Fighting planes
80 years after, Fighter plane missing is found. The riddle of a P-38 Lightning fighter plane’s disappearance during a daring raid on Italian airfields in 1943 has finally been explained.
Warren Singer, a US airman, vanished with his P-38 Lightning near Foggia, Italy, on August 25, 1943, while participating in a mission to undermine Italy’s aviation response to the imminent Allied landings.
The riddle of a P-38 Lightning fighter plane’s disappearance during a daring raid on Italian airfields in 1943 has finally been explained.
However, 2nd Lt Singer never arrived at his destination, and according to Air Force records, he was last seen flying near Manfredonia, a village 22 miles east of Foggia.
Divers discovered Singer’s plane wreckage in the Gulf of Manfredonia at a depth of 12 meters (40 feet) eighty years later.
Singer, who was only 22 years old at the time, left behind a wife, Margaret, whom he had married only five months before. Peggy, their daughter, was born in January 1944. Grandson Dave Clark expressed the family’s feelings, saying, “Warren is a hero to us all, and we love him.”
Fabio Bisciotti, the diver who located the wreckage, told MailOnline on Thursday that the jet was in surprisingly decent shape, indicating that it likely encountered a mechanical problem and ditched in the water. Bisciotti, the Italian Naval League’s underwater study group leader, believes Singer may have escaped the wreck but drowned later.
Singer’s P-38 was the only one lost at sea in the vicinity, according to records, verifying the identification. Despite the diver’s attempts, there was no trace of Singer’s body. Singer’s disappearance was recorded by historian Steve Blake, who noted that he was never discovered and that his name is written on the Tablets of the Missing in Tunisia.
While Italy and the United States were at war when Singer died, Dr. Bisciotti stated that identifying his plane was a “huge honor,” emphasizing the significance of honoring individuals regardless of their affiliation. Following the discovery reported by the Italian Naval League, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is actively researching the issue.