Members of Southsea Sub-Aqua Club frequently dive along the South coast of England and have dived much of the rest of the UK and around the globe. The pages linked below provide some useful local information, as well as samples of what our members have done or are doing.
Kimmeridge Easter Dip 2012
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- Category: Trip Reports
HM Submarine A1 Report 2011
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- Category: HM Submarine A1
Extract from Martin Davies' report:
Wreck Condition
The wreck of the A1 Submarine remains a stable and robust site for visiting divers to see, while she is showing signs of deterioration in many areas, the cracks in the conning tower being the most visible; the submarine is still very much intact. The build up of sediment inside the wreck remains a concern in the forward torpedo loading hatch area along with a large amount of seaweed. The sediment and mobile silt that is carried in the water column and gives the area its poor visibility seems to be deposited in this area.
Marine Life
The wreck remains a haven for marine life with lots of marine life using the wreck as a home, the most common species being Tom Pot Blenny. Other species that are regularly seen are edible crab, lobster, velvet swimming crab, conger eel, a large shoal or bib or poor cod. Sponges and sea squirts are the next most dominant animal to be seen.
Threats
The wreck this year has not seen any major threats; no illegal commercial fishing activities have been seen while visits have been conducted and no damage to the wreck has taken place.
The Scour at the bow remains similar to previous years while the seabed around the wreck contains a lot of mobile silt and is very easily disturbed by careless diver fining activity.
LCT 427 Memorial Ceremony
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- Category: Kedge Hook HM LCT 427
17 November 2011
In a touching ceremony, thirteen Royal Naval heroes who perished on their return home from D-Day have been remembered with a the laying of wreaths at sea over the site of their final resting place just four miles from their home port of Portsmouth.
Families had waited more than 67 years to discover what had happened to their loved ones and to be given the opportunity to pay their final respects. A young RN sailor piped the 'Still' and a silence was observed for the officers and men of Landing Craft Tank LCT 427. Wreaths were laid on the water over the shipwreck 30m (100ft) below.
In the early hours of 7 June 1944, His Majesty's Landing Craft Tank LCT 427 was returning home with a flotilla of other craft when, in the darkness, she was involved in a collision with a large battleship and sank with the loss of all hands. With so much going on at the time the tragic accident went unreported and LCT 427 was recorded as ‘missing’ along with her crew. The families of the crew were not aware of what had happened and assumed their loved ones had been lost in Normandy when they failed to return home.
Only one of the crew, Able Seaman Kenneth Sumner, aged 22, was recovered from the water but he died two days later. His fiancée, Margaret Emmett Hunter from Wickham, Hampshire, was one of those attending the service along with the families of another five of the crew.
Margaret, now 87, was only 19 when she became engaged to the Kenneth Sumner, a handsome young sailor from Wilmslow. Clutching photographs and newspaper clippings she said, “Kenneth loved dancing and was a fun, kind-hearted man. We were engaged in the November of 1943 and I last saw Kenneth in February of 1944. In June 1944, I heard in a letter from his father that he had been killed. I was devastated. I never really got a chance to say goodbye and did not know what had happened until recently. ”Margaret was relieved to finally know what had happened and for the opportunity to visit the place where LCT 427 had come to rest. “I never forgot about Kenneth. It's been good to come here today and finally say goodbye. It leaves me so sad to think of all those lives lost.”
D-Day veteran Paul Butler, 85, from Chipping Norton was a young midshipman in the Royal Navy onboard LCT 454, one of the other craft returning with LCT 427 from the D-Day beaches that night. He believes he signalled the ill-fated landing craft to warn of oncoming danger but cannot be certain. He said, “I saw the silhouette of a large ship coming towards us. I took evasive action to avoid being hit. It has long played on my mind whether there was something more that I could have done that night. I am very honoured to be able to pay my last respects to the crew of LCT427 that awful night.” Paul was honoured to be able to give the reading as a mark of his respect for his lost comrades.
Gladys Ingle, 85, travelled with her family from Sheffield to the Solent to pay her respects to elder brother Hallam Carr. She described the moment when she tossed the wreath onto the water. “It's so sad to think that they were so close to home. At last I have visited the place where Hallam was lost and said goodbye.”
Family members attending were related to the following crew members:
Hallam CARR, Eric FIELDS, David SPILLANE, Kenneth SUMNER, Joseph 'Bill' WHITFIELD, Alfred GIRARD, Frank FREEMAN
Maldives Expedition 2011
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- Category: Trip Reports
At last, 9 October arrived and it was time to depart on our long-awaited liveaboard trip in the Maldives. Dawn Barnard had put together an enticing expedition and 18 SSAC members, friends and spouses were off for a week on the liveaboard Orion cruising the Malé and Ari atolls, followed (for the majority of the party) by 3 days winding down on Bandos Island.
