A British diving team has found the submerged wreckage of a US Coast Guard ship that was torpedoed off the UK coast during World War I, killing all 131 people on board, officials said.
The Coast Guard Cutter Tampa lay 300 feet under the surface about 50 miles off of Cornwall after it was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1918, the maritime agency said in a press release this week.
“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,” guard commander Admiral Kevin Lunday said in a statement.
“When the Tampa was lost with all hands in 1918, it left an enduring grief in our service,” he said. “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.”
The Tampa, built in 1912, was struck by a torpedo and sunk on Sept. 26, 1918, taking 111 Coast Guard members;16 British Navy personnel and civilians; and four US Navy staffers down with it.
The steam-driven cutter was part of a wartime convoy but peeled off to resupply in Wales after running low on coal — four hours before it was spotted by a German UB-91 and sunk with everyone on board, according to a 48-page Coast Guard history of the tragedy titled “Remember The Tampa.”
The final resting place of the sunken ship remained a mystery for over a century.
The British all-volunteer dive team Gasperados first contacted the guard in 2023, when the drew launched an extensive search for the wreckage of the doomed ship — with the remains found after three years.
“We provided the dive team with historical records and technical data to assist in confirming the wreck site,” Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historia William Thiesen said. “This included the archival images of the deck fittings, ship’s wheel, bell , weaponry, and archival images of the Tampa.”