100
BEST
WRECK
DIVES
The countdown crosses the halfway point this month as Kendall McDonald moves on to the top 50 wrecks in British waters
50 HMS M2
1600-ton Royal Navy submarine, built 1918 as K19. 296ft x 24ft. Originally carried 12in gun (same as M1). In 1928 gun removed, replaced with hangar to carry folding-wing seaplane with catapult launch. Position: 50 34.60N; 02 33.93W (all positions are GPS). Depth: 30m.
Sunk: 26 January, 1932, while exercising off Portland, probably in attempt to surface and launch seaplane in record time. It's believed hangar door was opened while still under water. All 60 of crew lost. Eleven-month salvage operation, headed by Ernest Cox of Scapa Flow fame, failed to raise her.
Diving: Complete and upright. Jib of recovery crane sticks out forward of conning tower. Hangar door open, aircraft removed during salvage. All hatches sealed with steel and concrete, except for conning-tower outer hatch which is open, but inner hatch is sealed like all others. This is a war grave, dive accordingly.
Launch: Portland.
49 MALVINA AND UB-107
Malvina: 1244-ton iron-screw steamer-schooner, built 1879. 254ft x 31ft. Armed. Cargo: General, London for Leith. Position: 54 08.25N; 00 04.40W. Depth: 25m.
Sunk: 3 August, 1918, by torpedo from UB-104 when 1 mile from Flamborough Head. Fourteen lost.
UB-107: 649-ton German UBIII class submarine, built 1917. 181ft x 19ft. Believed destroyed by depth-charging of armed yacht and trawlers on 27 July, 1918, off Scarborough, but found entangled with wreck of Malvina by divers in 1985.
Diving: U-boat lies at right angles to steamer and her bow enters the Malvina's broken wreckage by the engines, which are tilted over behind two boilers. Submarine identified by number engraved on prop. Beware strong tidal currents.
Launch: Flamborough.
48 WAR HELMET
8184-ton mass-produced British standard steamer, built 1917. 445ft x 58ft. Armed. Cargo: In ballast, London for Barry. Position: 50 37.38N; 00 36.50W. Depth: 27m.
Sunk: 19 April, 1918, by torpedo from UC-75. All saved.
Diving: Lies upright with bow to north-west. Flattened midships. Three boilers clear. Engine room easy to locate. Bow complete. Stern well broken. Forward steering binnacle recently raised.
Launch: Littlehampton.
47 ROYAL FUSILIER
2187-ton British steamer, built 1924. 285ft x 39ft. Cargo: 50 tons rice, 70 tons paper, London for Leith. Position: 56 06.53N; 02 35.30W. Depth: 46m.
Sunk: 3 June, 1941, after bombing by German aircraft in Firth of Forth, capsized under tow. Crew all saved.
Diving: Lies on port side with mud up to centre line. Intact. Covered by marine growth. Many portholes. Beware trawl nets over starboard companionways.
Launch: Anstruther; Dunbar.
46 SOMALI
6809-ton passenger-cargo steamer, built 1930. 459ft x 61ft. Armed with 12-pounder on stern. Cargo: 9000 tons cosmetics, horses, bicycles, toy lead soldiers, mercury, medical supplies, jeeps and tyres, Chinese coins, London for Hong Kong, via Firth of Forth for convoy assembly. Position: 55 33.15N; 01 36.07W. Depth: 28m.
Sunk: 27 March, 1941, two days after being bombed by Heinkel 111 and set on fire. Exploded while under tow. No casualties.
Diving: Upright. Extensively salvaged. Stern gun in place. Cargo, particularly bicycles, in clear view. Many bottles. Some coins, but most carried onto nearby beaches. Dive at slack. Beware of strong spring tide currents.
Launch: Beadnell.
45 BRETAGNE
1439-ton schooner-rigged steel steamer, built 1903. 232ft x 35ft. 106hp engine. Armed. Cargo: 1888 tons coal, Barry for Rouen. Position: 50 29.45N; 03 22. 62W. Depth: 25m.
Sunk: 10 August, 1918, after collision in fog with French steamer Renee Marthe.
Diving: Property of Bristol Aerospace divers, who raised 12-pounder gun and bell. Beware silt inside and general rusting. Upright. Handrails still in position around deck. Stands 7m proud of shingle seabed. Bow to south-west.
Launch: Teignmouth.
44 HMS P-12
613-ton Royal Navy patrol boat, built 1915. 244ft x 23ft. 3500hp twin steam turbines. Armed. On patrol from Portsmouth. Position: 50 39.40N; 01 05.00W. Depth: 22m.
Sunk: 4 November, 1918, after being cut in half in collision.
Diving: This is stern section (bow beached Whitecliff Bay). Long, narrow, upright and intact. Depth charges on stern. Throwing arms cocked and loaded. Turbines clear.
Launch: Sandown, Isle of Wight.
43 OSLOFJORD
18,673-ton five-deck trans-Atlantic passenger liner, able to carry 860 passengers and 310 crew, built 1938. Oil engines. 590ft x 73ft. Cargo: In ballast after refit as troopship, Liverpool to Newcastle. Position: 55 00.17N; 01 23.72W. Depth: 15m.
Sunk: 1 December, 1940, when back broken by German acoustic mine, beached close to Tynemouth.
Diving: Largest shipwreck on East coast. Huge amount of broken wreckage on sand seabed. Bow section points seaward. Four diesel engines clear after inward collapse. Pewter, crested pottery, silver salvers and brass portholes often found. Wreckage of 5317-ton Greek steamer Eugenia Chandris lies in contact near engine room after she struck Oslofjord wreck on 15 March, 1943.
Launch: South Shields.
42 SEISTAN
4238-ton steamer, built 1907. Originally Saint Rene, then Headley. 364ft x 50ft. 408hp triple-expansion engines. Armed. Cargo: Coal, Tyne to Falmouth. Position: 54 10 05N; 00 07 10W. Depth: 33m.
Sunk: 23 October, 1917, by torpedo from UB-57. Five lost.
Diving: Intact, upright. Stern section 10m proud, lists to starboard. Midships broken from torpedo damage. Propeller recovered, but cast-iron spare still on deck.
Launch: Flamborough.
41 HMS PORT NAPIER
9600-ton merchantman, converted to minelayer, built 1940. 498ft x 68ft. Armed. Cargo: 550 sea mines and 6000 rounds ammunition for 10 AA guns aboard.
Position: 57 15.98N; 05 41.18W. Depth: 21m.
Sunk: 27 November, 1940, after fire broke out during mine-loading at Kyle of Lochalsh. Towed into Loch Alsh where sank after explosion (not of mines, which were salvaged by RN divers in 1950).
Diving: Lies on starboard side about 300m from shore. Largely intact. Deck planking still in place as are many guns. Much of hull open to daylight through removal of portside plating during Navy mine salvage. At stern four minelaying doors provide diver exits. Needs more than one dive to explore this big ship.
Launch: Kyle of Lochalsh; Kyleakin, Skye.
Appeared in DIVER - September 1999.
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