Underwater aviation archaeology

Large working objects pose significant challenges for the heritage sector. The primary issues are concerned with interpretation, conservation and authenticity but underpinning all of these is the issue of sustainability. Decision making in large object conservation has always revolved around the tension between using it and losing it, or storing it and seeing it decay through neglect. An additional challenge is authenticity. At what point does an object lose its authenticity? How many replacement parts, panels or new paint jobs does it take to reduce an object to a construct? This paper examines these challenges in order to explore a set of ideas that will allow a sustainable approach to large working object conservation in museums and heritage collections to be developed. It will use as a basis for analysis and discussion ground breaking conservation projects at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton in the UK.

The third aircraft (built c.1928-1929-1950s)  constructed by aviation pioneer Richard William Pearse (1877-1953) has recently been returned to public display at the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland, New Zealand, following a second restoration. Below are photographs taken in June 2024, soon after the craft’s return to public display for the first time since 2014. The abstract of the corresponding patent for this craft is as follows: “[…] a convertible aeroplane helicopter having an engine carrying a controllable pitch propeller on its crankshaft mounted for controlled tilting of this combination about a horizontal transverse axle in combination with incidence increasing wing tip control units foldable tail piece ground brake and a sliding floor.” It is not believed to have flown.

During survey work in 2018, the extant remains of a Fairey Barracuda, subsequently presumed to be Fairey built LS473 lost during take-off on the 06/01/1944, were discovered submerged off the former RNAS Daedalus. Widely used, the Barracuda was the first all-aluminium high winged monoplane of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, no surviving complete example of this aircraft exist. The current identification is based on a combination of records related to the aircraft’s engine manufacture, government contracts, supply records, surviving paint evidence, combined with available loss records, and ordnance configuration on the plane.

This paper outlines the ongoing research into the aircraft and various archives identifying several inconsistences' leading to questions about the initial identity of the aircraft, the records around its loss, and that of other aircraft of the same type lost in close proximity to the crash site. The examination of the aircraft’s remains has giving insights into wartime production contingencies across aircraft manufacturers, and the variations in aircraft design as types are altered or upgrade during the production process, with the recovered aircraft showing features from more than one mark. Though produced under licence to the same set of design drawings, with updates to individual drawings, there is still evidence of significant variation between manufacture’s methods, along with examples of quality control marks, graffiti, and shortcuts being taken in the manufacturing processes. There is also evidence of differing interpretations of the construction drawings, along with several ad hoc alterations to correct errors in the construction process.

Full paper available for free here: https://doi.org/10.46651/mar.2024.3

In many ways, the impact aviation has had upon Malta is obvious; one only has to see how its airport dominates Malta’s landscape, the importance of tourism to its economy (an industry almost wholly reliant upon civil aviation) or even walk into its capital to be confronted by the bombed remains of the Royal Opera House to evidence this. In this paper, in addition to briefly outlining some of the ways aviation has directly impacted upon the archaeology of Malta, its other more subtle, hidden and unacknowledged impacts will also be examined. In doing so, new information and insights are revealed to uncover the true depth of Malta’s aviation archaeological heritage, and how it continues to influence and shape Malta to this day.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s (DPAA) mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting of missing service members from past conflicts. More than 81,000 service members remain missing, and almost 50% of those losses are attributed to America’s efforts during the Second World War in the Indo-Pacific region. Through close partnership with the DPAA and the National Museum of the Philippines, the Center for Recovery and Identification of the Missing (CRIM) at the University of Illinois, Chicago executes missions throughout the Philippines to aid in the recovery of this large portion of missing service members. This poster illustrates CRIM’s recovery process at a Second World War aircraft crash site in a remote location on the Island of Luzon in the Philippines. We illustrate how the project has evolved from historical research and site location to large-scale excavation and digital landscape modeling. Due to the difficult nature of the site, the CRIM team draws on an arsenal of archaeological methods in the endeavor to provide a full accounting of the 11 service members who remain missing from this air loss.

