thoctarideshave now located the Trooper ’s wreck , north of the cardinal Aegean island of Donoussa in a region known as the Icarian Sea , which is plagued by risky atmospheric condition .
" The Icarian Sea is one of the most unmanageable seas with impregnable steer , waves and warm underwater stream , " Thoctarides told Live Science . " However , unceasing and relentless research paid off . "
The British submarine was reported missing on Oct. 17, 1943 with 64 crew on board and was thought to have sunk near the island of Leros.(Image credit: Κostas Thoctarides/Planet Blue)
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Thoctarides is the founder and owner of the Greek underwater convalescence companyPlanet Blue . He said 14 earlier expedition had failed to locate the crash of HMS Trooper because they were look too far east , where the hero sandwich had reportedly been seen on Oct. 14 , 1943 .
Icarian Sea
Thoctarides and other researchers consider wartime account and determine that HMS Trooper may have sunk originally in October 1943 , among busy Greek islands west of that surface area . Their inquiry raise right when they locate the wreck of HMS Trooper on Oct. 3 , 2024 .
Thoctarides said the wreck was first ascertain using shipboard sonar , which create a detailed map of the seafloor using the reflection of sound pulses ; and then explore with a " Super Achille " remotely - operated fomite ( ROV ) .
The Trooper now lies on the seafloor at a depth of about 830 feet ( 253 meter ) — the 8th wartime submarine wreck that Planet Blue had chance on in Greek piddle , he said .
Many earlier searches for the wreck had failed, and new research suggested that the HMS trooper may have sunk farther to the west than assumed.(Image credit: Κostas Thoctarides/Planet Blue)
A prominent explosion had broken the sub into three large parts — the arc , the midship , and the stern — which seems to confirm the researchers ' suspicion that it sank after come to a German naval mine .
It also indicates that the report sighting of HMS Trooper on Oct. 14 , 1943 was incorrect ; or else , it seems the sighting was of another British submarine of the same class , Thoctarides said .
British submarine
fit in to a statement from Planet Blue , the badly damage wreck has been identify by comparing it to the original shipbuilding plans .
An open hatch on the command or " conning " towboat suggests the vessel was sailing on the airfoil when it struck the mine .
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The submarine was torn apart in a final explosion, probably caused by a German naval mine, but it has been identified by comparisons to shipbuilding plans.(Image credit: Κostas Thoctarides/Planet Blue)
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The crash is a state of war grave , so it has not been disturbed in any way , the financial statement say ; and the find may help oneself bring closure to the kinsfolk of those who die .
" I have been aware for many year of the strenuous effort by the Greek enquiry team to situate the shipwreck of the submarine and am now very pleased and mad that their endeavours have been honor , " Capt . Richard Wraith of Britain ’s Royal Navy and the Word of the Trooper ’s commandant , Lt . John Wraith , said in the program line .
" I go for that any family members of those lost with my father may be able to use the definitive emplacement of Trooper as a focal point to help set to ease any memories of their sleep with ones . "
HMS Trooper was built in Scotland and launched in 1942. It sank several enemy vessels in its short wartime service but disappeared in October 1943.
