The British destroyer HMS Keith sank over 80 years ago during the Dunkirk evacuation, also known as Operation Dynamo, and has been deteriorating in recent decades.
3D sonar image of the wreck of the HMS Keith. (Photo: AFP).
The ship, measuring over 100 meters in length, was one of 1,000 military, merchant, fishing, and civilian vessels that participated in rescuing 338,226 Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940. After evacuating 992 soldiers to Dover, the ship was struck by a bomb from a German aircraft and sank in the English Channel. Now, nearly nine decades later, this World War II warship is being observed once again as scientists utilized sonar to create a 3D model of the wreck on the seabed, as reported by Mail on October 16.
This project involves the participation of Historic England and Drassm, France’s underwater archaeology research agency. The aim is to locate undiscovered wrecks associated with Operation Dynamo, which resulted in the destruction of 305 ships and over 30,000 soldiers losing their lives.
Scientists are attempting to locate and study a total of 27 wrecks in the project. Among these, the locations of 12 wrecks were previously unclear before the survey, while 4 other ships have been destroyed or buried under sand to the extent that they are untraceable. Experts believe they may discover an additional 3 wrecks related to the Dunkirk evacuation, according to Duncan Wilson, the Chief Executive of Historic England.
The primary tool the research team is using is a multibeam sonar device placed beneath the research vessel André Malraux. This machine emits sonar waves and records the feedback signals from the seabed, allowing geophysicists to create 3D images of objects like wrecks. The level of detail is so high that scientists can compare the characteristics and dimensions of the ships with historical photographs. For instance, a hanging anchor crane for lifeboats helped confirm one wreck as the Normannia, a ship that sank during the bombing on May 30, 1940.
Many wrecks remain in fairly good condition, but compared to previous surveys, the HMS Keith has deteriorated in the last decade. The use of technology not only helps create detailed images of ships like the HMS Keith but also aids in correctly identifying two other wrecks: the French minesweepers Denis Papin and Moussaillon.
