On her last day’s work of the 2011 season the Rosguill has found HMS Hurst Castle in a little over 80m of water around 12/14 miles north of Tory Island.
HMS Hurst Castle was a British Royal Navy, Castle – class corvette of 1,010 tons built in 1943/1944 which were an updated version of the much more numerous Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Navy, and started appearing during late 1943. They were equipped with radar as well as asdic. On the 1st September 1944 she was torpedoed by German submarine U-482 and sunk. 16 men lost.
Diagram of wreck by diver below.
This is probably the last of His Majesty’s Ships to be discovered in my area off north Donegal. It is a really great find and I hope that in 2012 some photographs and video may be taken and be put online. Also, perhaps place a fitting tribute on her in memory of the men who lost their lives.
The mortar launcher in the diagram is very similar or the same as : – http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/exhibitions/navy/objects_photos_search-e.aspx?section=4-D&id=28&page=1
The torpedos are very similar to these: – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hedgehog_anti-submarine_mortar.jpg
2011 will remain in the memory of most regular divers to north Donegal as the year in which the visibility never really attained its normal clarity. Sure, there were a few days when the water turned to blue gin, but not many. Hard to understand why?
Weather was great right up until start September and as of second half October remains unsettled.
The Rosguill had a relatively sucessful year, pinging 10 new wrecks and diving 5 wrecks not dived since Beasley. Bells recovered from Veronica and Roscommon.
2012 hope to continue diving some of the “virgins” and intend to spend time looking for HMS Hurst Castle.
Few artefacts shown below from the SS Englishman, dived near the end of the season.
Veronica
Steam merchant – Tonnage 1,316 tons
Completed – 1918 – Limhamns Skeppsvarf A/B, Limhamn
Owner – Joh. Gorthon, Helsingborg
Date of attack – 17 Nov 1940
Nationality: Swedish
Fate – Sunk by U-137 (Herbert Wohlfarth)
Complement – 20 (17 dead and 3 survivors).
Convoy – HG-46
Route – Aguilas, Spain – Gibraltar – Barrow-in-Furness
Cargo – 1800 tons of iron ore
Completed in August 1918 for Rederi A/B Activ, Helsingborg.
At 17.30 hours on 17 Nov, 1940, U-137 spotted two ships from the convoy HG-46 and sank both with one torpedo each north-northwest of Tory Island. The Saint Germain was hit at 20.14 hours and the Veronica (Master R. Elmquist) at 20.40 hours. The survivors on a raft were picked up after five days by a fishing trawler and landed at Londonderry.
The u-137 also sunk the Saint Germain (1,044 tons – carrying pitprops) half an hour later in roughly the same position. The Rosguill dived another unknown around 1.3 miles from the Veronica and of approximately the same size. The other unknown is almost certainly the Saint Germain.
At last, the bell from the Roscommon, previously Oswestry Grange, Greenock, has been recovered. Many divers have searched in vain but it was found today around 30 metres back from the bow , mid-ships, in sand with just 1 inch of the top showing. Congratulations to the Spidge Spider.
Some really nice diving this month with great weather. Vis remains stubbornly not its best – average 15 metres with low ambient light. Water surface temp now slightly over 14 degrees.
HMS Viknor, originally built as the Atrato for the Royal Mail Line as a Liner in 1888 was employed on the West Indies service. She was bought by the Viking Cruise Line in 1912 and subsequentially hired by the Admiralty from 19 November 1914, converted to an armed merchant cruiser and put into service. Whilst on patrol off the North West Approaches she sank with the loss of all hands. Many bodies and wreckage were washed ashore along the north coast of Ireland and a monument to the dead was erected at a Friary near Ballycastle.
It has always been unclear as to her fate as there was no distress signal and a storm raged on the night in question. The Viknor has now been located at the extreme south west end of the minefield laid by the German ship, Berlin, and it would appear that she was lost due to contact with one of the mines.
Total losses were 291 crew/marines etc and apparently the Viknor had on board from the Bergensfjord, 1 German national suspected of being a secret agent and 6 stowaways who were also drowned.
The Rosguill took a group of Irish divers to the wreck of HMS Viknor, lying in 85metres, and laid a British Naval Ensign on her. I have shown below a photograph of the Ensign on the wreck, placed for all those who died, at the request of the great nephew of the ship’s surgeon, Vernon Lickfold Matthews, MRCS Eng., LRCP Lond., R.N. (1883 –1915). (portrait also below)
Some photos taken on the Rosguill’s first weekend diving of 2011. Tory Island scenic diving and the
SS Laurentic in 38m. Great weather. Surface temperature around 9 degrees at this moment.
Click the link below to view the videos which led to the highest ranking awards (only two in the whole history of British Isles diving) – The GOLDEN SNORKEL AWARD.
