The international ProjectXplore team has located the last undiscovered Royal Navy cruiser from World War I, HMS Nottingham.
The wreck has been found “remarkably intact” by the team of divers from across Europe. She was identified lying nearly 100km/62 miles off England’s northeast coast at a depth of 82 meters/269 feet.
HMS Nottingham was a Town-class light cruiser known for its role as a scout for the Grand Fleet. The wreck lies turned to port with its bow facing north, rising up to 10 meters/33 feet above the seabed. Its guns and much of the superstructure remain well-preserved, although the bow shows damage.
The HMS Nottingham was a veteran of major WW1 battles, including Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank and Jutland. She was sunk by German submarine U-52 on August 19, 1916. Thirty-eight seamen were lost. However the captain, 20 officers and 357 crew survived.
For decades, searches had failed to locate the wreck. However, after the team conducted extensive archival research in the UK and Germany and after eight months of preparation, the team successfully located the wreck in April using sonar and echo-sounder technology.
The ship’s identity was confirmed using its length, beam, four funnels and nine 6-inch guns. The team found that its position was closer to the German account of the sinking than the British. On July 16, a 10-person dive team explored and documented the wreck using photography and video. They found the ship’s name on the stern, timber decking, munitions and Royal Navy insignia.
Dan McMullen and Leo Fielding coordinated the project, while the diving team featured:
- Dominic Willis
- Joe Colls-Burnett
- Steffen Scholz
- Joe Robinson
- Alexandra Pischyna
- Rogier Visser
- James Sanderson
- Andrzej Sidorow.
According to the detailed report prepared by Fielding and McMullen:
“HMS Nottingham is without question the best-preserved ‘Town’-class cruiser in the world. Her state of preservation is testament to her robust construction, and the fact that the torpedoes struck a broadly similar area, as well as to the relative depth and undisturbed nature of the site.”
