'A bit haunting': Vancouver Island divers help locate crashed WWII bomber in Newfoundland
Five divers from Vancouver Island have been exploring parts of the East Coast that very few Canadians will ever see.
Divers Maxwel Hohn and Russell Clark from the Comox Valley, along with three others from the island, are part of an international team that reached the underwater crash site of a Second World War bomber in Gander Lake, Newfoundland.
The B-24 Liberator bomber crashed in 1943, killing all four crewmembers on board.
"When you come across this wreckage, it’s a mix of feelings. There’s sadness with excitement because the crew did lose their lives," said Hohn.
The initial dive on Monday was to scout out the wreckage and confirm it was there.
"It’s about 36 metres to 48 metres [down]. It’s kind of on a very, very steep slope," said Hohn.
"It’s been there since 1943 so I think it’s pretty secure where it is," he said.
DECADE-LONG SEARCH
A Newfoundland researcher had been looking for the aircraft for roughly a decade. Its position was finally narrowed down in June using side-scan sonar.
"The crash happened within a small distance of the Gander Air Force Base," said Comox Valley diver Russell Clark.
"At the time in 1943, navy divers were dispatched onto the aircraft to try to recover the bodies of the airmen," he said.
Only one body was recovered at the time. The remains of the other three airmen are still in the wreckage.
"Nothing was disturbed or touched or taken during the exploration, it was purely an image gathering dive," said Russell.
An image of the wreckage is shown. (Maxwel Hohn)
Hohn added that the experience was eerie but rewarding.
"Getting down there you’re on a gravesite and it’s a bit haunting, but it’s also really exciting to find a piece of history and prove that this bomber is in this location," he said.
All details, maps and documentation on the bomber will be handed over to the Royal Canadian Air Force, which still owns the aircraft.
'IMPORTANT TO SHARE'
Monday's dives were conducted one day after the 79th anniversary of the crash.
The research team hopes the find will help bring Canadians closer to their history.
"It’s important to share this cultural history story with other Canadians that probably don’t know how much Newfoundland was embroiled in the Second World War," said Jill Heinerth, explorer in residence with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
"I knew nothing about the fact that German U-Boats came in and were sinking the wrecks at Bell Island and destroying the loading wharf from the Bell Island mine," Heinerth added.
"And these Liberator bombers would have been protecting some of these convoys," she said.
The team was near Bell Island again Wednesday searching for more artifacts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.