DAY 1: We arrived in the Maldives at midday on Monday 10 Oct 2011 after a reasonably comfortable 10-hour flight. It was then a short boat ride from the airport at Male to the MV Orion and a friendly welcome from the crew. We then had the rest of the afternoon to settle into our luxurious and very comfortable cabins.
DAY 2: Leaving Male early the next morning we arrived at Vihamanaa for a check dive at 0730. This was followed by our first exciting dive at Lankan Manta Point, where we see real Mantas, but not many; only 4. Still, it was a good start to the holiday and the promise of things to come. Banana reef was a bit of a letdown and not very inspiring with no Mantas, little marine life and poor coral.
DAY 3: Overnight to South Ari Atoll. The early morning dive was on a pinnacle known locally as a Thila. The place was teaming; with divers. There were many exotic species mainly from Italy, classified as thong exotica, and Japan, no buoyancy control ho and fin kick coral hi. Large shoals of Blue Striped Snapper and other fish joined the throng. Another Thila followed. After lunch, the boat suddenly turned about and raced towards a Whale Shark that has been sighted nearby. Mad panic as everyone prepared to enter the water at once to snorkel with the Whale Shark. Sadly, two other boats had the same idea and the Whale Shark finds itself surrounded by 60 guests all splashing around like very large baitfish. Un-phased by the commotion the Whale Shark stayed with us for 45 minutes giving many swimmers the opportunity to return to the Dhoni (dive boat) and don scuba equipment before diving with the Whale Shark again. We think this was a 6.5m female known as Ayesha because there is a small nick in her upper caudal (tail) fin. This was a thrilling experience for all of the tourists. It is not every day that you meet something three times your height and as placid as a teddy bear. Now back to the diving.
Download the rest of the trip report by Tom Templeton.
Memorial service planned for crew of LCT 427
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- Category: Kedge Hook HM LCT 427
Following the successful countrywide appeal for relatives of the crew of LCT 427 to contact SSAC, a memorial service has been arranged for 17th November 2011. So far relatives of nine of the 13 crew have been in touch and many are planning to attend the service at Portsmouth Dockyard. Divers from SSAC and veterans from the LST and Landing Craft Association will also take part in the service.
The memorial service will include a wreath laying at sea at the exact position of the wreck of LCT 427 followed by a short service at St Ann's Church at the Portsmouth Naval Base. All relatives and comrades of the crew are most welcome to take part. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. asap if you wish to attend.
On her return to Gold beach in the early hours of 7 June 1944, LCT 427 sank with the loss of all hands four miles from her home port of Portsmouth following a collision with another vessel. More than 65 years later, divers from SSAC located and surveyed the wreck of 427 which lies at a depth of 30m in the busy shipping lane approaching Portsmouth and Southampton harbours. Our work to survey the wreck site has been made possible by means of a grant from the British Sub-Aqua Jubilee Trust and the kind permission of the Queen's Harbour Master at Portsmouth.
The memorial service has been made possible by the kind support of the Royal Navy and Chaplain Revd Keith Robus RN.
The Officers & Men of HM LCT 427
|
ALEXANDER, Frederick B |
GUTHRIE, George T Ty/Sub Lieutenant, RNVR, Commanding Officer |
| CARR, Hallam Able Seaman, P/JX 365096 Aged 19 |
JOHNSON, Albert E Able Seaman, P/JX 323203 Aged 22 |
| DAWE, William A Stoker 1c, D/KX 525694 Aged 40 |
SPILLANE, David Able Seaman, D/JX 368929 Aged 22 |
| FIELDS, Eric Able Seaman, D/JX 422546 Aged 19 |
SUMNER, Kenneth W Wireman, D/MX 99992 Aged 22 |
| FREEMAN, Frank Ty/Sub Lieutenant, RNVR Aged 20 |
WELSH, Leonard G Motor Mechanic, P/JX 426606 Aged 24 (19?) |
| GIRARD, Alfred W Able Seaman, P/JX 223849 Aged 22 |
WHITFIELD, Joseph W Act/Chief Motor Mechanic 4c, P/MX 98645 Aged 24 |
| GRAHAM, James Stoker 1c, P/KX 159134 Aged 37 |
SSAC diving on LCT 427 in the news
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- Category: Kedge Hook HM LCT 427
20 September 2011
The story of the loss of LCT 427 and the work carried out by SSAC divers, under the leadership of Alison Mayor, to investigate the wreck site in the shipping lane (Project Kedge Hook) has been picked up in the media.
