Local Wrecks -

Untitled Document

Local wrecks in the Area

Here in Inishowen we are lucky in having some of the premier wreck diving sites in world on our door step. List below are just a few of the wrecks.Click on the pictures or text to get further information on the wrecks.

Spanish Armada Wreck La Trinidad Valencera

The Most Famous of all of Donegal's wrecks is the Spanish Armada's La Trinidad Valencera which foundered in Kinnego Bay in 1588

1974 Chronicle Program about how the City of Derry Sub Aqua Club worked with the archaeological community to excavate the Spanish Armada wreck La Trinidad Valencera.

HMS Saldahna

HMS Saldanha was wrecked completely in a storm on January 1811,in Lough Swilly.After the ship was wrecked more than 2000 bodies were was ashore.

HMT Cortienties

Sunk near Malin Head

HMS Racoon

HMS Racoon Sank off Malin Head near the Garvan Isles

RMS Justicia

Justicia RMS was owned by the White Star Line as a Royal Mail steamship. Built by Harland & Woolf of Belfast.

Geoff Millar from divenorth.com diving on RMS Justicia

U 89

U-89 (A Mittel U type Uboat )was rammed by escort ship HMS Roxburgh,on 12 February 1918,approxiamtely, 24 miles North of Malin Head..The picture show U135 a simliar type to U89

HMS Audacious

A King George V class Super-Dreadnought Battleship

HMS Drake

HMS Drake sank in Church Bay Rathlin Island

HMS Assurance

HMS Assurance wrecked near Greencastle golf course

SS Laurentic

S.S Castle Eden

Lies 4 miles South South East of Innistrahull close to Inishowen Head at a Depth of 33M

SS William Mannell

Sank off Glengad Head

SS Jackinsonville

SS Jackinsonville was sunk, when she as part of Convoy CU-36, she was torpedoed by U-482 on 30 August 1944,her cargo was 14300 ton of petroleum

SS Empire Heritage

SS Empire Heritage was built in 1930 by Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd of Newcastle upon Tyne. 508'x72.5'x50.5'. She was formerly called TAFELBERG before 1943. She was torpedoed on route from New York to Liverpool by German submarine U-482 with the loss of 113 lives when 15 miles North West of Malin Head. Carrying a cargo of 16,000 tons of fuel oil and 1,900 tons of deck cargo including Sherman Tanks

Operation Dead Light

Innes McCartney has run several expeditions to locate and film some of the U-boats scuttled during 'Operation Deadlight'. Click on the text to visit periscopepublishing.com

U861

U861 was sunk in Operation Dead Light,off Malin.At 46 Metres.Jurgen Oesten's cargo U-boat is the shallowest of all the Deadlight fleet.However,she lies in a very tidal area and is not an easy dive.A rare Type IXD2,her sheer size makes her a very impressive dive

Below is a clip from Youtube on U861 which was involved in Operation
Dead Light

Below are video clips of Geoff Millar of Divenorth.com diving on U861
in 2007

U-218.

U-218 has the credit for the last ship sunk in World War Two when the British steam fishing vessel Kned (325 tons) was sunk on 10 July, 1945 by a minefield laid on 18 August, 1944 off Lizard Head by U-218. She surrendered at Bergen, Norway on May 8, 1945 and was transferred to Loch Ryan in Scotland later that month for her final fate sent to Lishally to be part of Operation Deadlight.