The Navy confirmed yesterday the sunken wreckage of a vessel found in the Philippines' Balabac Strait as that of a World War II submarine, the USS Flier.

“;We hope this announcement will provide some closure to the families of the 78 crewmen lost when Flier struck a mine in 1944,”; Rear Adm. Douglas McAneny said in Honolulu.

The wreckage of the 1,525-ton Gato-class sub was located at a depth of 330 feet last spring by a team from YAP Films, which used information provided by the family of Al Jacobson, an ensign and last surviving member of the crew, the Navy said. Jacobson died in 2008.

The Navy said father-and-son divers Mike and Warren Fletcher of the TV show “;Dive Detectives”; captured the first views of the sunken sub in 65 years. Footage provided by YAP to the Naval History and Heritage Command aided in the identification of the sub.

In early August 1944, Flier left Fremantle, Australia, on its second war patrol.

On Aug. 13, while passing through shallow water to enter the South China Sea, the sub struck a mine and quickly sank. Fourteen of 86 crewmen escaped, but only eight survived the subsequent long swim to reach shore.

“;The Flier was found because all the right people came together for all the right reasons,”; Mike Fletcher said. “;But mostly the Flier was found because of the love a family has for their dad.”;

Jacobson's son, Steve, said finding the sub was “;a pretty emotional experience.”;

“;Although I was really confident of the position, you still don't know,”; he said. “;Literally, it was exactly at the coordinates he said it would be. It is tremendous closure, and I wish that my dad could have experienced this.”;

The Flier, launched at Groton, Conn., arrived at Pearl Harbor for its first war patrol on Dec. 20, 1943. A grounding at Midway in 1944 sent it to the West Coast for repairs, after which it sailed for the Philippines.