Wreckage of US Coast Guard Cutter Tampa Discovered Off Cornwall, United Kingdom > United States Coast Guard News > Press Releases
WASHINGTON – The wreckage of the Coast Guard Cutter tampa has been positioned and confirmed by the British technical-diving crew Gasperados. The website lies roughly 50 miles off Newquay, Cornwall, United Kingdom, at a depth exceeding 300 ft deep within the Atlantic Ocean.
tampa was misplaced in 1918 throughout World War I after being torpedoed by a German submarine within the Bristol Channel. The vessel sank in lower than three minutes, ensuing within the demise of all 131 folks aboard—111 Coast Guardsmen, 4 US Navy personnel, and 16 British Navy personnel and civilians. This stays the most important single American naval fight loss of life in World War I.
“Since 1790, the Coast Guard has defended our nation during every armed conflict in American history, a legacy reflected in the courage and sacrifice of the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Tampa,” stated Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander of the Coast Guard. “When the Tampa was lost with all hands in 1918, it left an enduring grief in our service. Locating the wreck connects us to their sacrifice and reminds us that devotion to duty endures. We will always remember them. We are proud to carry their spirit forward in defense of the United States.”
In 2023, the Coast Guard Historians Office was contacted by the Gasperados Dive Team concerning the tampa. Over the previous three years, the all-volunteer crew performed an intensive seek for the wreckage.
“We provided the dive team with historical records and technical data to assist in confirming the wreck site,” stated Dr. William Thiesen, Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian. “This included the archival images of the deck fittings, ship’s wheel, bell, weaponry, and archival images of the tampa.”
The Coast Guard is now growing plans for underwater analysis and exploration in coordination with its workplaces of specialised capabilities, historians, cutter forces, robotics and autonomous methods, and dive locker.
Additional details about the Tampa’s legacy might be discovered here.
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