Deep Blue Expeditions has located the last unfound British battle cruiser wreck in the world. HMS Indefatigable was the first of three battle cruisers to be sunk at the Battle of Jutland 1916, and unlike the other two, HMS Invincible (located in 1919) and HMS Queen Mary (located in 1991) she has remained hidden in the depths of the North Sea until this week.
All three battle cruisers sunk with huge losses of life. There were only two survivors from HMS Indefatigable’s complement of 1019. Within a few minutes of the opening of the battle, HMS Indefatigable was hit at least five times, she rolled over to port, sinking by the stern and then eyewitnesses relate that she blew-up and when the smoke cleared, she was gone. It is thought that the wreck is also the largest unlocated navy war-grave.
Designed to hunt down lighter forces, the battle cruisers where not designed to withstand heavy shellfire from the larger German warships at Jutland. Their use as ‘ships of the line’ during the battle came in for harsh criticism at the time.
Deep Blue’s resident wreck historian and diver, Innes McCartney who helped co-ordinate the search for her says that the location of the wreck site will raise the eyebrows of naval historians:
“The wreck is around five miles from the Admiralty’s original estimate of where she sunk and even further from the most recent position given by the Hydrographics Office.. Taking into consideration the tracks of Admiral Beatty’s battle cruisers, it seems likely that HMS Indefatigable was sunk some 5-10 minutes earlier than was reported at the time. Being the last ship in Admiral Beatty’s line, it may be that she was not initially seen to be in difficulty before she blew-up”
McCartney reports that the wreck is heavily dispersed and is not recognisable as a ship at all. This confirms the view that an explosion destroyed her. It seems possible that this wreck has also bee subject to heavy commercial salvage in the past.
The ‘Starfish Enterprise’ diving team identified the wreck. The clinching evidence was gathered on video, showing the 12-inch and four-inch guns she carried. She was the last warship sunk at Jutland to carry such armament, which had not been previously located. As she is a naval war grave, the diving team did not interfere with the wreck in any way.
On a previous charter, the German light cruiser SMS Frauenlob was also located and identified by a combined team of British and Danish divers.
Deep Blue Expedition’s research vessel ‘Loyal Watcher’, captained by Steve Wright runs several charter trips to Jutland annually. Its website is www.deepblue.gb.com
For further information, photographs and video footage of the Jutland wrecks, visit Innes McCartney’s website at www.periscopepublishing.com Innes McCartney will return to the UK in June.
Further to the discovery of HMS Indefatigable, Deep Blue Expeditions has located HMS Defence, one of three British armoured cruisers which were sunk during the Battle of Jutland 31 May – 1 June 1916.
HMS Defence was the flagship of Sir Robert Arbuthnot’s 1st Cruiser Squadron. She was sunk under a hail of shellfire from the German battle cruisers shortly before the battle reached its height. The old armoured cruiser was essentially obsolete by the time of the battle. HMS Defence went to the bottom of the North Sea with all 903 of her crew. Of the four of these ships in the 1st Cruiser Squadron, three were sunk during the battle; only HMS Duke of Edinburgh was to see port again.
HMS Defence was seen to ‘atomise’ as she sank. It was therefore surprising that the diving team (made up of divers from the Hoddelsdon and Clidive BSAC branches) found and was able to identify a largely intact wreck. Four of Defence’s 7.5inch gun turrets still point out to port.
Deep Blue’s resident wreck historian and diver, Innes McCartney who helped co-ordinate the search for her says that (along with HMS Black Prince), HMS Defence appears to be the largest ship sunk at Jutland which has not been subject to commercial salvage. Anecdotal evidence points to extensive commercial salvage of HMS Queen Mary, HMS Indefatigable, HMS Invincible, SMS Lűtzow and SMS Pommern, all of the larger warships sunk during the battle. The salvage operations seem to have been carried out over a number of years between 1950 and 1960 by at least one German salvage company. All of these wrecks have had their propellers removed and have been subject to varying degrees of further interference.
Deep Blue Expedition’s research vessel ‘Loyal Watcher’, captained by Steve Wright runs several charter trips to Jutland annually. Its website is www.deepblue.gb.com
For further information, photographs and video footage of the Jutland wrecks, visit Innes McCartney’s website at www.periscopepublishing.com Innes McCartney is back in the UK on 11th June.