The Antikythera Martin Baltimore and the dramatic story of an air battle in December 1943

Aircraft wrecks, Photo gallery, WW2, WW2 in Greece, WW2 Wrecks

Text by Marinos Giourgas

Photos by Vasilis Spyropoulos

 

Antikythera is a small island located between the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Crete. It is famous for the ancient Greek hand powered mechanism used as a model of the solar system which was discovered off its east coast by a group of sponge divers from Symi in the early 1900s. But is this all this tiny island hides under the surface of the Aegean Sea…?

The aircraft

The Martin Baltimore was a twin engined light attack bomber designed and built in the United States in the 1940s. This aircraft undertook a variety of missions in the Middle East, Mediterranean and European theaters, including reconnaissance, target-towing, maritime patrol, night intruder and even served as highly uncomfortable fast transport. No. 454 Squadron RAAF part of RAF Middle East Command’s 201 Group, was based at LG.91 RAF El Amiriya in Egypt, and had the role of maritime patrol squadron. Operating in the Mediterranean Theatre for a period of almost a year and a half, No. 454 Squadron attacked targets in Greece and Crete, concentrating on anti-submarine patrols and striking merchant shipping, operating from several different locations including Amiriya, LG.143/Gambut III, RAF St Jean and Berka III using the Martin Baltimores from 1943 to 1945.

Anti aircraft gun base

On the 3rd of December 1943 the RAAF Baltimore with Pilot P/O (later F/L) William Alroy Hugh ‘Alan’ ORSLEY RAAF, (POW at Stalag Luft III) and crew P/O Colin William WALKER, (W/Ag.) 403291 RAAF KIA, W/O John ‘Shorty’ G ARTSIDE, (W/Ag.) NZ 404599 RNZAF KIA, F/L Leslie Norman ROW, (N)117013RAFVR KIA, was concluding its reconnaissance flight over the Aegean islands taking aerial photos of the position of the fleet of the Axis Powers when it was noticed by two German Me 109 that pursued it. The Baltimore managed to escape from the two German aircrafts and started a low flight route from the island of Serifos towards the island of Antikythera which was used as a waypoint by the Allied Air Forces airplanes on their return to their bases on the North coast of Africa, in this case in Amiriya, Egypt.

The author examining the turret with the machine guns of the Martin Baltimore

Upon approaching the waypoint and while on a visual with the island of Kythera another pair of German Bf 109 spotted the Baltimore. The flight plan used by the Allies during their operation over the Aegean Sea has been carefully analyzed by the Germans who were observing the airplanes from their various bases on the Greek Islands. The plan to intercept the Allied aircrafts was carefully prepared by the Germans and they had made modifications to the Me 109s to patrol the area more efficiently. The two Messerschmitt  Bf109 from the Jg 27 on Crete attacked the Baltimore seven times with severe blows to its structure resulting in its left wing bursting into flames.

Documenting the aircraft

The pilot decided to ditch the aircraft near the north coast of the island of Antikythera, and prepared himself and the crew by removing the canopy. According to his report during ditching he hit his head, passed out and recovered when the water was up to the level of his neck only to realize that the airplane was going down nose first. He got out of the Baltimore and started swimming while looking for the other members of his crew but he could not see anyone. He swam for about 250 meters and ended up on a rock on the north shore of the island of Antikythera. From there he was saved by a local fisherman and surrendered to the German island guard and ended up as a POW at Stalag.

The first attempts

In August 2017 our wreck researchers G. Karelas and N. Karatzas went to Antikythera and gathered some information from the locals about the Martin Baltimore that was resting on the seabed there.

They managed to locate the son of the fisherman who had rescued the Pilot P/O (later F/L) William Alroy Hugh ‘Alan’ ORSLEY RAAF from the rock he was resting after swimming the distance from the ditched airplane to the shore on the 3rd of December 1943. This meeting gave us a rough idea on where to search for the missing aircraft but unfortunately due to heavy weather it was not possible to dive on that day.

Examining debris from the aircraft

The project was now locked in our minds and we needed to go back to Antikythera and start our search. Last June the AegeanTec team got involved and after securing the right equipment from V. Mentogiannis we joined forces with G. Lampoglou and his Kythera Dive Center and visited the little island in order to start our research.

The results of our efforts with the sonar were inconclusive as we managed to locate several possible targets for further investigation but none of them gave us the certainty that it was the missing Baltimore. On the way back from this trip we were already looking for a way to go back and start all over again. However, the trip to this tiny island from our base in Athens is not an easy one and we had to make sure that next time we will be better prepared. The local community played a significant role all this time and they were keen on helping us. Mr. George Harhalakis, the Head of the local community, Mr. N. Konstantinidis, Mr. A. Harhalakis, and local fishermen all embraced our efforts and supported us in finding the spot.

The dives

In mid-July the divers of AegeanTec were back in Antikythera ready to explore the possible targets locked by our sonar and based on the information form the locals we dived the area of interest in the early morning of 14th of July 2024.

We had prepared a plan for a dive to 70-75m and together with Vasilis Spyropoulos, our underwater photographer, we got ready to enter the water eager to find out what the Aegean Sea is hiding from us.

Rear section of the fuselage

The shot line landed next to an aluminum piece of the fuselage and we were sure that the Baltimore was somewhere there. The DPVs were in full swing and after about 5 minutes of cruising at a depth of +60m we saw a shadow that gave an accelerated rhythm to our heart beat.

Is this what we were looking for the last seven years? Is this the Martin Baltimore that met its destiny 81 years ago? As we were approaching the shadow we realized that we stumbled across a new wreck which was not an airplane but possibly a small sailing cargo vessel of about 40m in length that was resting there for an undetermined number of years. This wreck requires further investigation to unveil its story, but this was not our mission on that date. With mixed feelings we continued our search with the DPVs and about 2 minutes away from the newly discovered wreck we saw another shadow with a prop blade sticking out from the rest of the structure. Yes! That was an airplane!

We approached the structure and it was exactly what we expecting it to be. A Martin Baltimore with the front section in bad shape and parts missing, the pilot canopy removed, exactly as the pilot described in his report, and the 2 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns in dorsal turret sticking out ready to face the enemy aircrafts pursuing it. The fuselage was in very good condition and compared to other wrecks that I have dived in the past it was not covered with marine life to the degree that one usually sees in other areas. The section between the dome with the machine guns and the rear wing was in bad shape and a big part of it was missing.

The author documenting the cockpit of the Baltimore

We believe this is due to either the plane’s landing on the seabed or due to the actions of fishing trawlers in the area. From the broken areas of the rear and front section of the aircraft we were able to see the interior space of the fuselage and took several photos to document this finding.

The seats of the pilot and the crew were there to remind us of the brave men who were once flying in the European skies fighting to restoring peace and freedom on the continent. No human remains were spotted inside the airplane but a lot of the airplane’s equipment, the throttle levers, the rudder pedals, the instruments, fire extinguisher base and other parts covered with marine life were apparent to us.

The blades of the propellers were all bent indicating that the aircraft ditched to the surface of the water in a violent way and possibly not under the full control of the brave pilot resulting in the breaking apart of the missing front section of the aircraft.

The interior with the seat of the gunman in the background

The two machine guns sticking out from the turret on top of the fuselage were intact and still pointing against the enemy Me 109 aircrafts chasing the Baltimore. During our dives we noticed that the fuselage was extremely narrow making it impossible for the crew members to change positions if required during the flight. From what we read about this type of aircraft the crewmembers complained about the cramped conditions in the Martin Baltimores similar to those in the earlier Maryland bombers. The two wings were not broken and looked in good shape. The left wing has a different darker color than the right one, probably because of the fire caused by the two attacking German Messerschmitts that were pursuing the Baltimore.

During our two dives to this aircraft, we did not locate any other identified physical components on the site: ID plates, serial numbers etc., however, after studying the records and discussing with the son of the fisherman who rescued the RAAF pilot this Baltimore is believed to be the FW282:P that ditched off Antikythera on the 3rd of December 1943.

The Martin Baltimore resting on the seabed of the Aegan Sea

Our team conducts these dives with the purpose of documenting these wrecks, so that future generations learn and appreciate the history of their land, and by paying our respects to all those brave people who took part in these fierce battles.

Our endeavor in the Aegean Sea off Antikythera was fully supported by both the local community and the authorities and we thank them for appreciating our efforts.

Special thanks to John Womack and Otter Drysuits for supporting AegeanTec.

This trip to Antikythera was made for the extra purpose of immersing the new Otter Aegean Drysuit for the first time as we could not think of a better place to do so than deep in the Aegean Sea! A full report on the new drysuit will soon be out!

The pilot's seat

Mission accomplished

Our mission was accomplished not only because of the two new wrecks we found but also because we added more things to show on the island of Antikythera and say about its history than just its unique ancient wreck and the ancient Greek first analogue computer example. This could be the first step in making it a new diving destination in Greece for the international technical diving community.

Sources

  1. Alamein to the Alps by Mark Lax
  2. Karelas personal archives
  3. Aviation Archaeology in Greece – Archives of N. Karatzas
  4. Wikipedia

Vasilis examining the cockpit