The Halifax bomber was struck by heavy flak and made a successful crash landing 600ft down a water inlet in northern Norway.

The sunken bomber will be protected as a war grave because of the likelihood of the remains of the two airman still being on board. Four of the six-man crew bailed out into a dingy but nothing was ever seen of navigator, Flight Sergeant Albert Columbine, or wireless operator, Arthur Evans. It is believed they drowned when the bomber went down.

During bloody battles in 1944 between American and Japanese almost two dozen aircraft had fallen into waters around Palau, leaving around 70 airmen missing in action.

The Japanese wanted to use the islands for battle preparation and refuelling grounds — and so did the Allies. Numerous aircraft were lost in the waters of Palau, submerged for decades with little closure for the families of fallen airmen.

The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing and one of the largest aircraft to have seen service during World War II. It was a very advanced bomber for its time, with features such as a pressurized cabin, an electronic fire-control system, and a quartet of remote-controlled machine-gun turrets operated by the fire-control system in addition to its defensive tail gun installation.

he old chamber which is over 40 years old, was run by St John Ambulance & Rescue Service and used to treat divers with decompression sickness until it was closed in April. It was solely funded by public donations and located at the Ambulance Station on the outskirts of Guernsey’s main town, St Peter Port.