<p>Site formation processes at underwater aircraft crash sites remain an underdeveloped area of maritime archaeology, long constrained by anecdotal data and isolated snapshots of site condition. This paper helps to address that gap through the comparative study of two submerged Second World War aircraft wrecks off Malta: a Bristol Beaufighter (T5174) and a Bristol Blenheim (Z7858). Although differing in depositional history, the two sites share broadly comparable environmental settings, depth range, and wartime context, providing a useful basis for longitudinal analysis. Using photogrammetric survey data collected between 2013 and 2025, together with cloud-to-cloud distance calculations, the study assesses structural decay, seabed change, and the displacement of wreck elements through time. The results challenge simplified assumptions regarding aircraft stability after deposition, showing that these sites remain subject to continued movement, deterioration, and reconfiguration under the influence of storm activity, seabed dynamics, and local site conditions. The findings emphasise that underwater aircraft wrecks should not be understood as reaching an immediate state of equilibrium on the seabed, but as active archaeological sites that continue to evolve long after loss. More broadly, the study demonstrates the value of re-examining legacy datasets with higher-resolution analytical tools and integrating these with repeat survey in order to improve interpretation, monitoring, and management of underwater cultural heritage.</p>