Deep Wreck Diver

835 DEAD IN JUST 13 MINUTES. IN THE HEART OF BRITAIN'S MOST IMPORTANT NAVAL BASE.

On 14 October 1939, the supposedly impregnable defences of Scapa Flow were breached by a single German submarine. Within minutes, the battleship HMS Royal Oak was sinking, taking hundreds of men and boys to their deaths.
Today marks the 87th anniversary of one of the Royal Navy's worst disasters of the Second World War.

Royal Oak was at anchor when U-47, commanded by Günther Prien, penetrated Scapa Flow's defences and attacked her with torpedoes.

835 men and boys lost their lives, including 134 boy seamen. Many were trapped inside the ship, while others escaped into the freezing, oil-covered waters of Scapa Flow.

**What fewer people realise is that there were once serious plans to salvage the wreck.**

In 1950, the Admiralty carried out a survey to establish whether the battleship could be raised and salvaged. Some salvage work was undertaken, including the removal of her four enormous bronze propellers and sections of anchor chain.

Then, in 1957, the Admiralty actually invited tenders to scrap the wreck.

This might seem astonishing today, but Royal Oak would not have been the first Royal Navy war grave to be commercially salvaged.

HMS Vanguard, which exploded in Scapa Flow in 1917 with the loss of 843 men, was subjected to commercial salvage operations from the 1950s into the 1970s.
HMS Natal, which exploded in the Cromarty Firth in 1915, killing hundreds of sailors and civilians, was also extensively salvaged. Operations began in the 1920s and continued intermittently for decades, leaving much of the wreck dismantled.

Attitudes towards these wrecks, and the men who died aboard them, were very different in those days.

The proposal to scrap Royal Oak met fierce opposition from survivors, relatives of those who had died and the people of Orkney. By early 1958, the plans had been abandoned.

There has, however, been further salvage work of a very different kind.

For decades, fuel oil leaking from the wreck threatened the environment of Scapa Flow. Specialist diving teams subsequently undertook a remarkable operation to remove more than 1,600 tonnes of oil from the upturned battleship, using techniques designed to minimise disturbance to the wreck and the men still entombed within her.

Today, Royal Oak is a protected military wreck and diving is prohibited without special permission.

From a wreck diver's perspective, Royal Oak is somewhere very special indeed.

I've been fortunate enough to dive some extraordinary historic Royal Navy warships, including HMS Victory, HMS Formidable, HMS M1 and HMS Audacious, but I've never had the opportunity to dive Royal Oak.

Those who have been privileged to visit her tell me that she is an absolutely magnificent wreck, and I can well believe it.

She lies upside down in around 30 metres of water, with her enormous 15-inch gun turrets, secondary armament and the devastating torpedo damage still visible.

Having spent so much of my diving career exploring warships, I'm fascinated by the opportunity to see these great vessels as they actually lie on the seabed. There is something extraordinary about swimming alongside a ship of this size, seeing the engineering, the damage and the details that photographs and drawings can never quite convey.

I've dived wrecks that have been extensively salvaged, and others that remain remarkably intact. The difference can be extraordinary. Royal Oak offers something increasingly rare: the opportunity to see a largely intact British battleship, rather than the scattered remains left behind by decades of salvage.

Maybe one day!

#HMSRoyalOak #ScapaFlow #Shipwrecks #RoyalNavy

19 hours ago |[YT] | 135

Deep Wreck Diver

*From a YouTube competition to a battle with Portuguese customs! 🇬🇧📚🇵🇹*

Back in August, I ran a competition to win a copy of Shadow Divers, one of my favourite books about wreck diving.

The lucky winner was Miguel Silva Rocha from Coimbra in Portugal, who sent me a lovely message saying that my videos make him dream about diving and exploring wrecks.

It's messages like that which make creating content so rewarding.

I posted the book off in early August, thinking it would arrive fairly quickly.

Unfortunately, Portuguese customs had other ideas! 😂

After a rather lengthy battle with customs, Miguel has finally got his hands on his prize and very kindly sent me a photograph.

It's great to see the book has finally reached its new home, and I hope you enjoy reading it, Miguel!

#DeepWreckDiver #ShadowDivers #WreckDiving #Shipwrecks

2 days ago |[YT] | 82

Deep Wreck Diver

50 YEARS AGO TODAY: THE SINKING OF THE INGRID FREM

On 12 October 1976, the Danish coaster Ingrid Frem sank in the Celtic Sea, carrying a cargo that included barrels of herring.

Fifty years later, we're sharing the story of her sinking, our discovery of the wreck and some remarkable footage from the seabed.

