AD 2017 Q1

of formation and began a slow
left turn due to a tail flutter.
The crew, ordered to bail out,
parachuted into the middle
of the Adriatic about 50 miles
north of the island of Vis. An
intensive rescue mission was
launched. Despite high swells
and strong winds, the captain of
the PBY Catalina succeeded in
making an open-sea landing and
taking aboard five survivors.
But the aircraft could not take
off — it began to fill with water
and was abandoned. Its crew
and the men they had rescued
were picked up by a British
Landing Craft Infantry (LCI),
an amphibious ship, and taken
to safety on Vis. Another air
rescue saved two additional
members of the bomber’s crew,
while the remaining four crew
members were never found.
The well-preserved remains
of the PBY Catalina are now
part of the sea. Though the
plane’s tail is lost and some of
its lower portion is partially
buried in the sand, most of its
features are easy to recognize
even though the aircraft is
totally covered by encrusting
marine life after 72 years in the
Adriatic Sea.
In accordance with Croatian
law, the wrecks’ finders
declared their discoveries to the
appropriate government and
military authorities, and it is now
forbidden to dive the sites. After
the required surveys and recovery,
the site will be opened to the
public to dive under permits given
to dive centers in compliance with
Croatian law. AD
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