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Shipwreck of SS Athenia, first UK ship to be sunk by Germany in World War II finally found

The Remains Of Athenia Which Is The First British Ship To Be Sunk During World War II Has Been Discovered Off The Coast Of Ireland.

News Nation Bureau New Delhi Updated on: 08 Oct 2017, 19:47 PM

 The remains of Athenia which is the first British ship to be sunk during World War II has been discovered off the coast of Ireland.

The sonar data revealed that the transatlantic passenger liner Athenia lying 200 metres down on the Rockball Bank, as per David Mearns, marine scientist and Oceanographer. 

It was a German submarine which torpedoed the ship after Britain declared war on Adolph Hitler in the year1939. Studies suggest that over 100 people including  Americans were killed in the process. 

The hull of Athenia is visible in the sonar data which has been acquired by the Geological Survey of Ireland.

David Mearns has said that the torpedo hit Athenia and there is a split in the aft section, but otherwise the ship looks to be in reasonable shape. The coordinates of the ship are very close to the ones sent out by the British ship's radio officer in his distress call according to BBC News. The call was recorded in the logbooks of those vessels which came to the ship's rescue. 

Mearns has claimed that as per his expert opinion, there's a high chance that the ship is Athenia only. 

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First Published : 08 Oct 2017, 19:40 PM

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