“Lost for Decades: Divers Unveil Secrets of WWII Bomber Downed by Nazis off Enigmatic Greek Coast”
As the plane went down, Horsley was knocked unconscious. He awoke to find the cockpit filling with water, but was somehow able to extract himself from the plane and swim to the surface. On shore, Horsley was captured by Nazi troops, and spent the remainder of the war as a P.O.W.
P Horsley/Australian Department of DefenseOf the four men aboard the Baltimore bomber, only pilot William Alroy Hugh Horsley survived.
Row, Walker, and Gartside were listed as missing, believed killed. But their exact resting place remained unknown until now.
RAAF officials hope that the discovery of the downed plane will bring a measure of closure to the families of Row, Walker, and Gartside.
“The sacrifice of this brave crew has long been remembered, especially by their families, and we can now honour their final resting-place with the respect they deserve,” said Chief of Air Force, Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Though eight decades have passed since World War II, it’s not the first time in recent memory that the wrecks of downed planes from that era have been recovered. In 2024, volunteers with metal detectors were able to locate the plane of American John Fisher, whose plane went down during a secret mission in 1944. In recent years, archaeologists were also able to recover the downed plane of American Robert T. McCollum off the coast of Denmark.
“This was a generation who embodied the importance of service and comradeship. Their efforts were the base on which the RAF continues to maintain the security of the UK at home and abroad,” Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton of the RAF stated. “Their sense of duty inspires future generations of all of our Air Forces.”
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