The B-24, an American heavy bomber belonging to the 449th Bomb Group, was shot down in 1944 in the northern Adriatic while returning from a mission over the skies of Germany.
Inside the sunken hull, the divers found no bombs, a sign that the plane had been shot down by the German anti-aircraft after dropping all the bombs.
However, during the operations, conducted by the men of the SDAI nucleus of Ancona (Demining Defense Antimezzi Insidiosi) 173 12,7 mm ammunition belonging to the ten Browning M2 machine guns were found. The bullets, some of them tracers and therefore dangerous when exposed to the atmosphere, were destroyed on the high seas.
The operation, requested from the Navy by the prefecture of Gorizia, was carried out by the COMSUBIN raiders, men of the special forces also used in missions concerning the safety of the seas and is subsequent to another similar activity recently concluded by the American colleagues.
In fact, in recent times the US Navy has intensified the recovery operations of wrecks dating back to the Second World War, mainly to search and recover any remains of American airmen shot down 70 years ago in the skies of the European continent.
The Navy reminds all sea lovers that in case of finding they should never touch objects that can be considered dangerous or whose shape can remind an explosive device or parts of it.
Instead, for the safety of all, it is necessary to identify the site of the discovery, if possible to photograph the hypothetical device and immediately contact the Harbor Master's Office or the police station.
