Bristol Beaufighter

This is the wreck of a Bristol Beaufighter, a twin-engined RAF fighter that developed mechanical trouble soon after take-off on 17 March 1943 and ditched in the sea. Both the pilot and the observer survived. It lies about 900 metres off St Julian’s Point and is dived by boat.

The aircraft rests upside down on a sandy seabed at about 35 to 38 metres. Much of it is buried, but parts of the wings, the engines, the undercarriage frames and one propeller can still be seen. Recent reports describe it as increasingly broken up, with little marine life on the bare sand around it.

This is a deep dive with limited bottom time. Fin carefully, as stirred-up sand quickly cuts the visibility.