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, splitting it in two, according to the Royal Navy. The Tiger’s bow sank instantly and its shattered stern sank minutes later, killing more than half of the 57 crew members on board. The tragedy was front-page news, with a newspaper headline saying that the ship was “crushed like an eggshell.” King Edward VII sent a telegram of condolence 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 more than a century. Eventually, a diving team called ProjectXplore was able to determine the location of the wreck after spending five years gathering archival data. Ricardo Constantino places a wreath on the helm of HMS Tiger. Guy Trees The diving team said the discovery of the stern engine revolution telegraph and rudder position indicator revealed that the ship did not change direction or reduce its speed before colliding with the much larger HMS Berwick. “Our recent exploratory project at the HMS Tiger site yielded compelling evidence about the final moments leading up to the collision, preserving details that have remained intact for 118 years,” ProjectXplore wrote in a social media post, showing images of the sunken instruments. The expedition also reveals that the team found many other relics from the ship, including a compass, torpedo tubes, weapons, ammunition, an anchor, and the ship’s bell. The rudder position indicator. The graduated circular scale is marked “PORT” and “FOOTBOARD”. The pointing mechanism is set to approximately 5-10 degrees to starboard, suggesting that Tiger had not altered his course to avoid Berwick immediately before impact. Dan McMullen The team also found the wreckage of the cruiser HMS Nottingham in the North Sea last year, BBC News reported. Under the new legislation, potentially thousands of shipwrecks, such as HMS Tiger, will be safeguarded from the moment they are found through 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 my life to investigate, discover and document the remains of HMS Tiger,” they said. “We sincerely hope that our work will ensure that HMS Tiger, its history and the memory of those connected with it live on for future generations.” HMS Tiger’s stern drive revolution Dan McMullen More from CBS News Go deeper with The Free Press In:
