The Russian Oscar-II class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Kursk sank ten years ago yesterday with a loss of all aboard. One hundred and sixteen crew members and two weapons experts died in what is believed to have been the explosion of a faulty torpedo. At 154m … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
In 2004, at least 170 people died when a tsunami hit the fishing village of Poompuhar, in India on the Bay of Bengal. According to legend, this was not the first time. As described in ancient Tamil texts and by Ptolemy and … Continue reading
Ten years ago today, the Confederate Navy submarine H.L. Hunley was raised from the bottom of Charleston harbor in South Carolina, where it sank in 1864. The Hunley was the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in combat. … Continue reading
We recently posted about the world’s oldest champagne found on the Baltic seabed. While not as old, yet equally historic, a case of Shackleton’s Whisky has recently gone on display at the the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch on New Zealand’s South … Continue reading
Happy birthday to the United States Coast Guard! Two hundred and twenty years ago today, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, created the Revenue-Marine, later renamed the Revenue Cutter Service. For nine years, until the re-establishment of the United … Continue reading
Zheng He’s fleet of ships has been the subject of mystery and myth for centuries. Now a joint Chinese-Kenyan expedition to excavate where one of his fleet is thought to have been sunk in the 15th century may finally shed … Continue reading
In early July we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the return of the SS Great Britain to Bristol. Yesterday was a more somber anniversary – the 40th anniversary of “Black Tot” Day. Ceremony to mark ending of rum tot at … Continue reading
Two weeks ago the remains of an 18th century ship were found in the excavation of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. On Thursday Warren Riess, an archaeologist specializing in marine history, speculated that the ship was most likely a brigantine; … Continue reading
The HMS Investigator was found in remarkably good shape in only 11 meters of water in Mercy Bay along the northern coast of Banks Island in Canada’s western Arctic. The image to the left is from a lithograph of the … Continue reading
Earlier this month we posted about a new expedition by Parks Canada to search for Franklin’s ships, the Terrorand the Erebus. Parks Canada also intended to search for theHMS Investigator, a ship which was caught in the ice and sank when sent … Continue reading
As a follow-up to a post from early June, the remains of what is believed to be the wreck of a merchant ship from the mid-1600s are being moved to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum for preservation. The wreck was uncovered … Continue reading
Divers have found 30 bottles of champagne thought to pre-date the French Revolution on the Baltic seabed. Reportedly, it was still highly drinkable. All I can say is that the seabed must be one hell of a wine cellar. … Continue reading
Many historians have long suspected that the performance of the Greek triremes as reported by Esculus and others, were overstated. Some have referred to them as “mythological.” The Olympias trireme, built in 1987, designed by the naval architect John Coates, who died last week, … Continue reading
John Coates John Coates, who died on July 10 aged 88, had retired as chief naval architect at the Ministry of Defence when he took a central role in the building of a Greek trireme, the first, fastest and best … Continue reading
Workers excavating at the new World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan have uncovered the remains of an 18th century wooden merchant ship. The ship was found 20 feet below street level, is roughly 30 feet in length and was probably buried intentionally as land fill. It … Continue reading
For anyone researching a particular ship, ShipIndex.org could prove invaluable. It offers a searchable database with 143,935 entries in the free database and 1,349,574 entries available with premium access. Having done a bit of searching, it looks both easy and powerful. ShipIndex.org … Continue reading
Forty years ago, on July 5th, 100,000 people lined the banks of the River Avon to witness the return of the SS Great Britain, or what was left of her. After spending 37 years on the seabed in the Falklands, she was a rusting … Continue reading
After a season’s delay due to lack of access to icebreakers, Parks Canada is renewing its search for Franklin’s ship’s Erebus and Terror. They will also be searching for the HMS Investigator, a ship which was caught in the ice … Continue reading
We recently posted about the centennial of Robert Falcon Scott‘s departure on his ill-fated expedition to reach the South Pole. Now the Australian National Maritime Museum will host a new exhibit, the Quest for the South Magnetic Pole. The quest to … Continue reading
We are five days late but nevertheless would like to wish Commander William Donald Aelian “Bill” King a most happy 100th birthday. He is only living submarine commander from World War II. He initially served on the battleship, HMS Resolution, and later becoming … Continue reading