From its establishment in 1921, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attracted political and public critique for flying accidents. This article explores how its nascent institutional ethos developed in relation to a problematic safety record. Military aviators were expected to balance airborne "dash" against obeying flying orders, risking castigation if they proved either too timid or too reckless. Despite vigorous attempts to isolate their service from scrutiny, Air Force leaders were forced to adapt the RAAF's safety culture in response to civilian expertise, media pressure, political machinations, and comparisons with other air armsparticularly Britain's Royal Air Force. Through the 1930s and the Second World War, responsibility was increasingly channelled toward individual personnel. Tactics included severe punishments, signed attestations that confirmed compliance with orders and an "endorsement" system that permanently recorded infractions in errant flyers' log books. These measures risked producing timorous and inadequately skilled pilots, unprepared to exploit their aircraft's capabilities to the full. In 1945, the establishment of a Directorate of Flying Safety profoundly changed the RAAF's institutional safety culture, but its accident record remained problematic. Over 1921-48, the "sweet spot" between initiative and dependability eluded the RAAF's quest to inculcate an enduring "spirit of the service". It was a bright cold day in Canberra, and the clocks were striking four. Five silver biplanes, emblazoned with the red, white, and blue cockades of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), banked left and approached the saluting base outside the newly opened Federal Parliament. As the visiting Duke of York and his entourage prepared to acknowledge this aerial tribute, one aeroplane tipped left again. It then plummeted vertically into the ground, barely 600 metres from the nation's centre of power. When Constable George Robinson reached the messy remnants, he found the pilot conscious but gravely wounded.

The history of aviation has been deeply significant to the history of the United States. Aviation itself represents a significant theme in our history, while also playing a key role in other significant themes, from communication and commerce to World War II and space exploration. This article examines the archaeological record around aviation, with a focus on the United States Southwest. I address historic background, types of historic aviation properties archaeologists might encounter, guidelines for evaluating these properties for the National Register of Historic Places, and future directions. La historia de la aviación ha sido profundamente significativa para la historia de los Estados Unidos. La aviación representa un tema significante en nuestra historia, mientras tambien juega un papel significativo en otros temas, desde la comunicacio y el comercio de la segunda guerra mundial y exploración del espacio. Este artículo examina el registro arqueológico de aviación, con un enfoque en el suroeste de los Estados Unidos. Yo abordo los antecedentes históricos, los tipos de propiedades historicas de la aviación que los arqueólogos podrían encontrar, las pautas para evaluar estas propiedades para el National Register of Historic Places, y direcciones futuras.

This article outlines the preliminary results of archaeological fieldwork at the crash site of RAF Halifax bomber LV881-ZA-V and explores some of the challenges presented by the excavation of this military wartime crash site. The aircraft and her crew were shot down by a German night fighter in the early hours of March 31 st 1944 during the infamous Nuremberg Raid. Four of her crew were killed and the remaining three were taken prisoner and later took part in the 'Long March'. All three survived the war.

At the moment, the majority of submerged aircraft knowledge comes from non-academic sources. There is a lack of knowledge regarding submerged aircraft because historically speaking they had more of an economic value rather than academic. However, the need to interact with submerged aircraft due to an increase of sea activities such as diving and other commercial activity has left a gap in our understanding of this submerged heritage. Although the amount of academic research on submerged aircraft has vastly increased over the last ten years, there is still a larger body of knowledge made up of non-academic sources. And at times these non-academic sources are often overlooked by researchers, but may potentially have useful information for future studies of aircraft wrecks. The main question this study tries to answer is how to properly examine these aircraft by analyzing legislation, media, and perceptions of submerged WW II aircraft in order to identify their archaeological potential. The perceptions and research potential of three submerged WW II aircraft studies will be used as case studies to examine this question and others pertaining to the study of submerged WW II aircraft. The culmination of the study will result in recommendations for the management of the Black Jack Wreck.
I øjeblikket kommer størstedelen af vores viden om flyvrag under vand fra ikke-akademiske kilder. Der er en mangel på viden omkring flyvrag under vand, fordi historisk set, har de haft en mere økonomisk, end en akademisk værdi. Behovet for at interagere med sunkne fly, grundet en stigning i hav aktiviteter, såsom dykning og anden kommerciel aktivitet, har forårsaget at Ortiz 281089 forståelsen af denne undersøiske kulturarv er mangelfuld. Selv om mængden af akademisk forskning af flyvrag under vand er steget væsentligt de sidste ti år, stammer størstedelen stadig fra ikke-akademiske kilder. Ofte overser forskere disse ikke-akademiske undersøgelser, på trods af at de potentielt kan have nyttige oplysninger til fremtidige studier af flyvrag. Det primære spørgsmål, denne undersøgelse forsøger at besvare, er hvorledes man korrekt undersøger flyvrag, ved at analysere lovgivning, medier, og forståelsen af sunkne fly fra anden verdenskrig for at identificere deres arkæologiske potentiale. Forskningspotentialet samt forståelsen af undersøgelser af tre anden verdenskrigs flyvrag under vand, vil anvendes som casestudies til at undersøge dette og andre spørgsmål i studiet af flyvrag under vand fra anden verdenskrig. Kulminationen af undersøgelsen vil resultere i et forslag til håndteringen af Black Jack Wreck.

