The legendary investigator claimed in 1981 that he had discovered a sunken Nazi U-boat off the Turks and Caicos Islands near the Bahamas. The 20-person crew had been on the hunt for the Pinta, one of a trio of ships that sailed with Columbus to the ‘New World’ in 1492. However, when Mr Miklos dived down below the ocean surface to look for the shipwreck, he allegedly found a German submarine – or U-boat.
The explorer claimed that the vessel was one of a fleet of modified German subs used to smuggle art, gold and high-ranking Nazi officials out of Germany at the end of World War 2.
Such theories have been put forward before, but Mr Miklos also made the extraordinary additional claim that Hitler and his wife and Eva Braun were on the U-boat.
The claims have been examined in an episode of the new series of ‘History’s Greatest Mysteries’ on the History Channel US.
The docuseries, which is presented, and executive produced by Laurence Fishburne, follows a team of experts as they attempt to retrace Mr Miklos’ steps and track down the U-boat.
As the documentary explains, some of the facts do lend credibility to some of Mr Miklos’ arguments.
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Nazi submarines did sail the Caribbean and, at the end of World War 2, many Nazis successfully fled Germany to live in South America.
However, experts have questioned his most controversial claim about Hitler’s escape from Germany.
Diver and explorer Mike Fletcher, who is leading the search for the U-boat, is among those to appear in ‘History’s Greatest Mysteries’.
Speaking about Mr Miklos’ claims, he said: “There is this one thing that he claims is on the U-boat and I just went, ‘wow!’.”
After Mr Miklos died in 2018, Mr Fletcher was given the treasure hunter’s stash of documents about the U-boat’s possible location.
The pair had withdrawn to the secret underground bunker at Hitler’s headquarters in the German capital, where they took cyanide capsules and Hitler also shot himself.
However, Mr Miklos said he had spoken with Nazi hunters and retired German officers who convinced him that Hitler faked his suicide and escaped on a modified U-boat.
Mr Fletcher poured cold water on the theory that Hitler faked his own suicide and fled Germany on a U-boat.
He said: “Do I believe Roger found a U-boat? Absolutely. Do I believe that the U-boat was carrying gold and paintings looted from Europe after the war? It’s possible.
“But, do I think that Hitler was onboard his U-boat? No.
“It’s obvious to me that Roger loved a good headline. He liked to be in front of the news camera.
“He needed the attention. He needed to garner support for his idea. He needed investors’ dollars.
“But more critically, he needed permits to go back to the Turks and Caicos to prove to the world that he had actually found a U-boat.”
‘History’s Greatest Mysteries’ is available on the History Channel US.