The Navy said today that a sunken vessel found in the Philippines’ Balabac Strait has been identified as the World War II submarine USS Flier.

The Flier, which departed Pearl Harbor in January 1944 for its first war patrol, had seen extensive action by the time it struck a mine and sank on Aug. 13, 1944.
Seventy-eight crewmen were lost when the submarine went down.
Fourteen crewmen escaped, but only eight survived the long swim to reach shore. After making their way by raft to Palawan and being protected for several weeks by local people and a guerrilla unit, the sailors were evacuated by the submarine USS Redfin.
The last surviving crewmember, Ens. Al Jacobson, devoted much of his life to finding the Flier. After his death in 2008, his family continued the search.
Using Jacobson’s notes and research, YAP Films last year was able to locate wreckage of a submarine in the area where the Flier was lost.
YAP Films provided video footage to the Naval History and Heritage Command and it was confirmed that the wreckage was that of the Flier.