How a Hiker Stumbled Upon a Hidden 80-Year-Old WWII Plane in the Woods

From Hiking to Aviation Archaeology

A love of hiking first led a Croatian outdoorsman into the world of modern conflict archaeology. Exploring caves and old trails across southern Istria, he began noticing fragments of past wars scattered in the landscape. Those small discoveries inspired a deeper interest in the history of the Second World War, especially around the Pula Peninsula where he lives. Over time his weekend walks turned into careful searches for long-forgotten crash sites, a field known as aviation archaeology. This discipline focuses on documenting old aircraft wrecks to understand the events and people connected to them.

In just over a year he located nine different sites where planes went down. One discovery stood out: the remains of an Italian bomber lost on the very first day of fighting in Yugoslavia. The search began after he read a wartime account mentioning a crash on the peninsula. Decades later a local man recalled striking buried metal while using an excavator, providing the clue that set the hunt in motion.

A Difficult Search Through Thick Woods

The first visit came in spring. Dense undergrowth, snakes, and clouds of insects made the hike exhausting. For hours the team wandered in circles until a piece of twisted aluminum finally appeared in the leaves. Moving deeper into the forest they found more wreckage—melted metal, fragments of engine parts, and a propeller hub marked with the code “C4.” Faded paint hinted at the olive coloring of the fuselage.

Archival records revealed the story. On April 6, 1941, Italian bombers attacked Yugoslav airfields at Mostar. During a second raid that day, Yugoslav Royal Air Force fighters intercepted the formation as it returned to base in Italy. One bomber, a wooden-framed Cant Z.1007 bis with a five-man crew, was shot down. Three bodies were recovered and buried nearby; two airmen remain missing.

Echoes of a Violent Past

This crash marked the opening of the war in the region. Within days the Kingdom of Yugoslavia collapsed. The peninsula saw brutal occupation, partisan resistance, and heavy civilian losses before the conflict’s end. Today the scattered remains of the Cant bomber lie hidden beneath thick vegetation, silent evidence of that first raid and the violent years that followed.

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