The UK Gasperados dive team has managed to locate the sunken wreck of the World War I-era US Coast Guard Cutter Tampa off the coast of Cornwall.
The wreck was finally found at a depth of 94m/315ft, located nearly 80km/50 miles off the coast of Newquay and solves a century-old maritime mystery.
The Tampa was a 58-meter/190-foot vessel that was torpedoed on September 26, 1918, by German U-boat UB-91. Sadly, all 131 people on board were lost, including 111 US Coast Guardsmen, 11 Royal Navy sailors, five British civilians and four US Navy personnel.
Built in Newport News, Virginia, and launched in 1912 as Miami, the vessel was renamed Tampa in 1916 and, after the United States entered the war, served under Navy control with heavier armament.
According to the Gasperados team-leader Steve Mortimer:
“This discovery is the result of three years of research and exploration. Tampa is of huge importance to the United States and the relatives of everyone who died that day. Their final resting place is known at last.”
He also thanked skipper Chris Lowe of Atlantic Diving for his efforts, stating:
“This was a real team effort…fundamental to finding the wreck.”
According to Lowe, finding the wreck was a last-gasp effort:
“We had basically given up, and Sunday was the final push. It was an extremely long way offshore and conditions needed to be perfect to be able to find it.”
He added, discussing the significance of the find:
“The discovery is an extremely high achievement for us here in Cornwall. It is one of the most important wrecks we have off Cornwall, and for the Americans it is extremely important we have found it.”
