10 Most Famous Shipwrecks All The Time
Shipwrecks are often shrouded in mystery and carry stories of adventure, courage and sometimes even tragedy. Over the years, many ships have met an unexpected end. They sank to the bottom of the ocean, leaving behind the story of her travels and the events that led to her sinking.
In this article, we explore the world of shipwrecks and bring you some of the most famous shipwrecks that have been discovered. From the Endurance lost under the ice of the Weddell Sea to the Titanic. Moreover, these shipwrecks have captured the imagination of people around the world.
The United Nations estimates that about three million shipwrecks lie underwater. As a result, there are many ongoing expeditions that are publicly sanctioned by governments and privately funded by other organizations and foundations.
The goal is to search the high seas for shipwrecks and lost historical treasures underwater. Billions of dollars worth of gold, silver and other precious artifacts have been found. For many historians, searching for shipwrecks has become a hobby.
Some famous shipwrecks can be visited while they are stranded on the beach, deep under the sea, or lying on solid ground. Get ready to embark on an underwater journey to explore the most dangerous and famous shipwrecks and their historical treasures.
Titanic
The Titanic was a luxury ship operated by the White Star Line. It sank on April 15, 1912, during the British luxury liner’s maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.
Moreover, the ship hit an iceberg and sank, killing about 1,500 passengers and crew, of whom 700 survived. The Titanic is famous for being the largest ship in the world at the time, and for the fact that the captain ignored warnings of ice on the way.
Bismarck
The battleship Bismarck was one of the largest battleships built for the Nazi German Navy. It was launched on February 14, 1939. The ship sank on May 27, 1941, after being attacked by the British Navy in the North Atlantic near France.
Furthermore, it was the most powerful battleship of her time, displacing 52,600 tons, with eight 15-inch guns and a speed of 30 knots. Commanded by Admiral Gunther Lütjens, the Bismarck was on her maiden voyage. When a British reconnaissance plane spotted her near Bergen, Norway. The German death toll reached over 2,000.
SS Rio Grande
The SS Rio Grande was a German World War II ship that was sunk by two American destroyers 55 miles off the Atlantic coast of Brazil in January 1944. The crew of the Rio Grande abandoned the ship and its cargo and deliberately attempted to sink it.
Above all, before the discovery of the USS Johnson in 2019, the SS Rio Grande wreck was the deepest known shipwreck at 18,904 feet (5,762 m).
RMS Lusitania
The RMS Lusitania was a British passenger ship launched by the Cunard Line in 1906. It was famous for winning the Blue Badge for the fastest Atlantic crossing in 1908. And it was briefly the largest passenger ship in the world.
On May 7, 1915, she was torpedoed by a German submarine while en route from New York to Liverpool. The incident indirectly contributed to the United States’ entry into World War I. The sinking killed 1,198 people, including 128 American citizens.
SS Baron Gooch
On August 13, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian-owned luxury ship SS Baron Gooch sank after striking a mine off the coast of Croatia. Additionally, the sinking occurred early in World War I and killed all passengers and crew on board.
USS Arizona
The USS Arizona was a battleship built for the United States Navy in the mid-1900s. It sank during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. More than 1,170 sailors died. Also, a concrete monument spanning the wreckage now commemorates the USS Arizona.
MV Doña Paz
The MV Doña Paz was a passenger ferry that collided with a tanker called Vector and sank on December 20, 1987. It was a Japanese-built ship registered in the Philippines with a capacity of 608 passengers. Furthermore, the disaster is considered the worst peacetime maritime disaster.
MV Wilhelm Gustloff
MV Wilhelm Gustloff was a German military transport ship that was sunk by the Soviet submarine S-13 in 1945 in the Baltic Sea during the Red Army’s evacuation of civilians and military personnel from East Prussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia. Furthermore, it was part of Operation Hannibal and the first ship built for the German Labor Front’s “Joy Power” program. Which supported recreational activities for German workers. However, it was 684 feet long and weighed over 25,000 tons.
MV Salem Express
The MV Salem Express was a ro-ro passenger ferry that operated for 25 years, connecting Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Safaga, Egypt. On 11 December 1991, it sank after colliding with one of the Hydeman Reefs. However, the wreck, located near Safaga, is one of the most controversial shipwrecks in the Red Sea.
RMS Queen of Ireland
The Queen of Ireland was a British-built passenger and ocean liner. On 29 May 1914, she collided with the Norwegian Storstad Colliery in heavy fog and sank in the St. Lawrence River near Rimouski, Quebec. Above all, killing more than 1,000 of the 1,477 people on board. It is considered one of the worst maritime disasters in history.
Endurance
Lastly, the Endurance was a three-masted ship used by Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 27 crew members during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917.
Originally called the Polaris, it was built in Norway in 1912 and eventually sank to the bottom of the Weddell Sea in 1915 after being crushed by sea ice.
