U.S. Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Mission 16-3IT 3369 IVO Montalto Di Castro, Italy

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1 Mobile Diving And Salvage Unit TWO U.S. Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Mission 16-3IT 3369 IVO Montalto Di Castro, Italy CWO2 Christopher Timothy 22 June 2018

2 2 Mission Statement Mobile Diving and Salvage (MDS) companies conduct underwater emergency/battle damage repair; salvage missions to recover ships, aircraft or other objects of value; harbor clearance services for the removal of vessels and objects obstructing ports, piers and access to waterways and facilities; underwater search and survey

3 3 Unit Locations HAWAII MDSU ONE SAN DIEGO, CA EODMU3 EODMU 11 LITTLE CREEK, VA MDSU TWO

4 4 Circumstances of Loss: On 3 March 1944, B-24H # Ten Hits and a Miss and its crew of ten were hit by German FW 190 fighters just after releasing bombs over the Viterbo Air Fields in Viterbo, Italy. The aircraft s #2 engine caught fire, then it fell out of formation and crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Witnesses reported as few as four and as many as seven parachutes. Staff Sergeant John H. Harrigan, who survived the incident after landing on the beach, believed that he was the first crewmember to leave the aircraft and stated that any crewmembers that left the ship after him were possibly carried out to sea. In 1950, the remains of Flight Officer Philip Klein were identified after disinterment of a field burial in vicinity of Tarquinia, Italy.

5 5 Investigation Summary: A local diving group, the Assopaguro Dive Association, provided photographs of the wreckage and reports to have witnessed remains inside the wreckage specifically, a skull and remains inside of a boot. Assopaguro divers also located a Browning.50 caliber machine gun from the aircraft wreckage with a serial number correlated with a machine gun on B-24H #

6 6 Name Rank Position Status Rutters, Henry D. 2d Lt Pilot KIA-BNR Brown, Halbert P. Jr. 2d Lt Co-Pilot KIA-BNR Misik, Aldo 2d Lt Navigator KIA-BNR Klein, Philip B. F/O Bombardier KIA-Rec Stout, John F. S Sgt Top Turret Gunner KIA-BNR Siegrist, Frederick W S Sgt Right Waist Gunner KIA-BNR Springett, William L. S Sgt Left Waist Gunner KIA-BNR Moore, Howard R. S Sgt Ball Turret Gunner KIA-BNR Harrigan, John H. S Sgt Tail Turret Gunner RTD Warren, Eugene H. Sgt Radio Operator KIA-BNR

7 7 JPAC Mission 16-3IT (23 Sep 22 Oct 2016) Location: Tyrrhenian Sea,off Montalto Di Castro, Italy Conducted SCUBA diving operations for site orientation along side Assopaguro Dive Association and Carbineri (Italian Law Enforcement) divers.

8 8 Conducted Surface Supplied diving operations to a maximum depth of 110 fsw. Time on bottom was one hour followed by one hour of decompression.

9 9 Divers building search grids and conducting dredging operations

10 10 DPAA personnel screening dredged sediment

11 11 Mission statistic 780 total man-days expended 265 total combined SCUBA/surface supplied dives 157 hours of total bottom time 116 hours of total decompression time 16 hours of side scan survey missions completed Located, surveyed and marked wreckage, 2 wings, 1 tail section, 4 engines and 2 turrets 1,697 cubic feet of sediment dredged and screened Over 500 pieces debris recovered and analyzed 3 pieces of material evidence recovered

12 12 QUESTIONS?