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February 21, 2006
Force Z - This Friday on History Television
HMS Prince of Wales, a 35,000-ton King George V class battleship built in Birkenhead, England, was completed in 1941. In late May, she was sent into action with the German battleship Bismarck and received significant damage from heavy gunfire. Following repairs, Prince of Wales carried Prime Minister Winston Churchill across the Atlantic to Newfoundland. There, on 9-12 August, Churchill joined U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the Atlantic Charter conference, the first meeting between the two English-speaking leaders of what was emerging as the "Grand Alliance" against the Axis powers.
Following her return to British waters, Prince of Wales went to the Mediterranean, where she successfully engaged Italian planes off Malta in late September. Sent to the Far East with the battle cruiser HMS Repulse to counter the swiftly developing Japanese threat in the region, she arrived on 2 December 1941. On 8 December, the day of the Pearl Harbor raid on the other side of the International Date Line, the Japanese landed in northern Malaya. Prince of Wales, Repulse and four destroyers were sent to attack the invasion force. After finding no targets, the British ships were returning to Singapore when, late in the morning of 10 December, they were attacked by a strong force of Japanese high-level bombers and torpedo planes. With no friendly planes to protect them, both heavy ships were hit several times. Repulse sank at about 1230. Prince of Wales capsized and followed her to the bottom less than an hour later.
Their loss further shocked a naval world already stunned by the events at Pearl Harbor only a few days earlier. The sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse sent shock waves through the British Admiralty in the same way Pearl Harbor totally disrupted Washington. Inexpensive little planes with cheap little torpedoes where taking out capital ships with near total impunity. The rules of naval warfare were being rewritten and aircraft and carriers were moving to the forefront.
Join the Sea Hunters as they dive the pristine wrecks of two giant warships - HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse - two proud warriors whose sinking changed naval warfare forever.
Posted by victoria at 07:42 AM
February 14, 2006
100 Year Old Shipwreck Victim Finds Her Way to Shore
A jawbone found on an Australian beach could be from a woman who died in a shipwreck more than 100 years ago.
The bone was found last year by 10-year-old Nicholas Nott while collecting shells on East Beach, in Port Fairy, Victoria, on the South Coast, the location of many shipwrecks.
Police searched the beach for other remains, but found nothing. Scientists from the Institute of Forensic Medicine told the Coroner's Court yesterday the bone was most likely from a woman in her mid-20s to 30s and showed no sign of trauma. They also said that the jawbone had evidence of post-mortem breaks that had smooth edges consistent with being rolled in water.
In the month leading up to the discovery, the weather along Victoria's south-west "shipwreck" coast had been unusually rough, with many wrecks along East Beach being uncovered for the first time in decades.
Learn more about the Shipwreck Victim from the Melbourne Herald Sun
Posted by victoria at 08:43 AM
February 13, 2006
This Week on History Televison Feb 13-18
The Search for "Tonquin" and "Isabella" airs Monday, February 13 at 8:00 AM EST (CC)
The Search for "Tonquin" and "Isabella" airs Monday, February 13 at 4:00 PM EST (CC)
The Search for Bonhomme Richard airs Tuesday, February 14 at 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM EST (CC)
Juno Beach D-Day Underwater airs Wednesday, February 15 at 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM EST (CC)
NEW Queen of Nassau airs Friday, February 17 at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM EST (CC)
NEWQueen of Nassau airs Saturday, February 18 at 12:00 AM EST (CC)
Posted by victoria at 07:14 AM
February 08, 2006
Underwater Photo Mosaic
Last summer while filming the Sea Hunters Episode on the HMCS Canada/Queen of Nassau, Mike and Warren were present while the researches from NOAA/NURC made a Video Mosaic of the wreck.
Mike had seen these photo mosaics done before; the versions he had seen were made with still photographs of a wreck site, developed, and assembled into a jagged image.
This mosaic would be made from video to create a remarkable panoramic visual record of the wreck site. How do the do it? As you can see in the show it takes 2 divers, one to drive the battery operated under water scooter, while another diver is towed behind with a harness so that they can operate the video camera. By making one smooth pass over the wreck site the researchers are then able to extract still images from the video to make a single snap shot of the wreckage.
Very little diving gets more serious than this. The wreck site is in 230 feet of water; this is some of the is some of the deepest underwater archaeology on earth. Any dive at that depth is no recreational dive. Safety has to be the main priority for the dive team at all times; an accident or death could shut down the work and research being done.
One way to resolve the safety issue is through the use of underwater robots. There have been great strides in underwater robotics since the ARGO found Titanic. Just this month researchers from, MIT, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), are releasing a few photographs of a fourth century B.C., a Greek merchant ship.
The images show details of some of the remnants of the ship's cargo lying on the ocean floor, where it's been since about 350 B.C. The researchers took more than 7,000 images, which will eventually be combined into one mosaic of the entire wreck site. A more sophisticated version of what we made off the Florida Keys.
This robot can be used on shallower sites as well and can help underwater archaeologist accomplish tasks safely and in less time. This research project, off the coast of Greece, will last ten years, and they feel that when that time is up history will be changed by what they have learned.
Follow the Link to learn more about this Deep-Sea Robot
Posted by victoria at 07:11 AM
February 07, 2006
Doterel From Every Angle
Earlier you saw Warren just after he found the bow of the Doterel, by accident, now see how it appears in the actual show.
Posted by victoria at 08:28 AM
February 06, 2006
2006 OWUSS Summer internships
For more than 30 years the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society (OWUSS) has offered a variety of internships and scholarships. Their goal is to foster development of the future leaders of the marine environment. They continue to believe that by investing in special young people, by exposing them to a broad array of activities in the underwater community and giving them opportunities to work with influential people who are leaders in aquatic disciplines, we are investing in the future of our oceans and lakes.
The 2006 OWUSS Summer internships are offered for a 1 to 3 month period and are primarily directed at college undergraduates and graduating seniors. Internship recipients will receive a grant to help fund travel to/from site, room and board, and a stipend to cover living expenses.
For full details check out www.owuscholarship.org
Posted by victoria at 08:40 AM
February 05, 2006
Upcoming Episodes on History Television
Sunk at Robinson Crusoe Isl airs Monday, February 6 at 4:00 PM EST
Lost at Sea: Akron and Macon airs Tuesday, February 7 at 8:00 AM & 4:00 PM EST
Arctic Legacy of Franklin airs Wednesday, February 8 at 8:00 AM & 4:00 PM EST
The Search for the Avro Arrow Rocket Flight Models airs Thursday, February 9 at 8:00 AM & 4:00 PM EST
The Search for the Early Submarines airs Friday, February 10 at 8:00 AM & 4:00 PM EST
NEW Russalka, the Czar's Lost Ironclad airs Friday, February 10 at 2:00 PM EST & 8:00 PM EST
NEW Russalka, the Czar's Lost Ironclad airs Saturday, February 11 at 12:00 AM EST
Posted by victoria at 09:05 AM
