Spitfire wreck located on Maltese seabed

The Virtual Underwater Museum in Malta has published a series of images revealing the submerged wreck of a Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc, sitting upright on the seabed at a depth of some 70m.

It had been discovered 12 months earlier during a commercial sonar survey close to Malta's second island, Gozo.

The submerged wreck of what is believed to be Spitfire Mk.Vc ES182.
The submerged wreck of what is believed to be Spitfire Mk.Vc ES182. VIRTUAL UNDERWATER MUSEUM

While the aircraft’s identity is yet to be confirmed, reports suggest the airframe is likely to be ES182 – which was lost with its pilot, 2nd Lt John B Steven Jr of the USAAF – on June 30, 1943.

Assigned to the 31st Fighter Group’s 308th Fighter Squadron, the aircraft disappeared following a missed approach to the airfield at Xewkija on the south of the island while returning from a combat mission in Tunisia in preparation for Operation Husky, the planned Allied invasion of Sicily.

Although the RAF Air-Sea Rescue Unit on Malta is recorded as having picked up a distress call and conducted a search in the area, no trace of ES182 or its pilot were found – until now. At this time the fate of the pilot remains unknown, with reports that no human remains have been located at the wreck site.