Missing World War II fighter found (7 photos + 1 video)

On August 25, 1943, American pilot Warren Singer disappeared along with his P-38 Lightning during an attack on Italian airfields in the Foggia area. Only 80 years later, the fighter was found at a depth of 12 meters in the Bay of Manfredonia.





During that operation, 65 enemy aircraft were destroyed, but Lieutenant Singer never reached his target, and, according to Air Force records, he was last seen near Manfredonia, a city 35 kilometers east of Foggia.



80 years later, divers discovered the wreckage of Singer's plane at a depth of 12 meters in the Bay of Manfredonia.

At the time of his death, the pilot was only 22 years old, he was survived by his wife Margaret, whom he had married five months earlier, and who gave birth to a daughter, Peggy, in January 1944.





Upon hearing the news, Singer's grandson Dave Clark said:

"Warren is our hero and we love him. He was a very young man with love, hope and dreams. The amazing thing about this story is that he has 12 descendants. We are all alive because of the very short time Margaret and Warren spent together. My mother recently realized that three days had passed between the wedding and his departure to the front.”



Diver Fabio Bisciotti, who heads the underwater research team, said that Singer’s remains were not found:

"The plane is in pretty good condition... most likely there was a malfunction and it fell into the water. Anti-aircraft guns did not hit it - it was far from the coast, about 4 miles. The cockpit is open, so we are sure that the pilot managed to escape plane, and then who knows what happened. Maybe he tried to swim, but sank. We are sure that he drowned."



The diver was able to identify the sunken aircraft as a P-38 due to its distinctive design. He was also able to determine that it was Singer's fighter, since it was the only P-38 missing in the area, according to records.



Historian Steve Blake spoke about the circumstances of the pilot's disappearance. According to him, 166 P-38s took off from Tunisia that day, crossed the Apennine Peninsula, then followed the coast north to Manfredonia, after which they turned inland towards Foggia. 137 fighters reached their target, others turned away due to various mechanical problems, and one disappeared - Singer's plane.

The lieutenant, who was a second-year student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was pronounced dead a year and one day later, on August 26, 1944.



Divers found 50-caliber ammunition and the engine crankcase of a P-38 Lightning fighter