The Gasperados Dive Team found Ingrid Frem whilst searching for the US Coast Guard cutter Tampa, sunk by a German U-boat in 1918 with the loss of all 130 aboard.

One of the most fascinating features of the wreck is the distinctive blue barrels associated with her cargo. During the sinking, the crew desperately tried to lighten the vessel by cutting loose barrels of herring, but it wasn't enough to save her.

Even more remarkably, one of the eight survivors, who was just 17 when the ship sank, has since shared his personal account of that terrifying night with us.

He describes the desperate struggle to keep the ship afloat, abandoning her in worsening weather and their eventual rescue by a Soviet trawler.

All eight survived.

It's a wonderful reminder that every wreck we explore has a human story behind it.

Watch the video attached to this post to explore the wreck of Ingrid Frem.

#DeepWreckDiver #IngridFrem #Shipwrecks #WreckDiving

3 days ago |[YT] | 10

Deep Wreck Diver

**An oxygen cell failing HIGH at 90 metres? That's not something you see every day!** 😳

One year ago, I experienced a rather unusual oxygen cell failure while diving my AP Inspiration rebreather at 90 metres.

Most CCR divers are familiar with the dangers of oxygen cells failing low, but this one did something rather different. It failed HIGH, indicating more oxygen than was actually present.

At that depth, an incorrect oxygen reading is potentially a very serious problem.

It was an excellent reminder that oxygen cells don't always fail in the way we expect, and why understanding their behaviour, recognising unusual readings and knowing how to verify them is so important.

To mark the anniversary, I thought it was worth sharing this video again. I explain exactly what happened, how I recognised the problem and what I did about it.

**Have any other CCR divers experienced a cell failing high rather than low?** I'd be interested to hear your experiences.

#CCRdiving #TechnicalDiving #RebreatherDiving

4 days ago |[YT] | 2

Deep Wreck Diver

**WE WERE LOOKING FOR A LOST WARSHIP. WE FOUND SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!**
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One of the joys of wreck diving is that you never quite know what you're going to find!
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In 2023, while searching for the missing US Coast Guard cutter Tampa, sunk by a German submarine in 1918, our Gasperados Dive Team investigated an unidentified wreck off the North Cornwall coast.
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We had high hopes that it might be the warship we'd been searching for.
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But when we reached the seabed, we found something rather different. A relatively modern fishing trawler!
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Further investigation revealed that we'd discovered the **MFV L'Ebauche (O.66)**, a Belgian fishing vessel that sank on 6 February 1996 after taking on water.
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Fortunately, all four members of her crew were rescued.
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The dive wasn't without its excitement either. Rick managed to get himself tangled up in fishing gear on the wreck, a reminder that even relatively modern wrecks can present some serious hazards!
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Although she wasn't the Tampa, we'd still managed to put a name and a story to another wreck lying on the seabed.
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And that's one of the things I love about this sort of diving. Every unidentified wreck is a mystery, and even when it isn't the ship you're looking for, there's still a story worth uncovering.
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Of course, the search for Tampa continued, and we eventually found her too!
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Sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs!
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#DeepWreckDiver #Gasperados #WreckDiving #TechnicalDiving #Shipwrecks #MaritimeHistory

1 week ago |[YT] | 18

Deep Wreck Diver

**WHAT WILL THEY DISCOVER ON BRITANNIC THIS TIME?** 🇬🇷⚓

Richie Kohler and his team are back in Greece to explore one of the world's most extraordinary shipwrecks, HMHS Britannic, sister ship of the Titanic.

Despite lying at around 120 metres for nearly 110 years, there are still incredible things to discover inside her.

It's discoveries like this that make exploring Britannic so fascinating. Every expedition has the potential to reveal another piece of her story.

**So what will Richie and the team find this time?**

Best of luck to everyone involved. I can't wait to see what they uncover!


#HMHSBritannic #RichieKohler #WreckDiving #DeepWreckDiver

1 week ago |[YT] | 10

Deep Wreck Diver

**IS THE HALCYON SYMBIOS AS GOOD AS EVERYONE SAYS? 🤿**

It's one of the more interesting dive computers I've been testing, but does the Halcyon Symbios handset live up to expectations when you're deep underwater with hours of decompression ahead?

Next up in my series of dive computer reviews is the **Halcyon Symbios handset**.

I've been diving with it for a while now, including on the Britannic expedition earlier this year, and I'm getting ready to share my thoughts in a full review.

But before I do, I'd love to hear from others who are using one.

What do you love about it? What drives you mad? Have you experienced any problems?


