Hms Albacore (bow Section): Shapinsay Sound, Orkney
Overview
A mine tore the bow from HMS Albacore in Shapinsay Sound on 9 March 1917, killing 18 men. The rest of the destroyer was repaired, while the lost bow and 15 unrecovered men remained on the seabed until divers identified the section in 2019.
The vessel and voyage
HMS Albacore was a B-class destroyer serving around Orkney in the First World War. At about 4.30 in the morning on 9 March 1917 it left Inganess Bay after a reported submarine sighting. Its task was to find or intercept that threat in the waters around the naval base.
How it was lost
At about 4.44, only minutes after sailing, Albacore struck a newly laid mine in Shapinsay Sound. The explosion severed the bow back to the bridge. Modern research credits the mine to the German submarine UC-55, correcting an older attribution to UC-44. The surviving stern was towed away, repaired and returned to service by July 1917.
Deaths and survival
Eighteen men died. Only three bodies were recovered; the other 15 remained with the bow section. The detached wreck is therefore a war grave even though most of the ship survived and served again.
What remains
Sula Diving found the bow in December 2019 and it was formally charted in 2020. The broken section lies in roughly 24 metres of water and covers an area reported around 60 by 40 feet. Its position closely matches this saved point. Because it contains unrecovered sailors, it must be treated with respect rather than simply as a dive object.
Why it mattered
The site tells an unusual split story: one ship became both a repaired working destroyer and a separate seabed grave. Its discovery more than a century later identified where 15 men remained and helped correct which submarine laid the mine. That makes the find important to families, naval history and Orkney's underwater record.
History checked 2026-08-15 against the named sources below.
A wreck point does not grant permission to dive, disturb the site or recover anything. Check current law and local conditions first.