Tragic submarine found 70 years after striking a mine

The wreck of a Royal Navy submarine built in Scotland and sunk in one of the worst maritime disasters of the Second World War has been discovered off the coast of Malta.

HMS Olympus, constructed at William Beardmore’s shipyard in Dalmuir, Clydebank, in 1927, was lost after striking a mine as she tried to evade German and Italian warships blockading Grand Harbour in the early hours of 8 May, 1942.

Almost 90 men perished and only 11 survived the seven-mile swim to shore, while the location of the submarine’s final resting place has remained a mystery for 70 years.

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A team of divers from a Florida-based exploration trust has found the wreck while surveying the ocean floor off the Mediterranean island. They announced their findings to the British government and the Royal Navy this week, leading to the expectation that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission will formally designate the site.

“We are extremely excited by this discovery, it’s a very important piece of Malta’s history during the war,” said Timmy Gambin, archaeological director of the Aurora Trust, a foundation set up to promote knowledge of maritime cultural history. “What happened with the Olympus is a sad and tragic story.”