Wreck of HMS Olympus found

A group of American divers have found the wreck of the British submarine HMS Olympus. The submarine sank on 08.05.1942, sinking into a mine after trying to avoid Italian and German ships near Malta.

-- Advertisement --

It was one of the worst maritime disasters of the Second World War. On that day, 89 people lost their lives on board the Olympus (11 crew members were rescued). The English ship was trying to manoeuvre to avoid the ships of the Axis powers blocking the Grand Harbour, a natural harbour.

Unfortunately, the Royal Navy ship caused a mine explosion and sank as a result.Traces of the wreck were discovered last year during sonar scans of the seabed. Last week, divers from Florida notified the British government and the English Royal Navy of their find.

The Commonwealth War Grave Commission, has already looked into the matter and intends to mark the site as an underwater grave (similar to some Baltic wrecks e.g. Wilhelm Gustloff and Steuben).

“We are extremely excited about this discovery. This is a very important piece of Malta’s World War II history,” – Timmy Gambin, Director of Archaeology at the Aurora Trust, a foundation that promotes awareness of maritime culture and history, said. “The Royal Navy conducted a large number of naval operations in the region, using submarines. HMS Olympus, played a very important role in these.”

The wreck, resting 7mil off the coast, has so far been visited twice by divers. Thanks to the use of an ROV, during one of the dives, it was possible to collect the material necessary to confirm the ship’s identity.

“We suspected from the outset that this was the wreck of HMS Olympus. With our knowledge of the appearance, layout and type of armament, as well as the characteristic features of the propeller, we can say with certainty what we are dealing with,” – claims Gambin.

Apart from the damage caused by a mine explosion, the 80m-long ship, built in 1927, is in perfect condition. It settled evenly on the keel at the bottom and in this position it survived without being disturbed by anyone until last year.

The crew of HMS Olympus were mostly rescued survivors from other vessels sunk in the region by enemy forces. Most of them survived, both the explosion and the descent to the bottom. It was the darkness, disorientation and exhaustion that proved to be the most deadly factor. The ship’s crews were also involved in a number of other activities.

Source: guardian.co.uk