Since 2000, at least 14 expedition crews have unsuccessfully tried to find the final resting place of the HMS Trooper, but the ill-fated World War II submarine has finally been located. According to researchers, the British vessel resides 830-feet-down at the bottom of the Icarian Sea, near the Greek island of Donoussa—and the wreckage indicates an underwater mine is to blame.
In early October 1943, the HMS Trooper set a course for the Greek island of Kalamos, where its 64 crew members were to deploy three resistance fighters.The submarine then was ordered to patrol the Aegean Sea, a region littered with German naval mines. Although scheduled to dock in Beirut on October 17, the Trooper never arrived, and its crew has remained missing in action ever since.
Recovery crews attempted for years to locate the submarine’s remains based on its final supposed sighting on October 14, 1943. But Kostas Thoctarides, founder and owner of an underwater recovery company Planet Blue, theorized a different scenario: the last known sighting wasn’t the Trooper, but another submarine of the same class. If true, then the vessel would likely be further west than previously assumed.
Thoctarides and his crew scoured their newly proposed region using a shipboard sonar system, eventually detecting a sizable mass at the bottom of the sea near the Aegean island of Donussa. They then deployed the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) “Super Achille” to get a better look, and finally confirmed the Trooper’s location on October 3. Solving the 81-year-old mystery wasn’t smooth sailing, however, since the Icarian Sea is notorious for its dangerous weather conditions.
“The Icarian Sea is one of the most difficult seas with strong winds, waves, and strong underwater currents,” Thoctarides explained in an interview with LiveScience on October 15.
Visual analysis of the Trooper severely damaged wreckage appears to confirm the submarine succumbed to one of the German mines. According to the Greek news agency ANA-MPA, the explosion appears to have broken the sub into three separate parts, the longest of which is a stern section about 106-feet-long. Given that a hatch on the conning tower is still open, experts also believe the ship likely sank while sailing along the surface.
[Related: ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ rediscovered with underwater drones.]
Capt. Richard Wraith of the British Royal Navy expressed his congratulations to the Planet Blue team, along with his hope that “any family members of those lost… may be able to use the definitive location of Trooper as a focal point to help lay to rest any memories of their loved ones.” One of those loved ones includes Wraith’s father, Lt. John Wraith, who served as the Trooper’s commander during its final mission.