Divers have for the first time reached the wreck of a British ship lying in Estonian waters

The wreck of the British ship HMS Gentian is being documented in the waters of the Baltic Sea. The sloop belonging to the Royal Navy sank on 15 July 1919, when together with the ship HMS Myrtle she was clearing the waters of the Baltic Sea of mines. Unfortunately, both ships sank as a result of an explosion. The British sloops were seconded to help the Baltic countries in their fight for independence, which was part of the Allied intervention in the civil war taking place in Russia.

This is the first time divers have reached the wreck of a British ship. All work is carried out in full cooperation with the National Hertitage Board of Estonia and a group of volunteer divers from the SubZone group. The aim of the work and documentation is to create a three-dimensional model of the wreck within the framework of the Military Heritage project.

-- Advertisement --

HMS Gentian was an Arabis class sloop which was sent to assist the Baltic States in their struggle for independence, as part of Operation Red Trek. While clearing mines, on 15 July 1919, HMS Myrtle and HMS Gentian struck one of the mines causing an explosion that ultimately sank both vessels. Nine sailors were killed.

^{Source: SubZone}