ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Divers have recovered artifacts from the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, for the primary time for the reason that ocean liner sank within the Aegean Sea greater than a century in the past after placing a mine throughout World Warfare I.
The Tradition Ministry in Greece stated Monday that an 11-member deep-sea diving group performed a weeklong operation in Could to get well artifacts together with the ship’s bell and the port-side navigation gentle.
The White Star Line’s Britannic, launched in 1914, was designed as a luxurious cruise liner, however was requisitioned as a hospital ship throughout World Warfare I. It was heading towards the island of Lemnos when it struck a mine and sank off the island of Kea, about 45 miles southeast of Athens, on Nov. 21, 1916.
The vessel, the biggest hospital ship on the time, sank in lower than an hour. Thirty of the greater than 1,060 folks on board died when the lifeboats they had been in had been struck by the ship’s nonetheless turning propellers.
The wreck lies at a depth of practically 400 toes, making it accessible solely to technical divers. The dive group used closed-circuit rebreather gear in a restoration operation organized by British historian Simon Mills, founding father of the Britannic Basis, the Tradition Ministry stated.
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On this undated photograph offered by the Greek Tradition Ministry on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, divers illuminate the wreck’s inside of the Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, for the primary time for the reason that ocean liner sank within the Aegean Sea greater than a century in the past after placing a mine throughout World Warfare I. (Greek Tradition Ministry by way of AP)
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On this undated photograph offered by the Greek Tradition Ministry on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, divers illuminate the wreck’s inside of the Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, for the primary time for the reason that ocean liner sank within the Aegean Sea greater than a century in the past after placing a mine throughout World Warfare I. (Greek Tradition Ministry by way of AP)
Circumstances on the wreck had been notably powerful due to currents and low visibility, the ministry stated. Among the many objects raised to the floor had been artifacts reflecting each the ship’s utilitarian function and its luxurious design: the lookout bell, the navigation lamp, silver-plated first-class trays, ceramic tiles from a Turkish tub, a pair of passenger binoculars and a porcelain sink from second-class cabins.
The artifacts are actually present process conservation in Greek capital Athens and will likely be included within the everlasting assortment of a brand new Museum of Underwater Antiquities beneath improvement on the port of Piraeus. The museum will characteristic a devoted World Warfare I part, with the objects from the Britannic as a centerpiece.
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