Another sunken ship uncovered in Gallipoli

ÇANAKKALE

A Turkish aquanaut has found a British ship that submerged during the Gallipoli campaign in World War I in the northwestern province of Çanakkale, which contains over 50 epic shipwrecks, daily Milliyet has reported.

Selçuk Kolay, who previously participated in search works for submarines and warships from the two world wars, led to the discovery of the British war transport ship, HMS Hythe, after nine years of determination and hard work.

HMS Hythe left the British base Mondros Bay in Lemnos Island, located in Greece today, loaded with war materials, Kolay stated.

Revealing the circumstances that led the ship to sunk, Kolay stated the vessel that was headed to the lighthouse in the Ottoman water turned off its lights to avoid being caught by Turkish artillery, but following unloading of its cargo, it collided with another larger and faster British ship HMS Sarnia on the way back.

The Hythe sank within 10 minutes, while 213 people, including soldiers, officers, and other personnel on board, were killed in the accident.

“Most of the people who died did not know how to swim and did not have life jackets. After this accident, the U.K. established new navigation rules,” he added.

“After submersion of HMS Hythe, the families in the U.K. established an association for the ones who lost their loved ones. They will be most pleased for this discovery,” a diver who dived in the area stated.

Elaborating on the process of discovery of the ship, Karakaş said that he systematically scanned a 9-square-mile field with side-scan sonar, adding that towards the end of August, he found a wreck similar to Hythe at a depth of 72 meters.

They proved that the wreck belonged to Hythe following diving into the area with the support of the Gallipoli Historical Site Directorate.

Kolay, who found 16 shipwrecks in Çanakkale related to World War I, conducts the studies in the British Library and National Archives in London.

An area of 150 kilometers, including historical wrecks that sank into the waters along the Historical Gallipoli Peninsula, was turned into an underwater park on Oct. 2, 2021. The park, established to contribute to the city of British, French, and Australian ships with diving tourism, provides 14 diving points.