This article is on the BBC news website whilst this article appeared in The News in Portsmouth. Alison was also interviewed live on BBC Radio Solent at 07:55 on Tuesday 20 September.
Hope Cove 2011
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By 1400 on Friday afternoon we have the Club RHIB moored for the week at Inner Hope giving us easy access to South Devon wreck sites, such as the Maine and the Persier. The rest of the party arrive during the afternoon and evening.
Project Kedge Hook: HM LCT 427 Survey 2011
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- Category: Kedge Hook HM LCT 427
2-5 July 2011
Southsea Sub-Aqua Club divers begin their latest and most challenging wreck investigation yet - the wreck of a British WW2 Tank Landing Craft in the Eastern approaches to Portsmouth Harbour.
The wreck is believed to be that of HMLCT 427 which sank on her return to Portsmouth after delivering her cargo of tanks on D Day. Just 4 miles from home, at 3am on the morning of 7th June 1944, HMLCT 427 was in collision with the 34,000 tonnes battleship HMS Rodney. She was sliced in half by the collision and sank immediately with the loss of all hands. For over 2 months the collision went unreported and the LCT was reported as missing.
The wreck now lies in two pieces at a max depth of 32m. Diving conditions are extremely challenging, primarily because the wreck lies in the main shipping lane to the Solent ports but also poor visibility and strong currents. Special permission has kindly been given by the Queens Harbour Master (QHM) Portsmouth and Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) Southampton to undertake a total of 8 days diving during July and August on the bow and stern sections. A Local Notice to Mariners has been issued to warn vessels of the diving activities LNTM 49/11. The MOD (Navy Command) has also given permission to dive the wreck sites.
Members of SSAC are extremely grateful for the assistance and guidance given by the QHM and to the British Sub-Aqua Jubilee Trust who have provided funding for the survey. A report of our diving survey and the results of historical research will be completed in the New Year.
All our diving/survey activities are being conducted in a considerate, respectful and non-intrusive manner in the knowledge that this is a military maritime grave. SSAC is also trying to arrange a memorial service for those lost in the tragedy, whose final resting place has been unknown until now. It is hoped that this can be arranged to coincide with the events marking the disbandment of the LST & Landing Craft Association (RN) in September 2011.
Lymington June 2011
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4-5 June 2011
On 4 and 5 June 2011, divers from SSAC completed a weekend's diving on Wight Spirit, diving the wrecks of the SS Molina, SS Joannis Millas, LCT (30m) and SS War Knight - all to the west of the Isle of Wight.
The SS Molina sank in 1918 after being torpedoed by UB-35. Molina is an impressive wreck with a bow standing over 7m from the sea bed at 36m. Her large engine and boilers are clearly visible. Visibility was 8-10m.
SS Molina: single screwed steamer sunk by a torpedo from the German Submarine U-35 in 1918. Lies upright on a shingle bottom with a badly broken stern. Located five miles due South of the Isle of Wight. (Video by Chris Ringrose)
The second dive was the Joannis Millas which sank in 1896 having run aground.
Landing Craft Tank (30m) - given the club's recent success in investigating WW2 LCTs - was a good opportunity to investigate another LCT wreck, this time to the west of St Catherine's Point and lying at a maximum depth of 30m.
We then dived the War Knight which sank in 1918 after a collision, hitting a mine and gunfire! This is a large wreck (7,951 tons) in shallow water and one of the first merchant vessels to have a turbine engine.
Historic Wreck Diving in Norman's Bay 2011
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During the weekend of 10-12 May 2011, 14 members of SSAC dived on the unique Norman's Bay cannon wreck from the club RIB.
The wreck site comprises 42 large cannon, an anchor and other artefacts and is believed to be from the early 1700s. The identity of the ship remains a mystery but is possibly the wreck of HMS Resolution. The Norman's Bay wreck site was discovered in 2005 and is protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. However, permission to dive under a visitor license can be arranged through the Nautical Archaeology Society - Norman's Bay Wreck.
Over the last year, several SSAC divers have been assisting the NAS with wreck site surveys and the creation of a diver trail which is now fully installed. At a maximum depth of 12m, this trip was the perfect opportunity for other divers of all levels to try out the diver trail and get 'blown away' by the size of the magnificent cannons - some three metres long.
Taking our own club RIB was easy, mooring overnight at Sovereign Marina, Eastbourne and running shuttles from the beach at Norman's Bay throughout the day and camping overnight at a site just across the road from the beach.
Unfortunately, the visibility wasn't conducive to good photos, so here are a few from a visit last year.