Der Walchensee liegt rund 70 km südlich von München
in den Bayerischen Voralpen auf 800 m Meereshöhe. Er wird von bewaldeten, bis zu 1850 m hohen Bergen umrahmt und ist mit 192 m Tiefe und einer Ausdehnung von 16 km² einer der tiefsten und zugleich größten Alpenseen im Land. Und auch, wenn er nicht wie der nahegelegene Starnberger See oder der Bodensee mit prähistorischen Pfahlbausiedlungen und Einbäumen aufwarten kann, so verbergen sich in seinem türkisgrün-schimmernden
Wasser – weswegen er auch bayerische Karibik genannt wird – viele interessante archäologische Fundstellen.

This paper examines the  processes that led to the  recognition of submerged historic aircraft as archaeological sites  up to 2004 when the  paper was presented. A number of case studies are presented  (including the author's examination of flying boats sunk in an air raid at Broome Western Australia in 1942. Site formation processes, legislation and conservation science are also examined.

The Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) was established during World War II (WWII) to dramatically increase the British Empire’s air power capabilities. Between 1940 and 1945, the training facilities of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) expanded phenomenally. At the outbreak of war, the strength of the RAAF numbered 3489 personnel of all ranks and its training schools numbered three. By November 1944, RAAF personnel numbers had increased to 183,822 and schools numbered 59. During this period, the RAAF amassed a vast assemblage of material culture, while its personnel created innumerable memories related to training for wartime service.
Australia’s involvement in total war resulted in the transformation of agricultural and residential land into sites of modern conflict on the home front. Newly erected airfields, hangars, workshops, barracks and kitchens were filled with aeroplanes, vehicles, machinery, tools, utensils, uniforms and people. The logistics of EATS required the militarisation of the physical landscape, the implementation of belligerent technologies and the development of air combat skills. Accidents, injuries and fatalities were all significant risks for trainees. Eighty years after its commencement, the impact of EATS remains evident in diverse artefacts, landscapes, memories, memorials and performative remembrance practices.
This thesis explores the legacy of the RAAF’s unprecedented expansion during WWII by analysing the material and affective heritage of EATS on Australia’s home front. It unites the written and archival history of EATS with its collected assemblages, in order to provide a more comprehensive and inclusive account of the Scheme. My analysis is structured around the museological inheritance of two former EATS schools in New South Wales: 10 Elementary Flying Training School, Temora and 5 Service Flying Training School, Uranquinty. I ask what remains of these schools to interpret Australia’s participation in EATS and whether their physical and social landscapes sustain an enduring legacy of this vast enterprise.
As I engage with both the historical records of EATS and current-day museum collections, a key intervention is to quantify and analyse its ‘uncollected heritage’. I compare the artefacts and stories that have been retained with those objects and narratives that are absent. My intention is to encourage the collection and interpretation of a heritage that is more representative of the aerial armada that transformed Australia and its involvement in a truly global war.

This article outlines the preliminary results of archaeological fieldwork at the crash site of RAF Halifax bomber LV881-ZA-V and explores some of the challenges presented by the excavation of this military wartime crash site. The aircraft and her crew were shot down by a German night fighter in the early hours of March 31 st 1944 during the infamous Nuremberg Raid. Four of her crew were killed and the remaining three were taken prisoner and later took part in the 'Long March'. All three survived the war.

Between the years 1940 and 1943, the skies over the Maltese islands and their surrounding seas witnessed some of the most intense aerial combat of the Second World War. The prolonged duration of this conflict in a relatively well-delineated area has resulted in a submerged legacy that bears witness to a period of rapid advancement in aviation technology. After discussing the potential size of this cultural resource, this paper will explain why all of the in situ aircraft remains from this conflict now exist underwater, as well as a working hypothesis as to its composition. This paper concludes by urging a re-appraisal in how this archaeological resource is regarded and treated, advocating a wider holistic approach to construct an ‘airscape’ of Malta during the Second World War.

