A Second World War bomber shot down by the Nazis with a British airman aboard has been found after 82 years.
The Baltimore Bomber was discovered 61 metres beneath the Aegean Sea off the Greek island of Antikythera.
The aircraft, part of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), crashed in December 1943 during a mission over the Mediterranean.
Three crew members lost their lives in the attack.
A Baltimore Bomber (stock pic)
Wikimedia Commons
Leslie Norman Row, a 25-year-old navigator from Gravesend, Kent, was among those who perished.
The British airman died alongside air gunners Colin William Walker of the RAAF and John Gartside of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Harry Green, president of the Gravesham and Ebbsfleet branch of the Royal British Legion, said the young airman "died in the name of his country".
"He's given up his life, he's given up his future, and all his family," Green added.
Row flew his final mission on December 3, 1943, tasked with photographing the Greek coast.
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The aircraft was attacked by two Messerschmitt Bf 109s, which delivered seven attacks and set fire to the port wing.
The only survivor was Australian pilot William Alroy Hugh Horsley, who was captured by the Germans.
After his release, Horsley described how he escaped the sinking aircraft but saw no one else emerge before it sank in deep water.
For 81 years, the plane remained hidden until its discovery by AegeanTec, a Greek technical diving group, last year.
The team believed it to be the lost RAAF Baltimore FW282 and contacted the history and heritage branch of the Australian Air Force.
The identity of the missing plane has since been confirmed.
The aircraft (not pictured) crashed in December 1943 during a mission over the Mediterranean
Getty
"It's taken a long time to find the plane, and respect to the people who have gone out and found it," said Green.
Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, chief of the air staff at the RAF, said the discovery highlighted the longstanding relationship between the three air forces.
"It's an honour to acknowledge the bravery of the multinational crew," Knighton said.
Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, chief of the RAAF, hoped the find would bring closure for the families of the 3,143 Australian aviators with no known grave from the Second World War and Korean conflict.
Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb of the RNZAF said the crew's sacrifice had long been remembered.
