The wreck of the last lost ship, sunk during the biggest battle of World War I, has been located - video

The wreck of the British armoured cruiser HMS “Warrior” has been found and identified in the waters of the North Sea. The unit was sunk on 1 June 1916 during the Battle of Jutland, which was the biggest naval clash of the First World War. “Warrior” remained the last ship to be sunk in this confrontation, whose position remained unknown and whose wreck was not found.

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In the year that marked the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, one of its chapters was closed. The wreck of the last ship sunk during the clash between the British Royal Navy and the German Kaiserliche Marine, whose location remained unknown, was found. The expedition to the wreck of the British cruiser was carried out aboard the vessel M/S “Vina” by the combined forces of JD – Contractor A/S and the Sea War Museum in Thyborøn with the invaluable contribution of Dr Innes McCartney of Bournemouth University.

The badly damaged HMS “Warrior” went down taking with it the bodies of 71 crew members and today at a depth of 83 metres is their final resting place. The remaining 743 sailors continued the fight after being transferred to HMS “Engadine”. It was this ship that still tried to save the “Warrior” by taking it in tow. Unfortunately, due to the serious damage received in battle and the worsening weather, it was decided to abandon ship.

The search was therefore conducted on the basis of the course of the aforementioned ship “Engadine” and information on the probable place of abandonment of the “Warrior”. Only on the surface was the task simple. During the search, the researchers checked 30 wrecks and HMS “Warrior” itself was hidden on the 27th checked position, 19-27 miles from the official position.

The wreck was surveyed using multibeam sonar and an ROV, which inspected the outside of the wreck and recorded video documentation. The wreck is not heavily covered with sediment, but it has attracted many fish, which have found a whole host of hiding places here. The depth at which the Warrior rests is 68 metres at its shallowest point and 83 metres at the bottom.

The huge ship, measuring over 150 metres, lies upside down and is quite well preserved. The ROV camera footage starts at the stern, where you can see the two large screws and their thick shafts that set the ship in motion. Moving along the side towards the bow you can see several places where the deck and the bases of several large turrets are visible.

Unlike other ships sunk during the Battle of Jutland, HMS “Warrior” has resisted all these years the influence of the external environment or human activity and has been preserved as a true time capsule. She is therefore the last intact wreck sunk during the greatest naval battle of the First World War.

The keel for HMS “Warrior” was laid in 1903 at the Welsh shipyard Pembroke Dock. The construction was finished in November 1905. The ship measured 154 metres long and 22.4 metres wide. She could develop a top speed of 23 knots and at 10 knots had a maximum range of 14,740 km.

Source: seawarmuseum.dk,