Secret Scotland

The following article, reproduced in full with acknowledgement to its Crown/MOD source, contains information which may be of interest.

In addition to the ten military shipwrecks reported below, a further listing of 21 similar wrecks was announced on November 9, 2001, following rising concern over disturbance and trophy hunting by an irresponsible minority of divers, and adds to the previous total of 48 such protected remains.

Ten military shipwrecks protected as final resting places

A History and Honour news article

8 Apr 08

The final resting places of more than 750 people who lost their lives at sea will be protected by the Ministry of Defence it was announced today, Tuesday 8 April 2008.

The memorial to the Atlantic Conveyor, one of the wrecks awarded legal protection today, unveiled by HRH The Prince Edward on 16 June 2007
[Picture: Cpl Jon Ryder]

The MOD has extended additional legal protection to ten shipwrecks under the Protection of Military Remains Act (PMRA) 1986 to ensure the sites are safe from disturbance from divers.

The latest list of shipwrecks to be protected by the Act include the Atlantic Conveyor, lost during the Falklands campaign of 1982, HMS Curacao, where 338 men perished in the Atlantic in 1942, and the merchant ship SS Storaa, where 21 crew members lost their lives after enemy action off the coast of Hastings.

Veterans Minister, Derek Twigg, said:

“I am pleased to extend protection to these ten vessels. This will ensure that these shipwrecks cannot be disturbed without specific permission. I hope this will be of some comfort to the families of those who lost their lives onboard these ships.”

Designation as a protected place allows the site to be visited by divers on a ‘look but don’t touch or enter’ basis. Any physical disturbance of the wreck would require prior licensing by the MOD. The ten new designations will come into effect on 1 May 2008, adding to the existing 48 shipwrecks which are already designated.

The ten wrecks designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act (PMRA) 1986 are:

The first British warship lost in WWI - HMS Amphion in the North Sea was sunk on 6 August 1914. After sinking the German minelayer Koningin Luise, Amphion struck one of the mines that the German ship had previously laid. Included in the death toll of 169 men were 18 German sailors rescued from the Koningin Luise.

Destroyer HMS Ghurka off Dungeness, Kent, struck a mine and sank on 8 February 1917. Only five men were rescued, 75 lost their lives.

Submarine HMS L24, off Portland, Dorset, was reported missing on 10 January 1924 whilst participating in a training exercise. It is believed that, having carried out a mock attack on another ship, she was surfacing when she collided with the battleship HMS Resolution. The submarine was lost together with her complement of 36 men.

Destroyer HMS Delight , off Portland, Dorset, was sunk by enemy air attack on 29 July 1940, with the loss of 19 lives. She is thought to be the first Royal Navy ship lost to aircraft in WWII.

HMS Curacao in the Atlantic was escorting the Cunard Liner Queen Mary, which was carrying 15,000 US troops en route to the United Kingdom. On 2 October 1942 the two ships collided whilst performing an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) manoeuvre and the much smaller Curacao was sliced in half. 338 men perished.

Destroyer HMS Penylan in the English Channel was torpedoed by the E-boat S115 on 3 December 1942 whilst escorting the coastal convoy PW257. Although five officers and 112 ratings were rescued, 38 of her crew perished.

The defensively armed merchant ship (DEMS) SS Storaa was sunk by E-boat attack whilst in convoy under RN escort off Hastings on 3 November 1943. 21 of her crew lost their lives.

Algerine-Class minesweeper HMS Loyalty off Nab Light, Isle of Wight, was torpedoed and sunk by U-480 on 22 August 1944, with the loss of 20 of her crew. There were 30 survivors. She had previously participated in the Normandy landings.

German U-boat U-714 , near Firth of Forth, Scotland, was sunk on 14 March 1945 by depth charges launched from the South African frigate HMSAS Natal. She had a complement of 50 men and was lost with all hands.

The only merchant vessel lost during the Falklands War - the Cunard roll-on/roll-off container ship Atlantic Conveyor had been taken up from trade and converted to serve as an aircraft transport. On 25 May 1982 Atlantic Conveyor was with the task group east of the Falklands when the group was attacked by Argentine Super Etendard aircraft carrying Exocet missiles. An Exocet hit Atlantic Conveyor on her port quarter, starting huge fires. Twelve men were lost and the ship abandoned; she later sank while under tow in the South Atlantic.

PMRA 1986 allows MOD to protect from unauthorised interference the remains of aircraft and vessels that were in military service when lost, such remains may be designated either as controlled sites or protected places. The former designation is considerably more restrictive than the latter.

Military aircraft remains are automatically designated under the Act, as protected places, wrecked ships on the other hand need to be individually designated as either controlled sites or protected places. Shipwrecks are eligible for designation if they lie in UK or International Waters.

In UK waters any military aircraft or vessel of any nationality may be designated, but only aircraft or vessels belonging to the United Kingdom may be designated in International Waters.

© Crown Copyright/MOD 2007