The archaeological research of downed WWII US naval aircraft has been underway since the late 1980s and historical research much longer. Nevertheless, the field of research still lacks a comprehensive list of combat losses to use in our efforts to identify and research submerged aircraft wreck sites. This article outlines the process of conducting historical and archaeological research on a specific aircraft lost in the waters of Saipan during WWII Pacific operations. It outlines the most useful sources and archives in an effort to streamline the historical archaeology approach to conducting historical research on crashed US naval aircraft.

American-produced B-29 Superfortress bomber aircraft flew missions against Imperial Japan in the Pacific Theater from air bases in the Mariana Islands from November 1944 until the end of WWII. Mechanical failures forced many B-29s into the ocean surrounding Saipan and Tinian. Terrestrial wreckage of these aircraft has been located in the Pacific region, but no losses in deep water were located until 2016, when a NOAA exploration cruise investigated sonar targets in the Saipan Channel, between Saipan and Tinian. Disarticulated wreckage from a B-29 was located at 370 m over a large area of the seabed. Telepresence-enabled, noninvasive exploration from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer allowed scientists on shore to view live streaming video and to work collaboratively to guide the investigation. Experts in aviation archaeology, corrosion studies, WWII history, forensic studies, marine biology, and oceanography participated in the survey using an ROV, highlighting components which could lead to possible identification of the B-29 in situ, and conducting an environmental characterization of the site. This deep-water aircraft site exemplifies multiple-stakeholder driven research in aviation archaeology and highlights several issues in the value of individual site identification.

This article outlines the preliminary results of archaeological fieldwork at the crash site of RAF Halifax bomber LV881-ZA-V and explores some of the challenges presented by the excavation of this military wartime crash site. The aircraft and her crew were shot down by a German night fighter in the early hours of March 31 st 1944 during the infamous Nuremberg Raid. Four of her crew were killed and the remaining three were taken prisoner and later took part in the 'Long March'. All three survived the war.

While researching family history one of the most common questions asked by relatives of Second World War air force personnel is where that person served during the conflict. Service records often list the units to which an individual was posted, but little information about the places at which those units were based or operated from. This poster discusses a project working to both locate air power infrastructure sites – such as airfields – in modern aerial and satellite imagery while also georeferencing entries in historical documents in an effort to populate the landscape in a digital form.

While concepts of landscape have been firmly incorporated within terrestrial and maritime archaeology for decades, they have yet to be fully utilised in studying the impact of aviation. In this thesis, building upon previous studies within landscape, maritime, aviation, conflict and historical archaeology, a number of unique aviation aspects for studying the aviation cultural landscape and airscape of Malta during its active participation in the Second World War are identified. Historical and archaeological data gathered within this framework is then analysed to both chart the changing aviation cultural landscape and airscape in Malta and to postulate correlations and patterns that can be found through this analysis. The result is a new interpretation on a seminal event in Malta’s history, one that combines the perspectives of those on all sides and from all walks of life to create a truly holistic reimagining of how aviation affected the cognitive and physical landscape of Malta in the first half of the 20th century. In doing so, new information and insights are revealed which shed new light upon long-familiar ground to uncover the true depth of how aviation has radically altered the cultural landscape of Malta. For the first time, the concept of an explicitly stated and defined aviation cultural landscape and airscape is proven and shown to be a valid and invaluable tool for examining the past. In doing so, it acts as a model for examining other aviation cultural landscapes and airscapes around the world.

This paper presents a complete pipeline to create accurate 3D reconstructions of underwater archaeological sites from video data captured by an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The fieldwork and data gathering for this project was completed off the coast of the island of Malta. While in the past the data gathering process for 3D reconstructions of underwater sites has been accomplished via multiple divers and expensive photographic equipment, this project aims to automate that process. The general pipeline for creating the 3D reconstructions began with the AUV completing several low-pass missions over the site of interest (historical ship wrecks) to gather video footage from different angles. The video data was then processed through a variety of methods to generate multiple usable frames. Next, Agisoft Photoscan, a photogrammetry software, was used to create models which were stitched together or further edited for better results. Finally, the models were placed in a customdeve...

