Sunken fighter plane lies in depths of Mediterranean Sea

ANTALYA

An Italian bomber aircraft, shot down by British ships during World War II, has been spotted once again lying in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea by an underwater documentary producer and cinematographer, along with his team.

Tahsin Ceylan and his team made a dive in the “flying fish” diving point between the southern province of Antalya’s Kaş and Meis Island and shared their findings with the local media.

The 1935 Italian-made "Savoia-Marchetti SM. 79 Sparviero" with three propellers they observed during the dive turned into a pile of metal in the course of time, as pointed out by Ceylan.

He provided details about the aircraft they observed during the dive they conducted at the diving spot, from where he had previously dived three times in 2008, 2010, and 2014.

“The aircraft is between 58 and 73 meters below the surface. Since our last dive, our aircraft — the silent witness of history — has not been able to withstand the passage of time, three propellers on the first engine and one on the second seem to have broken away as a result of oxidation. The third engine's propeller is on the verge of breaking off while the tail and body part no longer exist,” he explained.

Ceylan noted that the aircraft’s pilot was shot down while jumping down with a parachute and the body was later discovered by fishermen. Following the burial of the body in Kaş, Italian authorities claimed the body back and returned it back to their country, he said.

The producer also emphasized that Türkiye has excessive richness in terms of underwater cultural assets and especially carries various traces of World War I in the depths of its seas.

“The Historical Area Directorate's establishment and persistent efforts led to the opening of a large portion of the wreckage in [the Aegean province of] Çanakkale, which had been off-limits to diving for 110 years,” he pointed out.