H.M.S M2 Submarine Shipwreck — The Grave of 60 British Seamen
In January 1932 The Tyneside, a Newcastle coaster off West Bay, Dorset, noticed a submarine dive into the depths of the English Channel. The captain thought no more about it until he mentioned it in passing when he arrived at his port. He was then told that the sub had sunk with the loss of all hands.
What had the captain witnessed? The crew of H.M.S M2, an experimental submarine aircraft carrier, were practicing removing the small folding aeroplane from its hangar on the deck of the sub, and water began to pour in through the hangar’s open doors. She sank stern first in about 30 m. of water.
Salvage Attempt
Eight days later the wreck was found and a salvage expert attempted to raise her. After 1500 dives this seemed to be successful, but when she was just 6 m. from the surface a gale sprang up and she returned to the seabed for ever. The M2 is now a popular scuba diving site, although the wreck is now a “protected place”.
Submarine Aircraft Carriers
Several nations had already tried to create submarine aircraft carriers. The purpose of these was usually to get a sea plane nearer to action so that the pilot could obtain information about enemy ships. By getting a ride on the sub the aircraft could extend its range by many miles and did not have to fly from a land base. The M2 carried one biplane, a Parnall Peto, which was either propelled into flight by a hydraulic catapult or lowered into the sea so that it could take off from the waves on its floats.
But why did it sink?
Submarines are most vulnerable from the enemy when they are on the surface, and so it was essential that the moment the sub surfaced the aircraft had to be removed from its hangar and got airborne as soon as possible. The crew would repeatedly try to break their best time for this task. On this fatal occasion it is thought that in their keenness to get the plane out they opened the hangar door so soon that there was still seawater on the sub’s deck and this poured in. The weight of the water would have upset the balance of the boat with the result that the stern began to sink. When this happened all the water would naturally flow to the lowest part of the boat and thus accelerate the sinking. This is what the captain of the nearby Tyneside saw, thinking that this was a normal submarine dive. But sadly it wasn’t.
Ideal Dive Site
The M2 is an ideal dive site as the wreck is not damaged and all and openings in the hull, except for the hangar, are sealed. The plane was removed during the attempted raising of the boat.
Who to dive with?
There are several dive companies in Dorset such as, and there are hundreds and hundreds of wrecks to choose from:
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