I'm particularly interested in your thoughts on the display, controls, menus and how it performs underwater, especially on longer decompression dives.


Let me know in the comments. I'm keen to see how your experiences compare with mine!

If you're interested in dive computers, you can watch all my previous reviews here

www.youtube.com/playlist?list...


#HalcyonSymbios #DiveComputerReview #TechnicalDiving #DeepWreckDiver

1 week ago |[YT] | 12

Deep Wreck Diver

✈️ **SHOT DOWN, TORN APART AND LOST FOR MORE THAN 80 YEARS. BUT LOOK HOW MUCH OF THIS WW2 BOMBER REMAINS!**
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These extraordinary photographs show the wreck of the famous B24 Liberator **Tulsamerican**, lying on the seabed off the Croatian island of Vis.
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Taken by my good friend **Andi Marovic from Manta Diving** during our recent dive, they show just how spectacular this aircraft wreck really is.
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The main section lies upside down at around 40 metres, with its enormous wings, four engines and remains of the cockpit still recognisable.
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The tail was torn away during the crash and now lies deeper, at around 50 metres. Between the two is the detached nose turret, complete with its twin .50 calibre machine guns.
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But the story behind this aircraft is even more extraordinary.
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On 17 December 1944, Tulsamerican was badly damaged by German fighters and desperately tried to reach the emergency Allied airfield on Vis.
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**She almost made it.**
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Seven of the ten men aboard survived, including one who escaped the sinking aircraft before going back inside to rescue a wounded crewmate.
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Three men died, and the remains of the pilot, Eugene Ford, weren't recovered until 2017.
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I first dived Tulsamerican before that recovery took place, so returning to explore her again was particularly special.
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🎬 **I've just released a full video exploring the wreck and telling the remarkable stories of the men who flew her.**
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👉 Full video - https://youtu.be/pGAyzd8O-x0
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A huge thank you to Andi for these superb photographs and another fantastic dive. If you're interested in wreck diving in Croatia, I cannot recommend Manta Diving highly enough.
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📸 All photographs by Andi Marovic, Manta Diving.
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#DeepWreckDiver #Tulsamerican #B24Liberator #WreckDiving #WW2Histo

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1 week ago |[YT] | 418

Deep Wreck Diver

⚓ **282 YEARS AGO TODAY: THE LOSS OF HMS VICTORY AND OVER 1,000 MEN**

On 4 October 1744, one of the most powerful warships in the world disappeared into a violent storm in the English Channel. She would not be seen again for more than 260 years.

This was HMS Victory, not Nelson's famous flagship, but her predecessor, a magnificent First Rate warship armed with more than 100 bronze cannon.

Under the command of Admiral Sir John Balchen, Victory was returning to England after a successful mission to relieve a French blockade of British shipping in Portugal.

As the fleet entered the English Channel, it encountered a ferocious storm. The ships became separated and, one by one, eventually reached safety. But Victory never returned.

**Every man aboard was lost. Around 1,100 lives, including Admiral Balchen himself.**

For centuries, it was believed that Victory had struck the notorious Casquets rocks near Alderney. The lighthouse keeper was even blamed for the disaster, despite the absence of convincing evidence.

Then, in 2008, Odyssey Marine Exploration discovered the wreck nearly 100 kilometres from where she was believed to have sunk.

The discovery fundamentally changed our understanding of what happened that terrible night.

I've been fortunate enough to dive HMS Victory three times, in 2020, 2022 and most recently in 2026, at a depth of approximately 78 metres.

It is an extraordinary wreck.

Her enormous bronze cannon still lie scattered across the seabed, some weighing several tonnes. Among them are 42 pounders, some of the most powerful naval guns of their age.

But this isn't just a collection of historic cannon. It's the final resting place of more than a thousand men.

During my dives, I saw evidence of the damage caused by modern fishing activity, including trawling and lost fishing gear. I also encountered human remains, a sobering reminder of the scale of the tragedy.

**282 years after her loss, this remarkable piece of British naval history deserves to be remembered and protected.**

I've made a video exploring the wreck, showing the cannon and other remains on the seabed, and telling the extraordinary story of Victory's disappearance and eventual discovery.

Today, let's remember Admiral Sir John Balchen and all those who lost their lives aboard HMS Victory on that fateful voyage in October 1744.


#HMSVictory #RoyalNavy #Shipwreck #MaritimeHistory #DeepWreckDiver #WreckDiving

1 week ago |[YT] | 14

Deep Wreck Diver

Two years ago this video kicked everything off!

1 week ago |[YT] | 10