WW1 ship HMS Nottingham lost for 110 Years discovered in North Sea
The wreck of a warship named after the city of Nottingham has been discovered after being lost for 110 years.
The HMS Nottingham was sunk by a German submarine during the First World War.
Despite attempts over the past century to locate her final resting place, the well-preserved wreck had been hidden until now.
An international team of divers discovered the Royal Navy warship 60 miles offshore in the North Sea.
Divers found some parts still intact and well-preserved, with nine 6-inch guns, the original wooden decking in place and white dinner plates stamped with a Royal Navy blue crown.
38 sailors lost their lives when the ship sank on 19 August 1916, some were no older than teenagers at the time.
The captain, 20 officers and 357 crew were rescued. According to research by ProjectXplore, sailors abandoned ship only at the last minute, with the HMS Nottingham reportedly firing at the German submarine until she sank.
Similar ships named after other towns and cities were sold for breaking up in the 1920s to 1940s.
Until her discovery, the HMS Nottingham was the last missing Royal Navy cruiser of the First World War.
The ship was found by deep sea exploration team ProjectExplore in April, with divers returning to explore the ruins in July.
After months of research of ships' logs, telegrams and charts, divers Leo Fielding and Dan McMullen in April used underwater cameras to survey an area of the North Sea.
In a report, they wrote about the moment they realised they had discovered the ship's ruins: "Eyes glued to the laptop, it seemed as if the waterfall wastaking an eternity to update.
"Suddenly, the faint but unmistakable straight, narrow lines of the hull of a warship appeared on the starboard channel of the waterfall."
They returned three months later from 14 to 20 July with a team of divers.
Fielding and McMullen write: "With the exception of the bow area, the wreck's state of preservation was excellent...
"Heading towards the stern, the team immediately noticed the lettering embossed 'NOTTINGHAM' just below the gunwales at the stern, next to a porthole looking into the Captain's day cabin. The wooden decking laid astern and amidships was still in place, with the davits lying across the deck...
"Moving forward, on the port side behind the bridge, white plates were found stamped with a Royal Navy blue crown emblem, depicting alternating stern and sail motifs."
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