Faded photos, vivid memories: The search for Walter Hilliam killed in 1941, from New Zealand to Crete
By Pierre Kosmidis Photos submitted by Noel Hilliam Recently Mr. Noel Hilliam, from New Zealand, contacted www.ww2wrecks.com as his uncle, Private Walter H. Hilliam, 2nd NZEF, 21 Battalion, was most probably killed in action during the Battle of Crete, or died of his wounds shortly afterwards (June 2nd, 1941), with no details known of his last resting place. […]
The first radar assisted attack of a submarine in WW2: The story of HMS Proteus and the German steamer Ithaka torpedoed in the Aegean on 10 November 1941
By Pierre Kosmidis Photos submitted by William McGowan and used by permission Burial photos submitted by Dimitris Skartsilakis and used by permission The transport ship “Ithaka”, carrying 507 German soldiers, as well as cargo, including 80 tons of ammunition, sailed from Piraeus to Souda in Crete. She was escorted by patrol boats 11 V1 and 12 V4. […]
FOUND! The lost Panzer Division and the wreck of “Marburg” full of German tanks and guns
By Pierre Kosmidis The photo of the Italian Archivio Centrale Dello Stato files, reason for the investigation of the ship’s identity – Photo Credit: LUCE/George Karelas Research: George Karelas and Gerasimos Sotiropoulos Photos: As credited Text: Pierre Kosmidis By May 21st, 1941 the Germans had concluded the invasion of mainland Greece, codenamed “Operation Marita” and […]
Το Seafire που συνετρίβη στις 7 Οκτωβρίου του 1944 στην Κω, από το Γιάννη Λιοντή
By Pierre Kosmidis Οι φωτογραφίες είναι του Γιάννη Λιοντή και δημοσιεύονται με την άδειά του Ο κ. Γιάννης Λιοντής από την Κω, είναι ερευνητής της Ιστορίας του πανέμορφου νησιού του Αιγαίου κατά τη διάρκεια του Β’ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου και έχει στην κατοχή του ένα σημαντικό εύρημα, το οποίο φωτίζει μια άγνωστη σελίδα της Ιστορίας του νησιού. […]
Seafire LIII, NF638/S-Z from HMS Stalker 809 Sqn, lost on October 7th, 1944, during Operation “Outing II”
By Pierre Kosmidis Photos submitted by Yannis Liontis and used by permission Mr. Yannis Liontis, from the island of Kos in Greece, is a researcher and history enthusiast, who has come up with a very interesting relic, that tells a forgotten story from World War 2. Kos island, Greece, where the Seafire crashed, killing its […]
Then and Now: 1941-2018, the landscapes that remind us of the Battle of Crete, by Andreas Sfakianakis
By Pierre Kosmidis Photos submitted by Andreas Sfakianakis and used by permission Respected researcher Andreas Sfakianakis from Crete, is considered to be among the best in identifying landscapes from WW2 photos and has once again provided www.ww2wrecks.com with a wonderful series of “Then & Now” pictures, that demonstrate how little, or how much in certain cases, […]
ΝΕΑ ΕΥΡΩΠΗ: Ο δοσιλογικός τύπος και οι εβραϊκές περιουσίες
By Pierre Kosmidis Στο φύλλο της 29ης Μαρτίου του 1943, της δοσιλογικής εφημερίδας ΝΕΑ ΕΥΡΩΠΗ, η οποία κυκλοφορούσε στη Θεσσαλονίκη, ανάμεσα στα άρθρα για τις “περηφανείς νίκες των γερμανικών ενόπλων δυνάμεων στο Ανατολικόν Μέτωπον και την Τυνησίαν”, ξεχωρίζει και μια ανακοίνωση του φρουράρχου Θεσσαλονίκης, η οποία αναφέρει: “ΤΙΜΩΡΕΙΤΑΙ ΑΥΣΤΗΡΟΤΑΤΑ Η ΕΙΣΟΔΟΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΑ ΟΙΚΙΑΣ […]
Then and Now: 1941-2018 in Crete, by researcher Andreas Sfakianakis
By Pierre Kosmidis Research and photos: Andreas Sfakianakis Mr. Andreas Sfakianakis, a researcher from Crete, has identified the exact locations of photos shot in 1941, which are the property of the Australian War Memorial. In these photos, which date back to April 1941, the Allied Forces are expecting the German onslaught, which took place roughly a […]
A Bf109 aircraft wreck shot down in 1944! Help us identify it!
By Pierre Kosmidis Not far from the northern coast of Crete, close to Anissaras, at approximately 800 metres from the beach, in a sandy seafloor, 27 metres under the surface, a German Messerschmitt Bf109 fighter aircraft is lying upside down, frozen in time. Underwater photographer Philippos Marakis, born in 1982 in Crete, captured unique photos […]
The unknown story of the Italian submarine “Axum”, lost in Greece, 29 December 1943
By Pierre Kosmidis The Royal Italian Navy Submarine “Axum”, (Regio sommergibile “Axum”), named after the ancient city in Ethiopia, was commissioned on 2 December 1936 and had a quite successful career during WW2, including many patrols and the torpedo attack against Allied shipping on August 12 1942, which resulted in the sinking of one ship and damaging of […]