Warship that sank in 1908 found off U.K.: “Undisturbed for 118 years”

A long-lost naval ship that sank more than a century ago off England has been located by divers exploring the waters off the Isle of Wight, military officials and an exploration team confirmed this week.

In 1908, the 400-ton HMS Tiger, a torpedo boat destroyer, collided with the 10,000-ton cruiser HMS Berwick during the night, slicing her in two, according to the Royal Navy. The Tiger’s bow sank instantly and its smashed stern sank minutes later, killing more than half of the 57 crewmembers on board.

The tragedy made front-page news, with one newspaper headline saying the ship was “crushed as an eggshell.” King Edward VII sent a telegram of sympathy and postcards were made to commemorate the lost sailors.

The Royal Navy and shipwreck hunters have been searching in vain for the remains of HMS Tiger for over a century. Finally, a dive team called ProjectXplore was able to pinpoint the wreck’s location after spending five years piecing together archival data.

The dive team said the discovery of the stern engine revolution telegraph and the rudder position indicator revealed that the ship did not change direction nor reduce its speed before colliding with the much bigger HMS Berwick.

“Our recent exploratory project at the HMS Tiger site yielded compelling evidence regarding the final moments leading to the collision, preserving details that have remained undisturbed for 118 years,” ProjectXplore wrote in a social media post, showing images of the sunken instruments.

A report on the expedition also reveals the team found numerous other relics from the vessel, including a compass, torpedo tubes, guns, ammunition, an anchor and the ship’s bell.

The team also found the wreck of cruiser HMS Nottingham in the North Sea last year, BBC News reported. 

Under new legislation, potentially thousands of shipwrecks, such as HMS Tiger, will be safeguarded from the moment they are found by a “protected place” designation, the Royal Navy said.

Leo Fielding and Dan McMullen, co-organizers of ProjectXplore, praised the new legislation.

“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to research, discover and document the wreck of HMS Tiger,” they said. “We sincerely hope that our work will ensure that HMS Tiger, her story and the memory of those connected with her endure for future generations.”