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New footage identifies WWII submarine wreck

Listen to this article Researchers found the wreck of a World War II submarine in Greece on October 31, 2019. Based on archival photographs and detailed images of the wreck, they identified it as HMS Urge. Now, new footage of the wreck has confirmed this hypothesis. Two years after being found The wreck of the

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: May 7, 2021 - 09:00

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 22:29

New footage identifies WWII submarine wreck

Listen to this article

Researchers found the wreck of a World War II submarine in Greece on October 31, 2019. Based on archival photographs and detailed images of the wreck, they identified it as HMS Urge. Now, new footage of the wreck has confirmed this hypothesis.

Two years after being found The wreck of the submarine HMS Urgetwo years after the ship was found, archaeologists and historians specialising in this type of search organised another expedition. The main goal of the researchers was to make a detailed documentation of the vessel and its final identification. As a result, their work leaves no room for doubt.

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frame from new footage of the Urge submarine wreck — A frame from new footage of the wreck of the submarine HMS Urge

Admittedly, as early as 2019, specialists concluded that with very high probability it was the wreck of the ship HMS Urge. They made the identification by comparing detailed photographs of the found wreck with archival photographs of the British ship. The results of their work were very convincing. So much so that even the British Ministry of Defence officially announced that HMS Urge had been found.

The vessel was sunk in 1942, and for the next 79 years nothing was heard of her. Although the British had been searching for the wreck of the distinguished ship for many years, to no avail. The families of the sailors also wanted to know the fate of their loved ones. It is worth mentioning that one of the sponsors and participants in the 2019 expedition was the grandson of the captain of HMS Urge.

wreck of HMS Urge — Comparison of an archive photograph of HMS Urge with an image of the wreck taken by sonar in 2019.

The new recordings allow the identity of the vessel to be determined with certainty. Thus, the experts have provided irrefutable evidence and dispelled all doubts. Because these were not lacking even after 2019. Earlier, some questioned the fact that the found wreck is the HMS Urge, because it was supposed to have sunk near Libya.

The expedition was carried out by experts from the University of Malta and Heritage Malta. During the expedition, researchers explored a wreck resting at a depth of 112 metres. On TVM website you can watch unique footage from the wreck and an interview with Professor Timmy Gambin, who led the research.

About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.