1916-2016: Celebrations for the centenary of the sinking of HMHS Britannic and the S/S Burdigala

According to the event website http://100years-kea-shipwrecks.org/  a three day commemorative event in Kea Island, Cyclades, Greece during the weekend  of Friday 30th September to  Sunday 2nd October 2016, will celebrate the “100 Years from the sinkings of S/S BURDIGALA & HMHS BRITANNIC”.

According to the local organisers, a series of lectures and other events will highlight the history of those shipwrecks, out of which the "Britannic" obviously stands out, not only because of her relation to the famous "Titanic", but also because of her pristine condition.

The Titanic is a shipwreck that has attracted the interest of the audience for over 100 years, since its sinking back in 1912.

Few are aware though that her sister ship the Britannic, sunk during WW1 in the Aegean Sea, Greece, on November 21st, 1916, with the loss of 30 persons out of the 1065 people on board and is now resting on the seabed in almost perfect condition.

The strait between Makronissos and Kea islands, just a few miles from the Temple of Poseidon on the southern tip of Attica, is one of the busiest sea passages, since antiquity with a history of 2500 years of navigation. 

"Victim" of the First World War, the Britannic was retrofitted into a hospital ship and sank after hitting a German mine that had been laid in late October by the German submarine U 73 and stayed for decades forgotten until the famous French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau located and identified it in 1975. 

Since then, several diving and scientific expeditions have visited the wreck, which is of great interest, both because of its almost perfect condition, almost 100 years after the sinking, and because of its historical and archaeological significance. 

Unlike the "Titanic" that dragged more than 1,500 people at the bottom of the sea, the "Britannic" was more... merciful since just 30 people perished with her.

The "identity" of the Britannic

The "Britannic", one of three almost identical ocean liners of the shipping company "White Star", (the other two being the "Titanic" which sank in 1912 and the "Olympic" which was sold for scrap in the 1920s) is synonymous with luxury transatlantic voyages in the early 20th century.

It was launched in February 1914

Requisitioned in December 1915

Sank in November 1916

Registered length: 259.80 meters

Gross registered tonnage: 48,158

Cruising speed: 21 knots

UPDATE! The "Bat", an Italian SM81 bomber between Kas and Kastellorizo

The aircraft wreck close to the coast of Turkey, located at sea between the city of Kas and the Greek island of Kastellorizo is not a SM79 "Sparviero" (hawk), as previously thought, but a SM81 "Pipistrello" (bat), with the code 223-4.

Details emerged as to its identity from Italian historians who researched the archives and found out the fate of this specific aircraft wreck, which was documented photographically by Turkish scuba diver and underwater explorer Asım Karsçakar

According to Italian researcher Corrado Ferrari, who pointed out the details, on the night of 25 February 1941, a British commando unit invaded the island of Kastellorizo, held at the time by Italians. 

At 11:25 of the next morning, 4 SM81 "Pipistrello" bombers of 223a Squadriglia took off from Cattavia air base in Rodos Island, in order to bomb the commando and to provide air support to the Italian garrison. 

At 12:00 a lone SM81 took off from the same air base to check the results of the bombing. 

As it was flying at a very low altitude it was hit by ground fire and was forced to ditch at sea, just 1 mile west of Kastellorizo. 

The plane was coded 223-4 - m.m. 20452 or 20492.

The pilot was tenente Oscar Pegna from Livorno. 

All the crew was later rescued by a Cant Z506 after refusing help from a Turkish boat. 

For this mission tenente Pegna was awarded the Italian silver medal and this fact is described in the explanatory statement of the medal (you can read it in the website  www.istitutonastroazzurro.org).

With special thanks to Asım Karsçakar for the underwater photos  and Corrado Ferrari for the updated information on the identity of the aircraft wreck.

The daring and successful Italian raid on HMS York in Suda Bay, Crete, 26 March 1941

York was disabled at Suda Bay in Crete by two Italian explosive motorboats (Italian: barchini esplosivi) of the Italian Regia Marina assault Flotilla Decima Flottiglia MAS, launched by destroyers Crispi and Sella on 26 March 1941.

Τhe two old destroyers were fitted with special cranes to operate assault craft. Six motorboats entered the bay, led by Tenente di vascello Luigi Faggioni, and attacked three targets in pairs; the first was York, second the tanker Pericles and last another ship at anchor. 

Three of the attacking boats had various problems, either mechanical or human, due to the extreme temperature conditions, but the other three successfully attacked their targets.

Two motorboats, packed with 330-kilogram (730 lb) charges in the bows, struck York amidships, flooding both boiler rooms and one engine room. Two British seamen were killed. All Italian sailors survived the attack and fell into British hands. The ship was run aground to prevent her from sinking.

The submarine HMS Rover  (read here the unknown story of HMS Rover) was used to supply electrical power to operate the cruiser's guns for anti-aircraft defence, but she was later severely damaged by air attack and had to be towed away for repairs. 

In this rare and previously unpublished photo, dated April 1941, HMS Rover is seen in Souda Bay, Crete

On 18 May, further damage was inflicted by German bombers and the ship was damaged beyond repair. 

Her main guns were wrecked by demolition charges on 22 May 1941 when the Allies began to evacuate Crete. 

