Survey completed on wrecks of 30 ships lost in 1940 Dunkirk evacuation
RESEARCH & TRAINING WEEK
The Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research (Département des recherches archéologiques subaquatiques et sous-marines; DRASSM) of the French Ministry of Culture has surveyed 30 wrecks sunk during the rescue of 338,000 Allied soldiers from Dunkirk early in the Second World War.
The survey, which was done in partnership with preservation group Historic England, shows the position, characteristics, and condition of each wreck in remarkable detail.
The operation was led by DRASSM archaeologists aboard the research vessel André Malraux. The survey is the first collaboration between DRASSM and Historic England and provides essential information for researching and managing these wrecks in future.
The principal instrument used for the survey is a multibeam echosounder mounted beneath the hull of André Malraux. The resulting data are then used by geophysicists to create a highly detailed three-dimensional image of seabed features such as shipwrecks.
The team located and studied 27 wrecks from Operation Dynamo, as the Dunkirk evacuation from late May to early June 1940 was also known.
The position of 12 of these wrecks was not known precisely before the survey. Four wrecks, either destroyed or covered by sand, could not be found.
A further 19 features have been studied, three of which appear to correspond to the location and characteristics of lost vessels that were previously undiscovered.
The identities of two wrecks – those of the French auxiliary minesweepers Denis Papin and Moussaillon, which were sunk by air attacks on June 1, 1940 – have been corrected. The new data demonstrate that previous identifications had confused the two wrecks.
The survey data was detailed enough to confirm the identification of 19 wrecks: dimensions and distinguishing features from the survey corresponded to documented dimensions of the vessels and to features on historic photographs.
On one of the wrecks, the davits from which lifeboats once hung can be seen in the survey data: their precise form, together with other details and dimensions, confirm that it is Normannia, requisitioned as a troop carrier and sunk by an air attack on May 30.
The survey has confirmed that many of the Dynamo wrecks are in relatively good condition. However, the new data also shows recent changes.
The destroyer HMS Keith was surveyed in 2016 and 2019 by the Port of Dunkirk (Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque – GPMD): the 2023 survey shows that part of the destroyer’s hull has degraded in just a few years, collapsing away from its former position.
This is the first stage of a multi-year project, with the 2023 survey providing baseline information for diving investigations starting in partnership with local divers in 2024. All this information, enhanced by further research, will be made available to the public through museums and online as the investigations progress.
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