X-Ray Mag

Wrecks & Archaeology

Section

HMS Regent, long lost WW2 submarine, found in the Adriatic

1 year ago By Main minion

The newly-found wreck lies off the coast near Villanova di Ostuni, some 19 miles from Monopoli.

First believed to be found by Italian divers in 1999, it was later determined in 2020 that the wreck thought to be Regent was in fact the Italian submarine Giovanni Bausan which had been sunk by the RAF in 1944.

Now, it seems another dive team has had better luck in identifying Regent. She rests off the coast near Villanova di Ostuni, some 19 miles from Monopoli, upside down in 70m of water. The apparent victim of a mine.

The V-1302 John Mahn started out as a German fishing trawler before being converted into a patrol boat during the war. It was sunk close to the Belgian coast in 1942 by the British Royal Air Force, as part of the Channel Dash operation.
The V-1302 John Mahn started out as a German fishing trawler before being converted into a patrol boat during the war. It was sunk close to the Belgian coast in 1942 by the British Royal Air Force, as part of the Channel Dash operation.

Abandoned WW2 wrecks leak toxic chemicals in the North Sea

1 year ago By Main minion

The V-1302 John Mahn was a fishing trawler requisitioned by the German navy during the Second World War and sunk by UK bombers in 1942. It has rested at 30 metres below sea level in the Belgian North Sea ever since.

Together with the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, bio-engineer Josefien Van Landuyt examined samples of sediment in the area around the sunken John Mahn. In doing so, she aimed to discover whether old shipwrecks in the Belgian section of the North Sea continue to affect microbial marine life.

Finland: 17th to 19th-Century Wrecks at Hanko

Words
Susanne Lundvall
Images
Will Appleyard
Jessica Olofsson
Diver at port side of the figurehead wreck Osborn & Elisabeth in Hanko, Finland
Diver at port side of the wooden figurehead wreck Osborn & Elisabeth in Hanko, Finland
➥ Download the full article as pdf ⬅︎

To help promote dive tourism in the Baltic Sea, the European Union’s Project Baltacar, a collaboration between Sweden, Finland and Estonia, has developed underwater heritage trails for visiting a selection of unique wreck sites in the three countries. In Finland, the project has established buoys and created dive site maps for a group of five wrecks from the 17th to the 19th centuries, located just outside Hanko. Susanne Lundvall reports.

Äpplet, port side by lower gundeck
Äpplet, port side by lower gundeck

Vasa's sister ship discovered

1 year ago By Main minion

Launched in 1629, Applet (Apple) was built by the same shipbuilder as the famed 69-metre Vasa, which was carrying 64 cannons when it went down in a strait off the island of Vaxholm, just outside the capital, Stockholm. Vasa was meant to serve as a symbol of Sweden’s military might at the time but capsized after sailing just over 1,000 metres. It was salvaged in 1961 and is on display at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, one of Sweden’s most popular tourist spots.

Northeast Wrecks – Part 3: Artificial Reef Wrecks

Words
Larry Cohen
Olga Torrey
Images
Larry Cohen
Olga Torrey
Venturo Tug, New Jersey, USA
Diver at propeller of Venturo Tug, Point Pleasant, New Jersey, USA
➥ Download the full article as pdf ⬅︎

In Part One and Part Two of this series, we discussed US Northeast wrecks that sank because of collisions and war. There are also many structures that have purposely been sunk as artificial reefs off the New York and New Jersey coasts. Larry Cohen and Olga Torrey have the story.

A Merlin engine from a Supermarine Spitfire MK IX Trop that crashed into the sea not far from Cape Kabala in Boka Kotorska Bay.

Montenegro establishes maritime archaeology research unit

1 year ago By Main minion

The goal of the Laboratory of Maritime Archeology is to position Montenegro on the international scientific map of maritime and underwater archaeology and to investigate and document the shipwrecks, navigation routes, harbours, anchorages and other remnants of human activity along the Montenegrin coast.

Maritime archaeological finds within the Montenegrin basin, although insufficiently explored, are very diverse.

Multibeam sonar image of the SS Mesaba lying on the sea bed in the Irish Sea.

The ship that tried to warn the Titanic has been found

1 year ago By Main minion

The British merchant steamship SS Mesaba sent a warning radio message to the Titanic on April 15, 1912 while crossing the Atlantic. The message was received by the Titanic – which was advertised as unsinkable – but did not reach the main control centre of the vessel.

Later that night, the supposedly unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage, taking 1,500 lives and becoming the world’s most infamous shipwreck.

Ancient shipwreck reveals a lost age of Mediterranean trade

1 year ago By Main minion

According to the archaeologists, despite the religious tensions in the area, the shipwreck demonstrates that commerce was still thriving since it carried products from all over the Mediterranean, including Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey, and the coast of North Africa.

It was around the time the largely Christian Byzantine Empire was in decline and had begun losing its grip on this eastern Mediterranean region while Islamic rule was extending its reach.

Diver reaches Liberator 589D aircraft wreck
Diver reaches Liberator 589D aircraft wreck.

Divers confirm discovery of WWII bomber in Gander Lake

1 year ago By Larry Cohen

The plane crashed upon take-off when the engine failed on 4 September 1943. The aircraft made a slow turn and barrel-rolled into Gander Lake, Newfoundland. The four-crew members did not survive.

At the time of the crash in 1943, military hardhat divers found the aircraft “Liberator 589D” on a ledge in Gander Lake. They attempted to attach cables to the fuselage to salvage the plane. They were also recovering the body of Squadron Leader John G. MacKenzie.

Subscribe to Wrecks & Archaeology