Divers discover wreck of Tsar’s ‘Shark’ submarine beneath the Baltic Sea

A wreck found by divers at the bottom of the Baltic Sea has been identified as the legendary Tsarist-era Russian submarine known as ‘The Shark’, a vessel which vanished during the First World War.

Commissioned in 1911, the 400-ton craft was the largest in the Tsar’s fleet and is believed to be the first submarine in the world that could fire a volley of several torpedoes. It was sent on a mission in 1915 with 35 sailors aboard but never returned to port.

Estonian diver Tanel Urm and his buddy found the wreck 30 yards below the surface while exploring a series of known but unidentified objects on the floor of the Baltic Sea off Estonia last month.

The Estonian team were then joined by Russian and Latvian divers for a fresh expedition after hearing the sub had three distinctive propellers and a blown-off nose cone.

“That made us think it could be the famous Akula [Shark], but we weren’t sure until we made the dive,” said diver Konstantin Bogdanov. “Part of the outer shell of the craft at the stern was still intact and suddenly we could see, through the shells stuck to the hull, the word ‘Akula’ in white lettering.”

The smashed nose of The Shark, and the fact that an external compass on the conning tower was not stowed, suggest the submarine was destroyed on the surface when it hit a German mine. It would have sunk quickly because it had only one compartment stretching the length of the sub. The divers could not swim inside the wreck because of the damage.

Mr Bogdanov said he had informed Russia’s defence ministry of the discovery and he hoped the submarine would be declared a “brothers’ grave” – the final resting place of the men who perished inside.

“There is no point in raising the sub,” he said. “I hope we can put a memorial plaque in front and make it a place that can be visited on remembrance days or for educational trips for divers.”

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk