MIAMI — The wreckage of a U.S. Coast Guard ship lost in a deadly attack more than a century ago, during World War I, was been discovered off the coast of England.
The Coast Guard announced Wednesday that the USCGC Tampa was found about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off Newquay, Cornwall, United Kingdom, at a depth exceeding 300 feet (90 meters) deep in the Atlantic Ocean. The cutter’s wreckage was located and confirmed by the British technical-diving team Gasperados.
Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a statement that the courage and sacrifice of the Tampa’s crew reflected the legacy of the Coast Guard, which has defended the U.S. during every armed conflict since its 1790 founding.
“When the Tampa was lost with all hands in 1918, it left an enduring grief in our service,” Lunday said. “Locating the wreck connects us to their sacrifice and reminds us that devotion to duty endures.”
The Tampa was lost after being torpedoed by a German submarine in the Bristol Channel, officials said. The vessel sank in less than three minutes, resulting in the death of all 131 people aboard. That included 111 Coast Guardsmen, four U.S. Navy personnel and 16 British Navy personnel and civilians. It was largest single American naval combat loss of life in World War I.
Gasperados Dive Team conducted 10 trips to possible dive locations.
“This discovery is the result of three years of research and exploration,” team leader Steve Mortimer said in a Facebook post. “TAMPA is of huge importance to the United States and the relatives of everyone who died that day. Their final resting place is known at last.”
The all-volunteer team first contacted the Coast Guard Historian’s Office in 2023 regarding the Tampa.
“We provided the dive team with historical records and technical data to assist in confirming the wreck site,” Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian William Thiesen said in a statement. “This included the archival images of the deck fittings, ship’s wheel, bell, weaponry, and archival images of the Tampa.”
The Coast Guard is now developing plans for underwater research and exploration.
