British submarine found after 101 years
A wreck off the northern coast of Denmark has been identified as the British submarine HMS G8, which went missing in 1918.
Using a 3D multibeam scanner, researchers from the Sea War Museum Jutland have discovered a century-old British submarine which sank off the northern coast of Denmark in 1918.
The wreck was covered with trawling nets, making identification difficult. An underwater submarine armed with a camera was subsequently dispatched to photograph it, thus confirming its identity as HMS G8.
The wreck lies at a depth of about 100 metres, north of Hirtshals, in the Skagerrak Sea. “The hull is very rusty and there are several corrosion holes in the outer hull and pressure hull. There doesn’t seem to be any damage from mines or other explosives,” said Gert Normann Andersen, the head of Sea War Museum Jutland, in a CPH Post Online article.
When it was found, its depth rudders were pointed towards the surface, which suggested that the submarine was attempting to ascend to the surface. This enforces the theory that the submarine could have perished due to an accident or technical problems.
Did not return as expected
HMS G8 was attached to the 10th flotilla during the First World War, assigned to search for German submarines in the North Sea.
On 27th December 1917, it left on a mission with the submarine HMS G12 and the destroyer HMS Medea to patrol Kattegat. On board was a crew of 28 sailors. Halfway through, she was ordered to return.
However, HMS G8 did not returned as expected on 6 January 2018, and was officially declared missing on the 14th.