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| Vessel Type: |
Armoured Cruiser |
Location: | Co. Antrim |
| Date of Loss: | 2nd October 1917 | Place: | Church Bay, Rathlin Island |
| Cause of Loss: | Torpedoed | Boat Dive from: | Ballycastle |
| Charted Depth: | 18m | Irish O.S. Map: | Discovery Series No. 5 |
| Height of Wreck: | 3-4m | Admiralty Chart No: | 2798 |
| Hull Material: | Armour plating | Latitude (GPS): | 55 17.224 North |
| Type of Seabed: | Sand over clay | Longitude (GPS): | 06 12.561 West |
| Average Visibility: | 6 - 10m | Diving Experience: | Novice |
| Picture available? | Yes - click here |
Diving Information:
- The remains of the wreck were blown up in 1979 by the Royal Navy.
- It now resembles a large scrap yard more than anything else. The 6ins. guns are still visible.
- Plenty to see with lots of nooks and crannies to be explored.
- Can be dived at any state of the tide, but make sure the anchor is secure as the wind can blow the boat off station.
- The wreck lies 200m north of a South Cardinal Buoy outside the entrance to the harbour.
- There is a fee to to use the slip at Ballycastle Harbour.
- Ammunition lying around - it could be in a dangerous state.
Historical Information:
- The "Drake" was a four funnelled Armoured Cruiser of 14100 tons, she had spent the war years on Atlantic patrol, escorting convoys.
- Built at Pembroke Dockyard in 1902, she measured 500 x 71 x 26ft. and was powered by triple-expansion engines with Belleville boilers. These generated 30,557 I.H.P., giving a maximum speed of 24 knots.
- Her weapons consisted of - two 9.2in guns, sixteen 6in., fourteen 12-pounders, three 3-pounders, 2 torpedo tubes, two maxims and a compliment of 900 men.
- While protecting the west bound Convoy HH24, she was torpedoed by U-boat U-79, five miles north of Rathlin.
- The original intention was to beach her in Church Bay, but she rolled over and sank before she reached the shore. Out of 900 crew, 19 were killed in the incident.
- She was commanded by Captain S.H. Radcliffe.
- Sporadic salvage operations commenced in 1920. Eventually, after having been a continual hazard to shipping, the Navy blew her up during the latter part of the 1970's.
Source Publications:
|
"Dictionary
of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam 1824 - 1962"
|
by
|
Charles Hocking |
| London Stamp Exchange 1989 - ISBN: 0948130474 | ||
|
"Shipwreck
Index of Ireland"
|
by
|
Richard & Bridget Larn |
| Lloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2002 - ISBN: 1900839970 | ||
|
"Shipwrecks
of the Irish Coast 932 - 1997"
|
by
|
Edward J. Bourke |
| Edward J. Bourke 1998 - ISBN: 0952302713 | ||
|
"Shipwrecks
of the Ulster Coast"
|
by
|
Ian Wilson |
| Impact Printing 1997 - ISBN: 0948154993 | ||
|
"The
Cruise of H.M.S. Drake"
|
by
|
J.A. Minter (1907) |
|
"The
Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy"
|
by
|
E.H.H. Archibald |
| Blandford Press 1984 - ISBN: 0713713488 | ||
|
"The
Harsh Winds of Rathlin"
|
by
|
Tommy Cecil |
| Impact Printing 1990 - ISBN: 0948154659 |
Other Sources:
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Randal
Armstrong
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Castlereagh SAC (1990) |
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Royal
Navy
|
-
|
Hydrographic Department (1970) |
|
Vic
Foster
|
-
|
Castlereagh SAC (1996) |
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Last update - 26-Aug-2004
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A page from "www.irishwrecksonline.net" ©