The wreck of the B17 plane is one of the legendary wrecks along the Corsican shores. A.k.a. 'The Flying Fortress', this 32m wingspan over 22m length American Bomber had 4 engines and 13 machine-guns; it could cover up to 3200 km on a single trip. This very one, skippered by Lieutenant Charplik, is one of 4750 lost during WWII... On the 14th of February 1944, it takes off with 10 men aboard en route to bomb out the railway system in Verona, Italy; a squadron of German Messerschmitt 109 planes engages combat on the way. Serioulsy damaged by the fight, it lost 3 machine guns and changed its course for Calvi, with only 2 engines running. Eventually it is forced to a sealanding and only 6 members of crew are rescued.
Today the wreck rests 27 meters down, on a sandy bottom, at the foot of the old city of Calvi. As you descend onto the plane, a clear picture of its massive size emerges: it lies flat with the two wings and the 4 engines still attached, in good conditions. The tail has disappeared, providing a way to look at the inside of the cabin, along with the cockpit, still intact with the instruments and the pilot seats! Check out the engines, though a few parts and blades have been removed by metal scrappers, or just damaged and lost on impact... Some conger and moray eels have settled down in the wreck, and a few groupers and wrasses swim around!
The wreck of the B17 plane is one of the legendary wrecks along the Corsican shores. A.k.a. 'The Flying Fortress', this 32m wingspan over 22m length American Bomber had 4 engines and 13 machine-guns; it could cover up to 3200 km on a single trip. This very one, skippered by Lieutenant Charplik, is one of 4750 lost during WWII... On the 14th of February 1944, it takes off with 10 men aboard en route to bomb out the railway system in Verona, Italy; a squadron of German Messerschmitt 109 planes engages combat on the way. Serioulsy damaged by the fight, it lost 3 machine guns and changed its course for Calvi, with only 2 engines running. Eventually it is forced to a sealanding and only 6 members of crew are rescued.
Today the wreck rests 27 meters down, on a sandy bottom, at the foot of the old city of Calvi. As you descend onto the plane, a clear picture of its massive size emerges: it lies flat with the two wings and the 4 engines still attached, in good conditions. The tail has disappeared, providing a way to look at the inside of the cabin, along with the cockpit, still intact with the instruments and the pilot seats! Check out the engines, though a few parts and blades have been removed by metal scrappers, or just damaged and lost on impact... Some conger and moray eels have settled down in the wreck, and a few groupers and wrasses swim around!
The wreck of the B17 plane is one of the legendary wrecks along the Corsican shores. A.k.a. 'The ...