The seabed can be considered as the world’s largest museum, and underwater sites explored and studied so far provide priceless information on human interaction with the sea. In recognition of the importance of this cultural resource, UNESCO, in its 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, determined that objects/sites should be preserved in situ, whilst also advocating for public access and sharing. The implementation of these principles is not without difficulties. Some states have opened up underwater sites to the public—mainly through diving, yet the vast majority of the world’s population does not dive. In Malta, 7000 years of human occupation is reflected in and on the landscape, and recent offshore surveys show that the islands’ long and complex history has also left an indelible mark on the seabed. Besides difficulties related to their protection and management, these sites also present a challenge with regard to sharing and communicating. Recent...

This article outlines the preliminary results of archaeological fieldwork at the crash site of RAF Halifax bomber LV881-ZA-V and explores some of the challenges presented by the excavation of this military wartime crash site. The aircraft and her crew were shot down by a German night fighter in the early hours of March 31 st 1944 during the infamous Nuremberg Raid. Four of her crew were killed and the remaining three were taken prisoner and later took part in the 'Long March'. All three survived the war.

Sažetak Na Jadranu su se tijekom dva svjetska rata odigrali brojni sukobi, te se stoga, posebice u Kvarneriću, na morskom dnu nalaze brojne olupine, od kojih su neke tek nedavno otkrivene i posjećene. Ova radnja prikazuje povijest dva torpedna napada talijanskih podmornica na austrougarske trgovačke brodove tijekom Prvoga svjetskog rata, uništenje jedne njemačke bojevne skupine u sukobu s britanskim razaračima u jesen 1944. godine, te gubitak jednog britanskog razarača nakon što je naišao na minu kod Paga. Na osnovi roniteljskih izvještaja i povijesnih podataka u dostupnoj literaturi bilo je moguće rekonstruirati zbivanja i utvrditi točan identitet olupina.

Between the years 1940 and 1943, the skies over the Maltese islands and their surrounding seas witnessed some of the most intense aerial combat of the Second World War. The prolonged duration of this conflict in a relatively well-delineated area has resulted in a submerged legacy that bears witness to a period of rapid advancement in aviation technology. After discussing the potential size of this cultural resource, this paper will explain why all of the in situ aircraft remains from this conflict now exist underwater, as well as a working hypothesis as to its composition. This paper concludes by urging a re-appraisal in how this archaeological resource is regarded and treated, advocating a wider holistic approach to construct an ‘airscape’ of Malta during the Second World War.

HMS Hampshire was a Devonshire Class armoured cruiser that saw action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Immediately after the battle, the ship was tasked with transporting Field Marshall Lord Kitchener to Russia on a diplomatic mission. The ship hit mines laid by U-75 approximately 1.5 miles North of Orkney at Birsay Head and sank with a loss of 737 men, including Kitchener and his staff. To commemorate the centenary of the ship's loss, the MoD granted a survey licence to an international team of technical diving and sub-sea imaging specialists in May/June 2016. This paper will present the results of the diver survey carried out at a depth of 65 metres and describe the challenges of creating accurate 3D images of the wreck using photogrammetry in a deep, dark and hostile environment. The resulting 3D models are presented using immersive virtual reality technology (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift) at real World scale, emulating the diver's experience on the seabed.

The in situ promotion and preservation of underwater cultural heritage sites is one of the main ideas of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Currently, most shipwrecks are found in water shallower than the 50 m contour. The continued technological advances and increases in technical diving and deep-water exploration point towards a shift in this statistic, which is set to increase exponentially in the not-too-distant future. Thus, it is imperative to look at ways in which such directives can be implemented. This paper will highlight the synergy between existing remote sensing technologies and the management of underwater cultural heritage with examples of on-going research projects, such as Malta’s approach to surveying and implementing a scoring system for historic wreck sites based on local and global considerations of historic and natural conditions of site elements. Such an approach allows for the scaling of sites based on a number of paramet...

