A Royal Navy submarine scuttled off the coast of Corsica during the Second World War has been discovered 72 years later.

HMS Saracen was found lying more than 1,000ft below the surface of the Mediterranean today following a two-year search.

The boat terrorised the German and Italian navies during the war, taking part in daring missions before she was sunk by her own crew.

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Eerie: HMS Saracen (pictured) was found lying hundreds of metres below the surface of the Mediterranean today following a two-year search

HMS Saracen (pictured during the Second World War) has been found 72 years after it was scuttled off the coast of Corsica

Eerie photographs released by Italian engineer Guido Gay show HMS Saracen on the seabed off Corsica.

'This morning I inspected a sonar contact found yesterday and there she is - beautifully adorned by white corals,' he said, adding that the S-class submarine was found in Italian waters, and at a depth of 1,385ft.

It is the latest chapter in the extraordinary career of a boat, which aided Corsican resistance fighters and Allied spies during WWII.

Terry Hodgkinson, a British author who has written extensively about the submarine, said the find was 'absolutely magnificent.'

'It is an incredible discovery, and one which will cause huge excitement around the world,' he said.

'The pictures were sent to the Royal Navy submarine museum in Britain and have now been positively confirmed as Saracen.'

The boat terrorised the German and Italian navies during the war, taking part in daring missions before she was sunk by her own crew

HMS Saracen was scuttled close to Bastia, on the French island of Corsica, on Saturday, August 14 1943 after being severely damaged by depth charges from the Italian corvettes Minerva and Euterpe.

Lt Michael Lumby, captain of the Saracen, deliberately waited a day because he did not want to sink his boat on the 'unlucky' Friday 13.

This meant his entire crew staying underwater until 2am on the Saturday before he ordered his chief engineer to open the vents with the submarine's engines still running.

Earlier in the war, she had sunk the German submarine U-335 with all but one of its crew on its first patrol southeast of the Faroe Islands.

Saracen then became notorious in the Mediterranean, launching regular torpedo attacks on Italian and German shipping, as well as on enemy ports.

Just before her scuttling, she landed three agents from MI6 on Corsica whose aim was to spy on the Axis forces on the strategically crucial island.

Two Saracen crew drowned as they escaped the ship during her scuttling, meaning she is now an official war grave. Others were captured but then released when Italy capitulated later in the war.

Lt Lumby himself was sent to a German POW camp but after the war became commander of HMS Belfast, which is now a floating museum in London.

Weapon: HMS Saracen (its cannon shown) sunk the German submarine U-335 with all but one of its crew

There are believed to be just two survivors of the 48 officers and men who served aboard Saracen, and there is a marble plaque in the citadel in Bastia with the ship's badge honouring them.

Mr Hodgkinson said all surviving relatives of the Saracen crew were being informed of the discovery, and a bronze badge honouring those who served onboard will now be lowered to the wreck. Beyond that, she will remain exactly where she is, as befits a war grave.

The back of the badge reads: 'In memory of HMS Saracen and her Crew who played a vital role in the Liberation of Corsica. Sank 14th August 1943.'

There is also a granite monument to Saracen on the beach at Cupabia, Corsica, marking the spot where the secret agents landed.

The most recent hunt for the Saracen was originally led by an 8.5m pounds state-of-the-art French research ship called the André Malraux.

Scientists from France's underwater archaeological unit intended to locate her first by side-scan sonar, before sending down a robotic camera.

But in the end it was left to the Italians to send pictures and film to George Malcolmson, Archive Officer at the National Museum of the Royal Navy based at the Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire.