An upcoming book by Greek diver Giorgos Karelas, containing recent underwater footage, sheds light on the historical shipwrecks still lying beneath the waters at the entrance to the Channel of Missolonghi in Greece.
The area is known to World War II researchers for the deadly sinking of the British Landing Craft Tanks of the Royal Navy LCT Nο 328 and HMS Empire Dace in 1944. Both their wreckages were removed in the 1950s. However, diver Stefanos Kaltsoulas recently spotted the remains of four British army vehicles and one naval mine from the ship, AMNA reports.
Remains of a third wreckage, the hospital ship Esperos, were captured on footage by Giorgos Karelas and Lambros Charelos. The Greek Navy ship was carrying injured soldiers returning from the war front when it was bombarded by German aircraft as it sailed off from the town of Missolonghi on April 21, 1941.
Haunting stories of WWII shipwrecks off Missolonghi, Greece
Details of the three divers’ discoveries from their explorations of the wreck site, along with findings from their historical research, are all featured in Karelas’ forthcoming book.
These include lurid narratives and descriptions of the tragic events. HMS Empire Dace and LCT No. 328 sank just four days apart at the end of World War II after striking naval mines in the Channel of Missolonghi. The first tragedy, on December 1, 1944, claimed the lives of 78 crew members and soldiers, while the second, on December 5, took 15 more, including 13 Indian servicemen.
A local man, Chrisos Dedes, who was a child when the two naval tragedies occurred, recalled the community’s rescue efforts but also recounted grim scenes of some townsmen brutally mutilating the bodies of the deceased Indian soldiers to steal their gold jewelry.
The tragic shipwreck of LCT 328, was eventually salvaged from the seabed in the 1950s, repaired, and converted into a commercial ferry serving the route between the town of Rio on the Peloponnese and Antirrio on mainland Greece.
The ferry carried passengers across the Gulf of Corinth for many years under its new name, Melina.
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