HMS Hampshire wreck to be surveyed off Scotland

Scotland’s University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute will, together with ORCA Marine and Seatronics, survey the wreck of HMS Hampshire off Orkney, Scotland.

Royal Navy’s former Devonshire-class armored cruiser HMS Hampshire struck a mine on June 5, 1916, while transporting Lord Kitchener, the secretary of State for War to Archangel in northern Russia for a meeting with Tsar Nicholas II.

The vessel sank within twenty minutes, with the loss of 737 lives, including Lord Kitchener. Only 12 of the company survived. The German U-boat U-75 laid the mine on May 29, 1916 off Marwick Head in Orkney.

HMS Hampshire was completed in 1905. Joining the Grand Fleet in January 1915 she played a minimal role in Battle of Jutland from the 31st May to the 1st June 1916, before being assigned to the transport of Lord Kitchener.

Presently, the wreck lies upside down in approximately 60 meters of water, surrounded by a large debris field. The HMS Hampshire site was designated in 2002, under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. There have previously only been two remote surveys of the wreck since the salvage activities of 1977 to 1983.

The condition assessment of HMS Hampshire will be the first extensive mapping of the wreck site since her sinking in 1916. It is a collaborative project between ORCA Marine, University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute and Seatronics, an Acteon company. It aims to assess the condition of the wreck a hundred years after she sank, documenting the impact of salvage activities and environmental factors on the integrity of the remains.

Sandra Henry, University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute, Marine Archaeologist, said “It is really significant in the run up to the centenary of the HMS Hampshire to carry out a condition survey and map the extent of the wreck site. This survey is being undertaken as a mark of respect and remembrance for those who lost their lives aboard, and all those who lost their lives at sea during the First World War.”

Alistair Coutts, Senior Sales & Business Development Manager, Seatronics, said “We are delighted to be collaborating on this exciting project on this historic anniversary. Our aim is to use our Predator inspection class ROV to survey the wreckage along with the latest 2D & 3D scanning technology to identify key areas of interest, providing informative imagery and insight into the current conditions of the site.“