In January of 1943 a B-24 heavy bomber, while on a training run, crashed near Basset Peak in the south end of the Galiuro Mountains, killing all eleven men on board. The Galiuros Mountains are located in southeastern Arizona, with much of the range being preserved within the Galiuros Wilderness Area of Coronado National Forest. Due to the remote location of the Galiuros, much of its cultural history remains undocumented by professional archaeologists, including the crash site of the 1943 B-24 bomber. Last year, Coronado National Forest began incrementally conducting controlled burns on sections of the Galiuro range, as part of a larger fuels management strategy. The B2-24 bomber crash is a historic site at risk of impact from the next stage of these controlled burns, presenting an unconventional cultural resource for documentation by the Coronado National Forest Heritage Program. Documenting this site will shed light on an important, if tragic, event in the history of southern Arizona and is a unique opportunity to develop preservation strategies for atypical cultural resources located within fuels management projects.

The seabed can be considered as the world’s largest museum, and underwater sites explored and studied so far provide priceless information on human interaction with the sea. In recognition of the importance of this cultural resource, UNESCO, in its 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, determined that objects/sites should be preserved in situ, whilst also advocating for public access and sharing. The implementation of these principles is not without difficulties. Some states have opened up underwater sites to the public—mainly through diving, yet the vast majority of the world’s population does not dive. In Malta, 7000 years of human occupation is reflected in and on the landscape, and recent offshore surveys show that the islands’ long and complex history has also left an indelible mark on the seabed. Besides difficulties related to their protection and management, these sites also present a challenge with regard to sharing and communicating. Recent...

The in situ promotion and preservation of underwater cultural heritage sites is one of the main ideas of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Currently, most shipwrecks are found in water shallower than the 50 m contour. The continued technological advances and increases in technical diving and deep-water exploration point towards a shift in this statistic, which is set to increase exponentially in the not-too-distant future. Thus, it is imperative to look at ways in which such directives can be implemented. This paper will highlight the synergy between existing remote sensing technologies and the management of underwater cultural heritage with examples of ongoing research projects, such as Malta's approach to surveying and implementing a scoring system for historic wreck sites based on local and global considerations of historic and natural conditions of site elements. Such an approach allows for the scaling of sites based on a number of parameters and provides instructive information for the creation of management strategies. The intention here is to demonstrate how large-scale remote sensing surveys can make major contributions to site management, which, in turn, facilitates the decision-making process in terms of how and what information is transmitted to divers and members of the public.

The in situ promotion and preservation of underwater cultural heritage sites is one of the main ideas of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Currently, most shipwrecks are found in water shallower than the 50 m contour. The continued technological advances and increases in technical diving and deep-water exploration point towards a shift in this statistic, which is set to increase exponentially in the not-too-distant future. Thus, it is imperative to look at ways in which such directives can be implemented. This paper will highlight the synergy between existing remote sensing technologies and the management of underwater cultural heritage with examples of ongoing research projects, such as Malta's approach to surveying and implementing a scoring system for historic wreck sites based on local and global considerations of historic and natural conditions of site elements. Such an approach allows for the scaling of sites based on a number of parameters and provides instructive information for the creation of management strategies. The intention here is to demonstrate how large-scale remote sensing surveys can make major contributions to site management, which, in turn, facilitates the decision-making process in terms of how and what information is transmitted to divers and members of the public.

The in situ promotion and preservation of underwater cultural heritage sites is one of the main ideas of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Currently, most shipwrecks are found in water shallower than the 50 m contour. The continued technological advances and increases in technical diving and deep-water exploration point towards a shift in this statistic, which is set to increase exponentially in the not-too-distant future. Thus, it is imperative to look at ways in which such directives can be implemented. This paper will highlight the synergy between existing remote sensing technologies and the management of underwater cultural heritage with examples of ongoing research projects, such as Malta's approach to surveying and implementing a scoring system for historic wreck sites based on local and global considerations of historic and natural conditions of site elements. Such an approach allows for the scaling of sites based on a number of parameters and provides instructive information for the creation of management strategies. The intention here is to demonstrate how large-scale remote sensing surveys can make major contributions to site management, which, in turn, facilitates the decision-making process in terms of how and what information is transmitted to divers and members of the public.

