Historic British warship wrecks found
Three British warships sunk off the coast of Estonia in action immediately after the First World War have been discovered. An Estonian naval vessel found the wrecks of HMS Cassandra, HMS Gentian and HMS Myrtle near the island of Saaremaa about 90 miles...
Three British warships sunk off the coast of Estonia in action immediately after the First World War have been discovered.
An Estonian naval vessel found the wrecks of HMS Cassandra, HMS Gentian and HMS Myrtle near the island of Saaremaa about 90 miles south-west of the capital, Tallinn.
The Estonian navy said the wrecks legally belonged to Britain.
The three vessels were part of a British squadron sent to the Baltic Sea in 1918-19 to deliver arms to Estonia, a newly established state fighting for independence against both Bolsheviks and German troops.
All were sunk by mines.
The light cruiser Cassandra sank on December 6, 1918 after hitting a mine, killing 10 sailors. The remaining crew of 400 was evacuated.
Minesweepers Gentian and Myrtle both sank on July 15, 1919 while on routine mine clearing missions. A total of nine sailors were killed in the two blasts.
Naval officials said the Myrtle had been spotted in 1937, while the location of the two other vessels remained a mystery until now.
The wrecks lie at depths of up to 300ft.