The ill-fated British WWII submarine HMS Trooper, missing for 81 years, has finally been found resting 830 feet beneath the Icarian Sea. The Trooper vanished in 1943 during a secret mission in the Aegean Sea, tasked with deploying resistance fighters near Kalamos. Despite a scheduled return to Beirut, it was lost, with speculation long swirling around its fate.
This mystery began to unravel when Kostas Thoctarides and his crew from Planet Blue—experts in underwater recovery—shifted their focus westward from where the sub was last spotted. After years of failed attempts, Thoctarides proposed that the Trooper had been misidentified in its final sighting, leading searchers astray for decades. Utilizing sonar and the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Super Achille, his team scanned the ocean depths near the Greek island of Donoussa, confirming the sub’s wreckage on October 3, 2024.
The discovery paints a haunting picture of the vessel’s final moments. Visual analysis shows the Trooper was obliterated by a German naval mine, which tore the submarine into three pieces, with the largest section being 106 feet long. The open hatch on its conning tower suggests it was sailing on the surface when tragedy struck.
The Royal Navy has praised the mission, with Capt. Richard Wraith—whose father, Lt. John Wraith, commanded the Trooper on its final voyage—acknowledging the find as an opportunity for families to finally have closure. The wreckage now serves as a solemn tribute to the crew’s bravery, closing a long chapter in WWII history that remained a cold case for over eight decades.
The treacherous Icarian Sea, notorious for its harsh winds and undercurrents, had hidden this vessel’s story for generations. Now, with this discovery, historians and families alike can reflect on the perils faced by the HMS Trooper and its courageous crew.
