A crowdfunding project is being launched to help scuba divers on a mission to preserve a World War Two Flying Boat, which sank more than 75 years ago and is part of a unique heritage project.

Members of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) need £9,000 to buy a new engine for their boat, so they can keep diving on the Sunderland Flying Boat which sank off Pembroke Dock in 1940.

Divers from BSAC branch the Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust (PDST) Dive Group are the only divers permitted to dive on or remove artefacts from the protected wreck, which has featured on both Channel 4’s Wreck Detectives and on BBC Wales.

They have spent almost a decade salvaging historic artefacts from the wreck, including the aircraft’s front gun turret’s machine gun, which are on display to the public at the UK’s only Flying Boat Interpretation Centre, the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre, which is run by the Sunderland Trust.

But dives have had to be put on hold after the engine on the group’s Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) failed irreparably.

Now the divers, keen to get back diving on the wreck of the iconic seaplane, have launched a fundraising appeal in an effort to raise the £9,000 they need for a new outboard engine.

The Sunderland is one of only four such Flying Boats left in the world and the only surviving Mark 1 which saw operational service with the RAF in the Battle of the Atlantic Campaign.

The PDST Dive Group’s diving officer Nick Hammond, discovered the wreck in 1998.

He said: “I was actually freeing a fisherman’s lobsterpot and the rope was tangled around the propeller.

“I quickly untangled the rope and went off exploring the wreck and we haven’t looked back since.

“I must have dived on her hundreds of times now.

“It’s an iconic aircraft which played a massive part in World War Two. It would be great if people could get behind the campaign so we can preserve her for future generations to see.”

He added: “A lot of people enjoy the Heritage Centre and the more artefacts we can get in there the better.”

Rik Saldanha MBE, PDST Dive Group secretary and training officer, and chairman David Pring, are both BSAC advanced divers and advanced dive Instructors.

They say there is so much more of the Sunderland Flying Boat that they wish to recover and put on display to help educate future generations about the technology used in the war effort.

Rik, 68, a retired RAF Flight Lieutenant and engineering officer, said: “The wreck is that of the Sunderland Flying Boat T9044 which sank at its moorings in a fierce storm on November 12, 1940.

“Fortunately, there was no one on board.

“There were actually several Sunderlands that sank in the Haven during the war years.

“But we know, from an engine we recovered in 2003, that our wreck is a Mark 1 with the serial number T9044. It had flown down from Oban, Scotland the day before it sank in the storm.”

David Pring, 63, a freelance graphic designer, added: “We really want to recover as much of T9044 as we can so it can go on display at the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre along with what we have already recovered from the wreck site.

“The Sunderland was an iconic aircraft and we need to help tell its story.

“However, until we can raise the money we need for a new engine we are only able to do shore dives and as the wreck lies opposite the Pembroke Ferry Port we simply can’t reach it from the shore.”

The crowdfunding appeal is being run by an honorary PDST Dive Group member Mark Pittman, 64, a retired RAF sergeant and electrical engineer with Air Defence Radar, and former business development manager with the Sunderland Trust.

Mark, of Haverfordwest, said: “The BSAC members who make up the PDST Dive Group branch are really dedicated to the task of recovering and preserving the wreck of T9044.

“They do dive at other sites but the majority of what they do concerns Pembroke Dock’s Sunderland Flying Boat.

“I have set-up a crowdfunding appeal complete with video. We are looking at any individual or business who can help in any way.”

Mark says the fact much of the wreck of T9044 is under silt has actually preserved it, and the task now is to get the PDST Dive Group members back diving on the wreck to see what else can be brought to the surface and conserved.

He said: “The divers are really enthusiastic and dedicated to their work on the wreck. If we can possibly recover the rear turret and another one of her engines that would be amazing.

“If we can’t get too much more to the surface, then we want to build a virtual display at the Pembroke Dock Heritage Museum.”

BSAC is the national governing body for scuba diving and is made up of 120 dive centres and 1,000 plus family friendly and sociable clubs, run by volunteers, up and down the country and abroad. The Duke of Cambridge is the club’s president.

It represents more than 30,000 scuba divers and snorkellers and welcomes new members from complete beginners upwards, including those who have trained with other agencies.

Mary Tetley, BSAC’s chief executive, said: “BSAC divers do a great deal of work preserving our maritime history and protecting the marine environment.

“The work the divers of our PDST Dive Group branch have and are doing in respect of the wreck of T9044 is fantastic and with everything recovered going on public display at the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre they are helping educate visitors.”

She added: “I wish them well with their crowd funding appeal and hope they are successful in raising the funds they need to purchase a new engine.

“If they are to learn more about this important and protected wreck and recover more artefacts from the bottom of Milford Haven then they need to get back in the water as soon as possible.”

David adds that interestingly, the divers have identified five engines associated with the aircraft which, when in service, only had four.

He said: “There are lots of theories as to why there are five engines.

“The group’s theory is, as the Sunderland needed all four engines to be able to stay airborne, a crew was about to change the broken engine just prior to her sinking.

“The first engine raised from the wreck, which was found to have a broken con-rod, was brought up in 2003. There is a second engine on display that we recovered in 2011.

“Over a period of eight weeks, we cleared all around it, the wreck is actually partially submerged in silt, and following that, a barge helped lift the engine which was in remarkably good condition.

“There is still a third engine attached to the port wing and a fourth which is partially buried in silt. The fifth engine is on top of the nearby bank in six metres of water and is still attached to part of the starboard wing.

“Apparently, the anchor of a Royal Navy Fleet Auxiliary tanker, the Eddyness, dragged the engine and part of the wing off the wreck in 1955 and deposited it on the nearby bank.”

Rik says the group is really keen to bring up the Sunderland’s rear gun turret, which is one of only three of its kind left in the world.

He said: “Diving on T9044 is never easy. The visibility is rarely better than one to two metres and often considerably less.

“Add to that the strong tides and it’s easy to see that diving on the wreck of T9044 is challenging and should only be attempted by experienced and well trained divers.”

He added: “We would love to recover the whole wreck and bring it to the surface.”

Mark’s interest in the Sunderland Flying Boat comes from his work at the museum.

He said: “I come from an RAF family. My dad, Fred, joined aged 17 and retired at 55 as a warrant officer. As an aircraft engineer he worked on bombers and fighters in the Second World War, but he never worked on Sunderland’s as far as I’m aware.

“Since I began work with the Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust as their business development manager, I became more and more interested in the Sunderland Flying Boat and in particular the wreck of T9044.

“I just want to see the guys back diving and working on the wreck and to do that we need a new RIB engine.

“We intend to run the crowd funding appeal for around six weeks and hopefully we can soon get group members back in the water and working on the wreck.”

To learn more about BSAC, visit www.bsac.com

To learn more about Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust Dive Group, which is BSAC branch number 2452, visit www.pdstdivegroup.co.uk

And to learn more about Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust, visit www.sunderlandtrust.com