A British diving team located the wreck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, which was sunk by a German submarine in 1918 with 131 people aboard, officials said.
The British diving team Gasperados discovered the wreck about 50 miles from Newquay, a town on the north coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom, the Coast Guard said in a press release. The ship participated in Allied Powers operations during World War I before she was lost over a century ago.
Diving team leader Steve Mortimer said the discovery is “the result of three years of research and exploration” in a post shared to Facebook. “TAMPA is of huge importance to the United States and the relatives of everyone who died that day. Their final resting place is known at last,” he continued.
The Coast Guard Cutter Tampa first launched in 1912 and had firm connections to the city of Tampa, Florida, according to the Coast Guard’s website. The ship’s activities were focused on patrolling regattas and marine festivals, along with two ice patrols, before facing submarines in the North Atlantic during World War I. The Tampa also escorted 18 convoys, representing 350 ships in total. (RELATED: ‘The Slush That Was Left’: Woman Recounts Receiving Remains Of Husband, Son Who Died On Titan Submersible)
On Sept. 26, 1918, the Tampa was protecting a convoy en route to Wales and was in the Bristol Channel, according to the Coast Guard. The ship may have detected a submarine before it moved ahead of the convoy, and at 8:45 p.m., a loud explosion was detected by those aboard other ships. The Tampa was missing when they arrived at a port, and U.S. destroyers and British patrol ships carried out a search. They only found some wreckage and two corpses wearing Navy uniforms that could not be identified.
The German submarine UB-91 torpedoed the Tampa, and she sank in under three minutes, according to CBS News. The attack resulted in the deaths of 131 people — 111 Coast Guardsmen, four members of the U.S. Navy, and 16 British Navy members and civilians, the Coast Guard said. The event was the largest single loss of American lives in naval combat during World War I, according to the service.
Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, reacted to the discovery of the wreck. “Since 1790, the Coast Guard has defended our nation during every armed conflict in American history, a legacy reflected in the courage and sacrifice of the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Tampa,” he said.
“When the Tampa was lost with all hands in 1918, it left an enduring grief in our service. Locating the wreck connects us to their sacrifice and reminds us that devotion to duty endures. We will always remember them. We are proud to carry their spirit forward in defense of the United States,” Lunday continued.
Following the discovery, the Coast Guard said it is working on an agenda for underwater study and exploration utilizing historians, robotics, and more.