HMS Hampshire was a Devonshire Class armoured cruiser that saw action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Immediately after the battle, the ship was tasked with transporting Field Marshall Lord Kitchener to Russia on a diplomatic mission. The ship hit mines laid by U-75 approximately 1.5 miles North of Orkney at Birsay Head and sank with a loss of 737 men, including Kitchener and his staff. To commemorate the centenary of the ship's loss, the MoD granted a survey licence to an international team of technical diving and sub-sea imaging specialists in May/June 2016. This paper will present the results of the diver survey carried out at a depth of 65 metres and describe the challenges of creating accurate 3D images of the wreck using photogrammetry in a deep, dark and hostile environment. The resulting 3D models are presented using immersive virtual reality technology (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift) at real World scale, emulating the diver's experience on the seabed.

The contribution focuses on historical and archaeological aspect of the crash of the US Consolidated B–24 Liberator, that was shot down at the border of land registry of the municipalities called Omšenie and Trenčianske Teplice (district Trenčín; Slovakia) on 17th December 1944. Apart from the summary of the historical sources (that for example provide solution of discrepancies between the existing sources as for example call sign of the machine or place of the crash), the contribution also provides archaeological point of view on the issues making use of prospecting of the location and locating the findings. The contribution is among other also a demonstration of the potential of studies in frame of popular aero archaeology as a famous branch of archaeology of militaria of the 20th century.

The seabed can be considered as the world's largest museum, and underwater sites explored and studied so far provide priceless information on human interaction with the sea. In recognition of the importance of this cultural resource, UNESCO, in its 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, determined that objects/sites should be preserved in situ, whilst also advocating for public access and sharing. The implementation of these principles is not without difficulties. Some states have opened up underwater sites to the public-mainly through diving, yet the vast majority of the world's population does not dive. In Malta, 7000 years of human occupation is reflected in and on the landscape, and recent offshore surveys show that the islands' long and complex history has also left an indelible mark on the seabed. Besides difficulties related to their protection and management, these sites also present a challenge with regard to sharing and communicating. Recent advances in underwater imaging and processing software have accelerated the development of 3D photogrammetry of submerged sites and the idea for a virtual museum was born. The virtual museum, UnderwaterMalta, was created out of a need to share the plethora of underwater sites located on the seabed of the Maltese Islands. A multitude of digital tools are used to share and communicate these sites, offering visitors a dry dive into submerged sites that would otherwise remain invisible to the vast majority of the public. This paper discusses the basic principle of the sharing of underwater cultural heritage and the difficulties that beset the implementation of such a principle. A detailed explanation and evaluation of the methods used to gather the raw data needed is set in the context of the particular and unique working conditions related to deep water sites. The workings of this paper are based on first-hand experiences garnered through the recording of numerous wrecks over the years and the creation and launch of The Virtual Museum-Underwater Malta-a comprehensive virtual museum specifically built for "displaying" underwater archaeological sites that are otherwise invisible to the general public.

In 2005, diver and filmmaker Ben Cropp visited an underwater aircraft wreck off the eastern coast of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula. It has been claimed that the wreck is that of an American four-engine B-17 bomber that went missing in 1943 with an air force General on board. A desk-based study of Cropp’s video footage of the wreck by aviation enthusiasts has confirmed that it is not such an aircraft. Additional historical research and further analysis of the wreck footage has unearthed information that may suggest that the wreck is, in fact, an Australian transport aircraft that was ditched in the vicinity with no loss of life.

Η παρούσα εργασία, πραγματεύεται σε υλικό αεροπορικών ναυαγίων του 2ου  Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου στον Ελληνικό υποθαλάσσιο χώρο καθώς και στις ενέργειες και διαδικασίες που ακολουθήθηκαν για τον εντοπισμό και την ταυτοποίηση αυτών. 

Η προσπάθεια αυτή προήλθε από ένα έντονο προσωπικό ενδιαφέρον για τα αεροσκάφη του 2ου Π.Π καθώς και η επιθυμία για μια πιο συστηματική διερεύνηση των θαλασσών ώστε να υπάρχει μια πλήρης εικόνα ενός ιστορικού γεγονότος.
Διανύοντας την τρίτη δεκαετία  σαν ενεργός δύτης και μέλος της καταδυτικής κοινότητας, ζήτησα τη συμμετοχή και συνδρομή αυτοδυτών και καταδυτικών ομάδων ώστε να υπάρχει σχετική ενημέρωση για τυχών ευρήματα που εντοπίζουν στη διάρκεια των καταδύσεων που πραγματοποιούν. Η θετική ανταπόκριση ήταν το έναυσμα για τη δημιουργία του Ινστιτούτου Ενάλιας Αεροπορικής Αρχαιολογίας - Maritime Aviation Archaeology in Greece (ΜΑΑG). Αποτελεί μια ψηφιακή τράπεζα δεδομένων με αεροπορικά ναυάγια καθώς και στοιχεία αεροσκαφών, βιβλιοθήκης, αναφορές καταρρίψεων/πτώσεων, υλικό που μπορεί να βοηθήσει στην ιστορική μελέτη και την έρευνα πεδίου σε επερχόμενες αποστολές.

