U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa Wreck Discovered Off Britain Coast

A British diving team has discovered the wreck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, sunk during World War I, off the coast of Britain. The vessel was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1918, resulting in the loss of 131 lives. The Coast Guard confirmed the discovery on Wednesday.

The Tampa was one of six U.S. Coast Guard cutters sent overseas for convoy duty in the summer of 1917. It escorted 18 convoys under the command of Captain Charles Satterlee and received a commendation for its service. Ship logs recorded instances of crew members assisting others, including rescues and medical aid.

26, 1918, while sailing through the Bristol Channel toward a Welsh port, the Tampa was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-91. The ship sank in less than three minutes. Search efforts by U.S. destroyers and British patrol craft recovered only debris and two unidentified bodies.

All 131 aboard perished, including 111 Coast Guardsmen, four U.S. Navy personnel, and 16 British Navy personnel and civilians. This event represented the largest loss of life on any U.S. combat ship during World War I.

The Gasperados Dive Team, a British group, located the wreck about 50 miles off Cornwall in the Atlantic Ocean at a depth exceeding 300 feet. The team conducted a three-year search and announced the find last week after exploring final target areas based on new information.

In 2023, the team contacted the Coast Guard for archival details to aid the search. >"This discovery is the result of three years of research and exploration," said dive team leader Steve Mortimer. "Tampa is of huge importance to the United States and the relatives of everyone who died that day.

Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, stated that locating the wreck connects the service to the sacrifice of those lost and serves as a reminder of devotion to duty. The Coast Guard plans further underwater research using robotics and autonomous systems.

In 2025, nine ships sunk by German torpedoes were discovered off Morocco. In November 2024, officials in England confirmed a wreck off Scotland as the HMS Hawke, a British cruiser sunk in World War I with over 500 crew lost. About a month earlier, the German supply ship Titania was found off Chile.