28 / 116
26
|
WINTER 2017
REDISCOVERING HISTORY
PRESERVED BY THE SEA
AN EXPEDITION UNCOVERS AIRCRAFT LOST IN 1944.
Text by Sabrina Belloni; photos by Franco Banfi
D
eep in the silent oblivion of the
Adriatic Sea off the coast of the
Croatian island of Svetac, Lorenz
Marović and his son, Andi, found
a series of historical treasures: the
remains of two U.S. Army Air
Forces planes that foundered during World War II and
the wreck of the Greek steamship
Michael N. Maris
,
which sank in 1932.
The divers had persevered for months before ever
leaving the dock, studying relevant nautical charts
and analyzing reports of local elders. Once ready, they
equipped their boat with a powerful towed side-scan
sonar and began to conduct hydrographic surveys.
The energy emitted by a side-scan sonar sweeps
the seafloor directly underneath the “towfish” and
laterally more than 300 feet outward in each direction.
The strength of the return echoes is continuously
recorded, creating an image of the ocean bottom that’s
clearly visible on a screen on the boat’s bridge. Local
fisherman aided Marović by providing guidance based
on their experience working the Adriatic.
One day the sonar monitor showed something
resting on the bottom of the sea. The second part of
the expedition thus began, as they planned a series of
technical dives to verify what the sonar had shown. I
DIVE SLATE
REDISCOVERING HISTORY