Virtual dive on the wreck of HMS Holland 5 - video

The protected historic sinking site of the wreck of the Royal Navy submarine HMS ‘Holland 5’, nine miles off the coast of East Sussex, has been opened to the public online.

A three-dimensional virtual journey commissioned by government agency Historic England and developed by the Nautical Archaeology Society makes HMS ‘Holland 5’ the fifth protected shipwreck site accessible in this way, with 13 virtual dive routes.

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Multi-image photogrammetric recording, 3D printing of geophysical survey data and Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality techniques were used to create 3D images of the wreck.

The experimental submarine HMS “Holland 5” was launched on 10 June 1902. The vessel was built in the Vickers shipyard under licence of Holland Torpedo Boat Co. according to John Phillip Holland’s project.

It was one of the first submarines to be accepted into the Royal Navy. The vessel was equipped with one of the earliest models of periscopes of British design. Fuel and ballast tanks were located in the hull and the maximum submerged depth was 30 metres.

The wreck site was discovered by accident by diver Gerry Jowd and his companions in 1995 at a depth of 32 metres. According to NAS, the wreck was preserved in amazingly good condition.

Ten years later it was placed under protection. NAS divers have been regularly diving on the wreck and recording its condition since 2010.

“The development of virtual reality means that we can now share the experience of diving this wreck with the rest of the world, including the non-diving public,” said NAS CEO Mark Beattie- Edwards. “We hope this will help raise awareness and interest in this incredible underwater cultural heritage.”

Source: nauticalarchaeologysociety.org