Advertisement

Updated September 21st, 2019 at 16:39 IST

Pre-World War 1 British Naval Warship on the National Heritage List

A Pre-World War 1 British Battleship, HMS Montagu has been added to the National Heritage List for England after wounded veteran divers surveyed the remains

Reported by: Akriti Tyagi
Pre-World War 1
| Image:self
Advertisement

A Pre-World War 1 British battleship, HMS Montagu has been granted protection in England on September 20. The desecrated and abandoned battleship was added to the National Heritage List for England, which protects notable and culturally important buildings, monuments, wrecks, battlefields and world heritage sites in the country. This means that HMS Montagu will now be closely managed as a nationally important archaeological site, which will prohibit civilians from damaging or removing anything from the site.

READ I US warship USS Ramage docked in Lebanon in a 'One-day goodwill visit'

Archaeological expedition

A group of wounded veteran divers had recently been appointed to undertake a series of dives on the wreck site to map out exactly what remained of the ship. After this first full archaeological survey of the remains at the behest of the wounded veteran divers, the protected status has been granted to the wreckage. The veteran divers included Sacha Bamford, who served in the Royal British Navy as a warfare specialist between 2009 and 2012 and Andrew Phillips who served in the Gulf War. 

READ I US warship sails through Taiwan strait amid China tensions

Duncan-class Battleship

HMS Montagu was a Duncan-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, built to in response to rapid naval expansion in the build-up to the World War 1. Notably, to counter a group of fast Russian battleships in 1903. She was the fastest battleship in the world at that point of time but had a brief career. After serving for two years in the Mediterranean Fleet and a year at the Channel Fleet, she ran aground off Lundy Island, which is off the Devon coast, due to thick fog while conducting radio communication trials in secret. After repeated futile efforts at resurrection, the ship was broken up in situ and salvaged. As part of the salvage operations in 1907, steps were carved in the granite cliff face on the island and a suspension bridge was installed for access to the wreck. Both, the steps and the wreck have been added to the National Heritage List now.

The ship provides important insights into Pre-World War 1 Naval shipbuilding. HMS Montagu is a unique specimen of the transition of warship development between the 19th-century ironclads and the turbine-powered big gun British Dreadnought warships. 

READ I PM Modi pays homage to World War 1 Indian soldiers, marking a century since the great war ended

READ I Jaipur included in the list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, PM Narendra Modi expresses delight

Advertisement

Published September 21st, 2019 at 15:58 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

How to Keep Yourself Safe from Unhealthy Air?
3 minutes ago
TMC Delgation at ECI Office
15 minutes ago
Congress Press Conference
22 minutes ago
Raw Mango
22 minutes ago
Gen Z worker goes to the salon while “working from home”
24 minutes ago
Lionel Messi
26 minutes ago
Jailed Gangster Mukhtar Ansari Passes Away
27 minutes ago
Lok Sabha Elections 2024 LIVE
30 minutes ago
Tie-dye printed shirts
36 minutes ago
Sri Lanka on High Alert on Good Friday
37 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo