Underwater Archaeologists Find Cold War Wreckage Near the Albanian Coast

[proud_ionian]

Source: Institute of Nautical Archaeology

An international team of archaeologists has discovered the remains of the bow of HMS Volage, a British destroyer that struck a mine off the Albanian port of Sarande on October 22, 1946. The incident brought Communist Albania and Great Britain into diplomatic conflict.

The wreckage was found by an international team with members from the RPM Nautical Foundation (RPMNF), the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), the Albanian Institute of Archaeology and the Albanian Ministry of Defense as part of a comprehensive search for shipwrecks and other sites for Albania that began in 2007.

Volage struck a mine on October 22, 1946 while assisting another British destroyer, HMS Saumarez, which had itself struck a mine. While neither ship sank, 44 lives were lost and another 42 British seamen were injured. This tragic episode was one of the first naval incidents of the Cold War, and brought then Communist Albania and Great Britain into diplomatic conflict.

A lengthy legal argument before the International Court of Justice at The Hague ultimately led to a ruling in favor of Britain. Albania disputed the findings, and the two nations severed diplomatic relations for nearly 50 years. The “Corfu Channel Incident” remains a case famous in legal circles, but it has largely been forgotten by most of the world.

The survey of the Albanian coast began in 2007 under the direction of Dr. Adrian Anastasi of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology and RPMNF Archaeological Director Dr. Jeffrey Royal. A number of discoveries were made, including Corinthian wrecks from the 6th through 3rd centuries BC, Roman wrecks from the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, along with scattered amphoras and modern shipwrecks.

In the late summer of 2009, the team was joined by INA president Dr. James Delgado. Delgado, whose archaeological experience includes participating in the study of a number of modern naval wrecks, including USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor and the sunken ships of the 1946 atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, asked RPMNF founder and president George Robb if a target found earlier in the survey might be the 40-foot section of Volage’s bow that was blown off in October 1946. Robb positioned the RPMNF vessel Hercules over the site, and Delgado, Robb, Royal, Anastasi and RPMNF’s ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) operator Kim Wilson examined the wreckage on the sea floor.

The investigation of the site was conducted via three cameras attached to the ROV. Visibility was poor due to suspended sediment and low light degraded the imagery, but the team made a number of provisional identifications for many of the principal features.

“The wreckage is that of a section of an explosion-damaged steel vessel,” says Delgado. While largely obscured by mud, the remains show steel frames (ribs), electrical wiring, ammunition, stacks of ceramic plates, a British canteen and the remains of boots or shoes. Because of the possibility that the wreckage is from Volage, and would therefore be considered a war grave, nothing was disturbed or removed. Unless artifacts are raised and analyzed, absolute confirmation is not possible, but the nature of the finds strongly suggested to that this was where HMS Volage hit the mine that tore off its bow, killing eight of that destroyer’s crew, as she attempted to tow the damaged Saumarez to safety.

“The area of Volage blasted off by the mine was forward of the deck guns,” says Delgado, “and included the forward mess, where some of the crew ate and slept, as well as storage compartments. The dishes, shoes and ammunition are evidence that fit.” The wreckage lies in proximity to the Albanian shore near the port of Sarande, and close to where a recent study by Albanian naval officer and historian Artur Meçollari indicated the mining incident occurred. After the investigation of the site, the team met with Meçollari and found that his charts of the incident agreed with the location of the find. Until both governments had been notified, however, the find was kept secret.

Albania and Great Britain have been officially notified of the find, and a report of the investigation, including ROV footage, was provided by the RPM Nautical Foundation to both governments.