Hello, Could you help me? I'm finding information about a "Junker 88", German war airplane crashed in World War II, in the Ionian Sea. It lies at a depth of 35 meters, at about 2,5 miles west of Santa Caterina di Nardò (Gulf of Taranto - north of Gallipoli- Lecce- Italy) - Lat. 40° 8’ 56” – Long 17° 56’ 26”.
Some years ago, some sub of the "COSTA DEL SUD" diving service of Santa Caterina di Nardò, has found and explored it. Human rests have not been recovered. (see videos on their site or at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7kTGsrWObk ).
According some witnesses, on that time (not alive) there was an air-sea battle in front the sea of Santa Caterina di Nardò, and they saw antiaircraft’s fire and bombs explosions on ships and after an aircraft crashed in the sea too. The JU88 could have participated in the sinking of the English Destroyer G45 - HMS QUAIL on 18 may/June 1944 (Lat 40° 7' 14"- Long 17° 50' 3") while it was towing by one Italian transport ship from Taranto’s yards (Italy) to Malta, for important reparations, after having suffered serious damages following the explosion against a mine in the Adriatic (PUGLIOLA -Lat 40° 7' 14" ; Long 17°53' 50"-or CATERINA MADRE - close the two ships - both sunk in the same waters in front of Santa Caterina di Nardò, but they would result in different dates, respectively on 12 and 13 September 1943). The Ju88 could belong to 11./ZG26 (11 Staffels III/ Zerstörergeschwader 26) based in the ELEUSIS’s airport - Attica - Greece.
Such news has been drawn by the comparison of the data furnished by the site "KRAKER LUFTWAFFE ARCHIVE" relatively to another JU88 C6 crashed on June 8th 1944 at Capo Santa Maria di Leuca (south of Lecce - Italy) – not so far from Santa Caterina di Nardò - Pilot OFW Schiller Heinrich (MIA) belonged to the 11./ZG26 3U OV based at ELEUSIS. Probably that was the area of intervention of the 11./ZG26 in that time (after the Italian armistice on 8 sept. 1943). Could it be the same JU88, by the moment there isn’t certainty of the dates of sinking of the ships?
I’ll be very grateful to receive from you any information you could find on the JU88 crashed at Santa Caterina di Nardò and his implication (if) in the sinking of any ships up mentioned, or where find them on the web.
Please send your reply even if negative
Thank a lot.
Franco LEO
P.S. I’m looking forward information on a German aviator dead body too, found on the beach some day after the battle..."