York's wreck was salvaged in February 1952 and towed to Bari to be broken up, beginning on 3 March.

January 1941, Submarine Ops in the Adriatic Sea, from the Greek propaganda magazine "Naftiki Hellas" (Naval Greece)

WW2 Aircraft graveyard in Larissa, Greece, April-May 1941

Photos appeared in the Group 

Aeronautiche della Seconda Guerra Mondiale

Ο... σωσίας του Κρικέλα

Ο τύπος ο κοντός στη μέση της ομηγύρεως, ο... σωσίας του Κρικέλα είναι;

V Σύνταγμα Πυροβολικού Ε1543Σ

Όχημα DAAG 3 τόνων 4Χ2 από τις γερμανικές αποζημιώσεις του Α ΠΠ, σύμφωνα με τον ιστοριοδίφη, ερευνητή και δημοσιογράφο-συγγραφέα Τάσο Τσιπλάκο. 

Asım Karsçakar: The underwater explorer from Turkey and the WW2 Wreck of the "Hawk of Kastellorizo"

Experienced technical scuba diver Asım Karsçakar from Turkey made some very interesting undewater shots of an Italian WW2 bomber SM-79 "Sparviero" ("Hawk").

"I dived this aircraft back in 1990 to 1992 and had the opportunity to take some photos and contact the Italian authorities regarding the identity of the aircraft", Mr. Karsçakar says. 

The aircraft wreck, according to Mr. Karsçakar,  is located at a depth of 65 to 78 metres close to the city of Kas in Turkey, in the vicinity of the Greek island of Kastellorizo.

 

"Back in 1992 there were no digital cameras, which make the underwater photography easier today" Mr. Karsçakar says, adding: "I shot all the underwater shots of the aircraft with my Nikonos 5 camera and given the depth of the wreck and the age of the photos, they are really good".

Mr. Karsçakar contacted the Italian authorities, notifying them about the presence of the aircraft wreck and found out more details as to its origin.

The aircraft wreck belongs to an Italian SM79 which operated from the Greek island of Rodos (under Italian occupation at the time) and was probably lost in 1943, during the Battle for the Dodecanese Islands, between the nazi Germans and the Allies, which resulted in a German victory.

Here is what Mr. Karsçakar has to say about the discovery of the aircraft: 

"This plane was first discovered in 1986 or 1987 by a German dive club owner in Kaş city. But he preferred to keep the secret to himself... for some years. I dived there in 1990 and then shot those pictures in 1991-1992.These are the first pictures of this aircraft wreck ever to appear.

After I had this letter exchange with the Italian authorities. Now this place is a well known place for experienced and technical divers."

 

FOUND! A downed WW2 German Bf109 fighter aircraft frozen in time!

The island of Crete, the "graveyard of the nazi fallschirmjagers", a title earned because of the horrific casualties the German elite paratroopers suffered during the invasion of the island in May 1941, is a battlefield that still yields relics related to the fierce battles fought on the ground, as well as at sea and in the air.

One such relic, at a depth of just 8 metres, located at a distance of  150 to 200 metres from the shores of Crete is a shot down Messerschmitt Bf 109 German fighter aircraft, which still awaits to be positively identified.

During the Battle of Crete, the Germans had full air superiority and their only opponents were Allied antiaircraft guns, as the last RAF aircraft withdrew to Egypt on the eve of the invasion, leaving the skies at the mercy of the nazis.

The aircraft remains are upside down at the sea bottom and sea currents usually cover them with sand. Occasionally, the aircraft "reappears", only to be covered again by a protective layer of sand. 

Divers from Crete George Tsampas and Stelios Tripalitakis seized the opportunity and shot pics of the downed aircraft on some of the occasions it "appeared" on the seabed and shared them with aviationarchaeology.gr 

 Read more here

Found! A Bf109 shot down in Crete and the... "Odyssey" of the pilot to Australia and back

An unknown page of the Battle of Crete came literally back to the surface, as underwater explorers of aviationarchaeology.gr checked on the remains of a WW2 aircraft in the Bay of Suda, Crete.

The divers, made all necessary measurements of the aircraft and after consulting the official accounts of the Battle, concluded that the downed aircraft was a German Messerschmitt Bf 109-Ε7, Werk Νο 4173 (12/39) piloted by Berthold Jung.

According to the details that emerged from the seabed, 75 years after the Battle of Crete, the Bf109 piloted by Jung took off from Molai airport in the Peloponnese, mainland Greece on May 20, in order to attack Allied shipping and land targets in the area of Suda Bay, Crete.  

Dense antiaircraft fire caused several casualties among the attacking aircraft and Jung's Bf109 got a direct hit and had to be ditched at sea.

The aircraft remains are at a depth of 40 metres. Jung's story is quite interesting too: Having survived the crash, he was taken as a prisoner of war by the Allies, eventually finding himself in Australia, where he remained at a PoW Camp up until 1947. After his return to Germany, Jung worked as an interpreter. He then joined the newly established postwar German Navy, reaching the rank of Rear Admiral and after his retirement (1973) he became President of the German Red Cross in Kiel. He died in 1992.

Read more here

Acclaimed historian Antony Beevor's letter on the trial of Heinz Richter