From Facebook post by Frederick Galea on the 17/02/2023
Bristol Beaufort DW805 ditched off the coast below Fort St Leonardo owing to engine problems on 21 August 1942 – an OADU aircraft. Sgt Pritchard, the WOP/AG, was slightly injured in the crash, but Plt Off Moody and his crew took to their dinghy and were soon rescued by HSL128.
On Wednesday, 31 August 1977, Frederick Galea (organiser) and James Farrugia (diver) on behalf of the National War Museum Association (NWMA) and a team of divers from the RAF Luqa Sub-Aqua Club, departed from the Customs Quay aboard a launch provided by the AFM Maritime Squadron, to locate and investigate the Beaufort crash-site.
The position of the the aircraft had been previously ‘fixed’ by Jim Griffiths. A dive on the site confirmed the wreck-site. Four separate dives took place that day, and an ASV2 radar receiving set was recovered.
Attending the dive that day were Dave Foster, Dickie Duckworth, Geoff Coleman, Craig Burnett, George Brusby, Tom Bailey, Graham Fairhurst and Jim Brown.
In later similar dives, a pair of turret-mounted Browning 303” machine guns were recovered, and later still, a Bristol Taurus 14-cylinder two-row radial aero-engine c/w under carriage leg. A selection of photos are attached.
NOTE: Today, in place is Maltese legislation protecting underwater cultural heritage.