HMS Indefatigable holds the dubious honor
of being the first battlecruiser ever lost
in combat. She was sunk by fire from German
battlecruisers at the Battle of Jutland,
exploding after being struck by approximately
5 heavy shells.
The wreck of the Indefatigable was "discovered"
in May of 2001 by Deep Blue Expeditions of
England. I put the word 'discovered' in quotes
because local divers and commercial firms
have known the location of the wreck for
at least 50 years, and began pillaging the
wreck in the 1950s. But the 2001 expedition
was the first to publish the location and
photos of the wreck, as well as to explore
rather than salvage it.
The wreck is located over 5 miles away from
the officially reported sinking position,
quite unusual for the ships lost in the daylight
action. This is significant, unless there
was a gross error in reporting at the time
of the battle. Indefatigable was the last
ship in column, so it is quite possible that
with no one watching her all the time, witnesses
are mistaken as to the time that the ship
was lost. She may have begun to sink 5-10
minutes earlier and the time been recorded
wrong, or she may have been disabled and
dropped astern of the others, and not attracted
attention until she exploded a few minutes
later.
The wreck has suffered heavily at the hands
of salvers, and the remaining pieces of the
ship are very small, and unrecognizable as
part of a capital ship. I have not visited
this wreck myself, so I cannot speak to the
water or bottom conditions.
Indefatigable sinks following a magazine
explosion at Jutland.
Indefatigable wreckage
Part of the armor belt
A small propeller on one of Indefatigable's
ship's boats.
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