In the word’s of Katie Price, never underestimate the sea! For what lies beneath our treacherous waters could surprise and delight you in equal measures - if exploring the waters off the coast of Donegal, you might even come across what can only be described as an ‘underwater tank graveyard’...
A diver named Rich Stevenson stumbled upon this war relic whilst shooting a video in 2010 and shared his discovery on Vimeo at the time.
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As you’ll see from the screenshot in the tweet below, whilst minding his own business beneath the sea, Stevenson discovered an array of WW2-era Sherman tanks littering the seabed. Some of the sunken machinery has even flipped upside on its descent through the water.
https://twitter.com/FreakyTheory/status/475935381922127873
The vehicles can be found on the seabed just 20 metres from Malin Head in Donegal, at a depth of approximately 65 metres.
They are thought to have been there since September 8, 1944 when the SS Empire Heritage, a cargo ship carrying oil, US-made Sherman tanks and half-tracks, was torpedoed by a German U-boat.
The tragedy killed a total of 113 people, with the ship apparently sinking at such speed that there wasn’t even time to send a distress call.
To make matters even worse, the rescue ship that was sent to attempt to pick up survivors was also torpedoed by the Germans and suffered a similar fate, reportedly sinking in just 90 seconds.
You can watch the full eerie video by Rich Stevenson below:
Sherman tanks in Ireland from Richard Stevenson on Vimeo.
Topics: Ireland
Gary Grimes