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft, was one of the most famous fighter aircraft of all time and a symbol of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It used by the RAF and the allied air forces during the Second World War.
71 years after......
The motivation for research about the Spitfire aircrafts was from the reports presented in list "Supermarine Spitfire losses in Greece 1942-1953" edited by Manolis Bardanis and the official website of Hellenic Air Force.

The key military strategic position and exceptional transport, economic and military significance of Senj harbour were the reasons why during the Second World War Senj suffered air bombardments by the Germans and subsequently by Allied air forces which resulted in human losses and significant material damage. From the beginning of 1944, when Allied air forces gained supremacy in the air, all the way until the end of the war, Senj harbour and the harbour facilities were often targets of Allied tactical aerial bombardments, as well as the scenes of targeted attacks of fighters and fighter-bombers directed at small, specific and specially planned targets. In archive documents a large number of aerial attacks on Senj are noted. During one mission by Allied air forces, on 10th October 1994, antiaircraft defence from the German ship Arpione in Senj harbour hit a Bristol Beaufighter NT997 fighter-bomber from the 19th squadron of the South African Air Force (SAAF). Aircraft crashed into the sea not far from the harbour. Illuminating the circumstances of the crash and fate of the members of the crew by analysing the remains of the plane and collected archive documents are the main aim of this paper which came to be upon the 75th anniversary of this event.

Aviation archaeology involves the study of human interaction with flight through the investigation of material remains related to that field of endeavour. While much about Second World War aircraft and aviation operations can be learned from the historical record, some aspects of what has been written still remain fragmentary or contradictory. Through the analysis of aircraft wreckage and associated artefacts, much can be added to our understanding of how aviation played a part during that conflict.

This paper will present the outcome of a recent crowd-funded archaeological survey of the wreck of an American Brewster Buffalo fighter aircraft that crashed in Victoria in July 1942. Despite large portions of the wreck being salvaged over the years, much can still been learned from artefacts remaining at the site regarding the aircraft, its crash, and its involvement in the wider conflict. The survey, conducted in March 2019, identified a significant number of artefacts remaining at the site and has resulted in the wreck being listed on the Victorian Heritage Inventory.

Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, renowned as the ‘Cradle of Naval Aviation’, has been a fundamental pilot training facility for the U.S. Navy since its establishment in 1914. Soon after, World War I ensured aviation would remain an important aspect of U.S. naval warfare, and lead to increased influx of prospective aviation cadets at NAS Pensacola. The next several decades of training led to hundreds of training accidents, some of which resulted in the loss of naval aircraft in waters offshore of Pensacola. Through archival and archaeological investigation, University of West Florida archaeologists have initiated site assessments on several known submerged aircraft sites in the area. Identifying these aircraft is an essential first step in the documentation process. This paper presents the methods involved in aircraft identification, and focuses on the historical documents utilized to identify two F8F Bearcats wreck sites.

Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, renowned as the “Cradle of Naval Aviation”, has been a fundamental pilot training facility for the U.S. Navy since its establishment in 1914. World War I ensured aviation would remain an important aspect of U.S. naval warfare and led to an increased influx of prospective aviation cadets at NAS Pensacola. Subsequent decades of training led to hundreds of training accidents and the loss of naval aircraft in the waters off Pensacola, Florida. Two F8F Bearcat wreck sites are discussed here, including the methods involved in aircraft investigation and the historical documents referenced for their identification. Utilizing photogrammetric modeling techniques, the author tests the applicability of photogrammetry as an in situ site-monitoring tool.

Poster presented at the 2017 Aviation Archaeology and Heritage Conference in Malta, discussing the identification of the heavily damaged wreckage of a Mitsubishi Zero fighter aircraft in a garbage dump on Nauru and the issues around managing such objects in the Pacific region