3D video images from a survey of 27 shipwrecks in French waters linked to the 1940 evacuation of Dunkirk have been released by Historic England (HE) in its first collaboration with French marine heritage agency DRASSM.
Included are three newly discovered wrecks that appear to correspond to losses recorded 83 years ago.
The survey was carried out to provide baseline information for multi-year scuba investigations that will begin in partnership with local divers in 2024. All findings are to be made available to the public through museums and online as the investigations progress. The launch of the project was reported on Divernet on 20 September.
The WW2 evacuation, dubbed Operation Dynamo, took place over nine days from 26 May to 4 June in 1940 and saw more than 338,000 Allied soldiers who had been surrounded by the German army in northern France rescued and brought back across the Channel to the UK.
More than 1,000 military, transport, fishing, service and pleasure vessels were involved under British, French, Belgian, Dutch, Polish, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish flags – but more than 305 of them were lost.
The new survey, carried out between 25 September and 8 October, shows the position, characteristics and condition of each wreck “in remarkable detail”, says HE.
DRASSM archaeologists Cécile Sauvage and Claire Destanque led the operations, using a multibeam echo-sounder from their research vessel André Malraux, captained by Fabien Géreux. UK geophysicist Mark James of MSDS Marine joined DRASSM geophysicist Alexis Rochat.
Twelve of the 27 wrecks had not previously been pinpointed, and four could not be found, thought to have been either destroyed or covered in sand.
The identities of two wrecks – the French auxiliary minesweepers Denis Papin and Moussaillon, sunk by air-strikes on 1 June – had previously been confused and were corrected. Nineteen wrecks were positively identified through their dimensions and distinguishing features.
Three of a further 19 marks studied appeared to correspond to the location and characteristics of vessels lost during Operation Dynamo. Lifeboat davits, along with other details and dimensions, confirmed one as the Normannia, requisitioned as a troop-carrier and sunk by aircraft on 30 May.
Many of the wrecks were noted to be in relatively good condition although, in the case of the destroyer HMS Keith, comparison with previous survey images by the Port of Dunkirk in 2016 and 2019 revealed that part of its hull had collapsed in recent years.
“It’s very moving to see new details emerge from 30 shipwrecks linked to Operation Dynamo for the first time since the events at Dunkirk during the Second World War,” said HE chief executive Duncan Wilson. “The results give us a striking insight into our shared heritage that still lies beneath the waters off Dunkirk.”
Also on Divernet: Dunkirk wrecks project sets up 2024 dives, Diver finds Dunkirk wreck with poignant history
