British warship wreck found off Scottish coast, likely HMS Hawke
Off the coast of Scotland, the wreck of a British warship that was sunk during the First World War has been discovered. HMS Hawke was found by a team of divers around 130 kilometres east of Fraserburgh. It sank in October 1914.
20 August 2024 18:12
Groups of scientists have verified data over the years to identify the ship resting on the seabed. They even checked the logs of the German U-boat commander to determine where the ship was hit.
— It took years of research, but the actual time on the ground was just a few hours — diver Steve Mortimer from the Lost in Waters Deep group told the BBC. The discoverers must wait for the Royal Navy to confirm their theory.
British explorers found the wreck of a warship. it may be HMS Hawke, sunk by the Germans in 1914
The ship discovered near Fraserburgh is most likely HMS Hawke. It was attacked in October 1914 by a German U-boat. The vessel caught fire, followed by an explosion, and the ship went down in eight minutes.
A total of 524 crew members died. 70 sailors survived the disaster, escaping from the sinking ship.
HMS Hawke, an Edgar-class cruiser, was 118 metres long and 18 metres wide and launched in 1891. Three years before the German attack, in 1911, it was severely damaged in a collision with the sister ship of the Titanic, RMS Olympic.
When the First World War broke out, the ship's crew was included in the 10th Cruiser Squadron and assigned to a naval blockade in the Shetland area. Later, in the southern North Sea, it protected Canadian soldier convoys from German attacks. A German torpedo from U-9 hit HMS Hawke on 15 October 1914.
The Lost in Waters Deep group discovered the wreck on 12 August. It rested 110 metres below the water's surface. Diver Steve Mortimer said that the U-boat commander's log was not the only document analysed to identify the British ship. They also sought accounts from Scottish fishermen from the 1980s who documented obstacles on marine routes.
Mortimer called the ship a "time capsule." He said that looking through the portholes, you can see extraordinary items inside the vessel. Cups, bowls, and plates are on the floor. Some bear the signature of the Royal Navy of Great Britain.
