Bow of sunken WWII Italian submarine Jantina found after 83 years in Aegean Sea

02:29

Bow of WWII Italian submarine wreck Jantina found after 83 years in Aegean Sea

The bow of the World War II Italian submarine Jantina, which sank on July 5, 1940, after being hit by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Torbay, has been found by a research team.

MYKONOS, Greece – The bow of an Italian submarine that sank during World War II has been discovered at the bottom of the Aegean Sea.

The Jantina was lost on July 5, 1941, when it was hit by the torpedoes of the British submarine HMS Torbay. The Italian submarine was recently found in November 2021 by Greek diver Kostas Thoctarides and his team, located south of Mykonos at a depth exceeding 330 feet.

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The Italian submarine Jantina.

( Italian Naval History Department)

The bow became detached during the naval battle and remained missing two and a half years after Jantina's initial discovery.

Thoctarides said the bow was found and identified at the same depth but quite far from the rest of the submarine. It was resting on the seabed on its port side. Despite 83 years passing since its sinking, the bow's condition remains excellent.

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The bow of the Jantina rests on the seabed at a depth of 338 feet on its port side.

(Kostas Thoctarides)

"We are actually talking about two parts of the wreck, the bow and the rest of the submarine, which is the longest part," he added. "While the bow sank immediately, the rest of the submarine continued to sail and sank later, traveling a considerable distance to the sea surface."

Thoctarides said that the submarine's net cutter on the bow was a noticeable feature that aided in identification.

"The closed torpedo tubes are also visible, which shows that the Jantina was not in a state of combat readiness and therefore did not realize the danger presented by the British submarine," he said.

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The Jantina sailed from Leros, Greence, on its last trip. There were 48 people on board, according to Thoctarides. The submarine was on the surface, south of Mykonos, heading to Messina, Italy, when it sank. 

Shortly before the sinking, 20 out of the 48 individuals on board ended up in the sea. Ultimately, only two officers and four petty officers made it to Delos after swimming for six to seven hours, according to historians. 

The Argonauta-class submarine was launched in 1932 in La Spezia, Italy.