"Devils from Hell" found of the coast of Sicily

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The wreck of a Flying Fortress bomber shot down by Messerschmitt fighters during the Second World War has been found lying on the seabed off the coast of Sicily.


The B-17, nicknamed Devils from Hell by its nine-man crew, was discovered by divers at a depth of 245ft (75 metres), around four miles from the port of Palermo in southern Italy.


The discovery was the result of months of detective work, with historians and amateur divers matching official wartime records with the accounts of elderly Sicilians who still remember the raid.

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There are no plans to raise the wreck – it lies in deep water and is classed as a military war grave.

The cockpit was mangled as a result of the impact of plunging into the sea, but other parts of the aircraft are in good condition, including the upper gun turret and a still-intact machine gun.

After identifying the aircraft’s serial number, the diving team was able to trace US War Department records.

The B-17’s captain was First Lieutenant Bobby M Godwin, while his co-pilot was First Lieutenant Virgil E Hope, from Oklahoma

The other crew members were: John W Houck, John H Person, Robert B Imler, Robert S Littrell, Arthur Nilges, Frank Spatafore and William M Hawkins.

As yet the diving team has not yet found any human remains inside the wreck.

A report by the War Department detailed how the plane went down. “Lt Godwin’s ship was attacked 20 miles from target by ME-110s and was shot down. “There were no chutes seen to open and the gunners from the other planes were having a pretty busy time taking care of themselves,” it said.

The reported ended: “Status for the above crew – Dead.”

The Flying Fortress took part in a raid on Palermo on April 18 1943, a time when Italy under Mussolini was fighting the Allies

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