Holland V and Norman's Bay Protected Wrecks - dive these in 2009
Introduction
The Holland V submarine is a remarkable piece of our naval
heritage. She was the first submarine to actually be commissioned
in the Royal Navy, on the 19th January 1903 at the same time as
Holland III. At this time the Holland's I, II and IV were still
being reworked.
The Holland class of submarine rapidly become obsolete and in
1912 Holland V was destined for destruction and was being towed
to Sheerness when she foundered and sunk at her present location
6 miles SE of the Royal Sovereign Lighthouse off Littlehampton,
Sussex, England.
The wreck remained undiscovered (although not undisturbed)
until 1995 when she was found by chance by Kent diver, Jerry
Dowd. Mr Dowd informed Innes McCartney of the find in 2001 and he made his first exploration of the site
in the same year. Mark Beattie Edwards, NAS Programme Director is now the site licencee.
Above right: The Holland V submarine at Sea
Below are links to a short movie clip of the Holland V as
she currently lies on the sea bed, by Periscope Publishing:
Holland V
movie (underwater)
Holland V
movie (museum and dive trip)
The Norman's Bay wreckis thought by some to be the remains of the English Warship Resolution or may well be that of an allied Dutch Warship lost during the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690. Whatever the wreck is The Resolution Project http://www.resolutionproject.co.uk/ is the hub from which to research and compile what is an amazing maritime story of survival against the forces of nature and time.
Based in Sovereign Harbour (Eastbourne), The Resolution project aims to discover and share information to encourage a wider awareness of our rich maritime culture, history and heritage and is working with various bodies including the NAS to promote responsible diving with a purpose, to conserve our heritage and the rich and varied marine life that can be found beneath our coastal waters.
The NAS has now teamed up with site licencee, Paul Stratford to help undertake survey work on the Norman’s bay wreck. Dives will take place on the 25th June 2009 and 11th September 2009 at the same time as dives on the Holland V submarine.
http://www.resolutionproject.co.uk/
Condition of the Holland V
The submarine is upright and in a fair
degree of overall preservation. This is primarily because the
single-hull design means that the pressure hull contains all of
submarines workings, ballast and fuel tanks within. The pressure
hull is, (according to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum) made of a
rare "S" Grade steel only seen these days on the Holland
submarines and the Forth Bridge. The durability of this material
is probably why the main hull of the submarine is still durable
and intact.
Sadly the same cannot be said of the submarine's external
features. The upper superstructure has largely gone and the stern
fins and propeller guard have also been pulled off. The
periscope, which lay down on the deck when not in use, has been
torn away along with the vent pipes for the interior and the
external exhaust piping. There is no evidence of the upper
steering position or compass binnacle and it is possible they
were removed before her final voyage. However the presence of the
exhaust box cover (which was not present on Holland I when it was
raised) seems to suggest that she was probably reasonably
complete when she foundered in 1912.
Above: Multibeam survey of Holland V on a flat sandy seabed off Littlehampton.
It is the belief of the authors that the site has been
recently subjected to damage by commercial fishing. In 2005 and
2006 the wreck was very heavily netted (much more so than in
2001) and the authors and visiting divers spent at least 3 hours
of bottom time cutting some of the netting away this summer.
Alarmingly there was also a steel cable wrapped over the wreck,
which has almost certainly caused of the destruction of the
submarine's upper works and external features.
Work on the Holland V
The dives conducted on the site as part of the Holland
V Project have primarily aimed to cover three areas of activity:
a) Net clearance, b) Photo/Video survey c) Comparative studies of
particular features with Holland I, now housed at the Royal Navy
Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire
2006 Project Outcomes
The dives conducted in 2006 and 2007 finally led to the site being
freed of the two major nets, which had infested much of the hull
sometime between 2001 and 2005. The nets were removed by both
cutting and moving them off the wreck. This was laborious work
for which thanks should be paid to all of the divers who assisted
in doing this. The buoy line which had become wrapped up around
the bow cap was also freed. A small amount of net remains around
the stern area. This net will be removed in future, but at
present is not considered a threat to the wreck.
Above right: Exhaust box of the Holland V, still
showing some attached netting.
Below right: Photograph of the damage to the exhaust pipes.
The major damage the nets caused appears to have been to the
cast iron exhaust pipes which lead from the top of the pressure
hull over the petrol engine to the exhaust box further aft along
the upper deck. It was noted that two of the four pipes had been
totally trawled off and a further pipe was only partially
present.
It was noted that the outcome of the successful net clearance
of the foredeck in 2005 has encouraged the marine growth
witnessed in 2001 to begin to grow back.
With the net removed divers were tasked with taking
measurements and photographs of some of the features, which had
been uncovered. The use of video and wide-angle (fisheye)
photography has revealed much about the Holland V, which differs
from Holland I. With permission from the Royal Navy Submarine
Museum in February 2006, Innes McCartney was given access to the
top deck of the Holland I exhibit and was able to undertake a
photographic survey of the entire deck as it is currently
preserved.
Above: Sketch of the upper deck of the Holland V, by Julie Morrissey.
It has become readily apparent that the deck of the Holland V
differs greatly from that of Holland I. It was always suspected
that this was likely due to the experimental nature of these
submarines. Of particular note were the differences in
construction of the upper deck, different periscope housing
designs, and different construction methods for the
torpedo-loading hatch. This study is at its beginning and we hope
to have a fuller assessment of the differences after next years
diving season.
NAS divers David Dooley and Darren Gosling were tasked with
making a scale drawing of the exhaust box cover. Over two dives
they gathered the measurements and photos needed to do this and
have subsequently produced the finished drawings. The drawings
have been submitted to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum were it is
currently being evaluated to see whether a replica of the Holland
V exhaust box cover can be fabricated for the Holland I
exhibit.
Above right: Drawing of the exhaust box lid by
David Dooley.
Diving the Holland V and Norman's Bay wreck
In 2009 the NAS will be continuing to record the hull of the Holland V submarine with cameras, video and tape measure survey. The team will also be looking to create a waterproof information notelet to enhance the visitor experience. For the first time NAS will also be diving on the Norman's Bay wreck.
25th June 2009 and 11th September 2009.
Diving in 2009 will be from "Dive125" www.dive125.co.uk out of Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne
Cost £70 for two dives - Holland V submarine in the morning and the Norman's Bay wreck in the afternoon. Price does not include air or nitrox fills.
No NAS qualification required.
For the Holland V the minimum Diving Qualification is BSAC Dive Leader / PADI Rescue Diver. Nitrox use preferred. NO SINGLE TANKS - Pony rig or twin sets mandatory.
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