A British Navy destroyer that vanished after a deadly peacetime collision in 1908 has finally been found on the seafloor south of the Isle of Wight, Smithsonian Magazine reports. The torpedo boat destroyer HMS Tiger broke in two after cutting across the path of the cruiser Berwick during a nighttime training exercise in the English Channel, with more than half of its 57 sailors killed. Despite immediate searches, the wreck could not be located—until divers and historians with ProjectXplore located its remains 200 feet down, identifying the stern in June and the bow in July.
Their survey uncovered new clues about the final seconds before impact. A rudder-angle dial showed a slight turn to starboard, suggesting Tiger hadn't sharply altered course, while an engine telegraph was set to "full," indicating speed hadn't been reduced. The divers created a 3D photogrammetric record of the wreck after photographing, filming, and measuring it, per Dive magazine. The findings don't settle why the collision occurred, but they do challenge assumptions that last-minute evasive action was taken; a blinding flare had just been set off on anther vessel to simulate a torpedo attack.
A court-martial cleared the surviving members of Tiger's crew, as well as the captain of the Berwick. UK lawmakers are weighing protections that would automatically shield newly identified wrecks; ProjectXplore left the site untouched except for a wreath of poppies placed by the tiller in memory of the 35 men who died.
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