WWII mystery solved off Malta with discovery of sunken British submarine

For nearly 70 years, nobody knew exactly where the 283-foot sub's final resting spot was in the Mediterranean Sea.

It was only on Monday that Heritage Malta gave the US based 'Aurora Trust'-  a not-for-profit ocean exploration and education foundation, which solved the World War II British mystery - permission to announce the discovery.

A trust executive has reportedly notified the British Embassy in Washington about the submarine discovery on Tuesday, and plans are being made to show a British Navy Admiral the video footage and provide all information they have about the discovery.

Only nine of the 98 men aboard survived, swimming about seven miles in cold water and without lights to guide them due to the wartime blackout.

The HMS Olympus had left the Grand Harbour in Valletta on May 8, 1942 under the cover of darkness in attempt to get past a blockade by the German and Italian naval forces.

But the Olympus didn't get far before striking a mine and sinking.

A year ago, the marine archaeology survey team from the Aurora Trust discovered the sub using side scan sonar. But at the time, they weren't sure exactly what the image showed.

The team, which operates from Malta, returned a few months later with deep-sea robotic vehicles to videotape the wreck - twice as deep as recreational divers can go.

"Sure enough, there was a submarine, sitting on the bottom, with the propeller intact and the hatch open," said Ian Koblick, who co-founded the trust with fellow ocean explorer Craig Mullen in 2003. "We were pretty sure it was the Olympus because of the configuration of the [eight bow] torpedo tubes, the location and the fact that it was armed."

The video shows cannons onboard, antennas for the radio, machine guns and a blowout at the bottom of the sub, where the mine struck, Koblick said.

The video also showed the distinctive feature of an Odin class sub: a 4-inch deck gun. It was found slightly elevated, looking ready for action.

According to a report on the 'Miami Herald' that notwithstanding the discovery, it still took a few more months of further research before Malta's Superintendent of Cultural Heritage was satisfied the submarine was indeed the Olympus.

In 2008, a team of technical divers from the United Kingdom and Malta claimed they had discovered the Olympus after identifying features that appeared consistent with the submarine's layout. But their dive was brief with low visibility.

The technical divers said in a release three years ago they would return to positively identify the wreck, but they never did.

Only last Monday, Heritage Malta gave the Aurora Trust permission to announce the discovery. "It took time because they are very protective of their cultural resources," Koblick told the Miami Herald.

The submarine likely is the resting place for at least a few of the military men who didn't survive.

"It's quite a sad story," Koblick said. "These folks were on their way home via Gibraltar. Some had survived two other submarine sinkings."

During the height of the Italian and German blockade of Malta, the British Navy battled to keep the island, supplied with fuel, food and war supplies. Submarines played a key role.

The Olympus was launched in 1927 and served the Royal Australian Navy in China before being deployed to the Mediterranean to support allied efforts.

The trust's operation has discovered 24 ancient shipwreck sites, many not seen for 2,000 years or more.

It also has uncovered other World War II shipwrecks, more than a dozen World War II airplanes and unexploded military mines.

Maltese archeologist Timmy Gambin, said three months ago that the team was mapping "the underwater landscape of war."

The Olympus is the best preserved World War II relic that the trust has found.

"It was like somebody took your toy submarine and put it on the bottom," Koblick said.

The trust is hoping to do a documentary about the discovery.