Artefacts Recovered from Wreck of HMHS Britannic

Divers have brought up objects from HMHS Britannic for the first time, offering rare insights into the ship’s history and life on board.

Wrecks & Archaeology

In a historic mission, professional deep-sea divers have retrieved a collection of artefacts from the wreck of HMHS Britannic, which sank after striking a mine in 1916 off the Greek island of Kea. The items, recovered from a depth exceeding 120 metres, offer new physical insight into the life and service of the ship and its passengers. The operation marks the first time objects have been brought up directly from the wreck site.

A little good comes from Brit wreck diver's death

On Sunday 29 September 2019, a British technical diver, Tim Saville, died during a 120m (393ft) dive on HMHS Britannic.

Tim Saville
Dive Industry News and Matters

61-year-old Tim Saville was diving the wreck of the Titanic’s sister ship. At the time of writing this article, it is not known why Saville died.

There is a policy in place on Britannic that divers are not allowed to penetrate the wreck unless they are diving a rebreather because this will help preserve the ship. (Gas is expelled when diving open circuit scuba). It is understood that Saville was diving an X-CCR rebreather.

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

Interview with Richie Kohler

One of only four men in the world to have been to the wreck of the RMS Titanic and physically dived the interior of the equally tragic vessel, HMHS Britannic, is the American underwater explorer and author Richard Kohler. Internationally known for exploring some of the most challenging and dangerous shipwrecks on Earth, Kohler has pursued his passion for technical diving and maritime history since the early ‘80s.

Words:
Jaclyn Mackey
Images:
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Profiles & Interviews

Indeed, his explorations have helped to locate and identify many lost vessels, such as U-215, the minelaying submarine on the Georges Banks off Nova Scotia, as well as USS Murphy, the WWII destroyer lost off the New Jersey coast.

Britannic100: "Ship Of Dreams Sunk"

A century ago today - 21st November 1916 - Titanic's bigger sister ship hit a German mine. The collision was fatal.

Wrecks & Archaeology

HMHS Britannic was the largest ship to sink during World War I. (Weighting in at almost 50,000-tons she was also the largest ship in the world).

Many argue she is one of the most beautiful, intact, well-preserved passenger liners accessible to divers. It is little wonder that these factors, and the story behind her construction and sinking continue to capture divers imagination.

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U-Boat Navigator Mission: HMHS Britannic

Through the centuries in Greece, Kea Island’s renowned statue, the Lion of Kea (one cannot see him from the shore, but I know he is there), continues to smile and look askance upon human vanity—exactly the same way he did in 1916, when during World War I, hospital ships were hit by mines and tragically sank in the Kea Channel. These ships, now wrecks, include HMHS Britannic and SS Burdigala.

Words:
Svetlana Murashkina
Images:
Sergey Bychkov
Svetlana Murashkina
Eugene Tomashov
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Wrecks & Archaeology

It’s July, 2015, Greece. It’s very hot outside. Television commentators from various countries are passionately informing humanity that Greece is ready to leave the European Union, and an inevitable collapse shadows the nation. Here, on Attica, there is still some tranquility and serenity to be found, as is usual for this historical region encompassing Athens. Maria, the taxi driver taking me to the ferry in Lavrio, complains: “Business is very slow. But who said that life is easy?”

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