An Expensive Dive On The M2 Submarine

Post date: May 23, 2011 5:38:34 PM

Early on a Saturday morning Jaymes, Keith, Tony and I met at Tony’s workshop to drive down to Portland together in Tony’s van to dive the M2 submarine.

“HMS M2 was a Royal Navy aircraft-carrying submarine shipwrecked in Lyme Bay, Dorset, Britain, on 26 January 1932. She was one of three M-class boats completed.

M2 left her base at Portland on 26 January 1932, for an exercise in West Bay, Dorset carrying Parnall Peto serial N255. Her last communication was a radio message at 10:11 to her submarine depot ship, Titania to announce that she would dive at 10:30. The captain of a passing merchant ship, the Newcastle coaster Tynesider, mentioned that he had seen a large submarine dive stern first at around 11:15. Unaware of the significance of this, he only reported it in passing once he reached port.

Her entire crew of 60 was killed in the accident. The submarine was found on 3 February, eight days after her loss. Ernest Cox, the salvage expert who had raised the German battleships at Scapa Flow, was hired to salvage the M2. In an operation lasting nearly a year and 1,500 dives, on 8 December 1932, she was lifted to within 20 ft (6.1 m) of the surface before a gale sprang up, sending her down to her final resting place.

The hangar door was found open and the aircraft still in it. The accident was believed to be due to water entering the submarine through the hangar door, which had been opened to launch the aircraft shortly after surfacing. This is a similar reason to the loss of the RO-RO cross channel ferry Herald of Free Enterprise in 1987, which capsized when the sea entered the ship through the large car-deck door which was close to the waterline.

Two explanations have been advanced. The first is that since the crew were always trying to beat their record time for launching the aircraft, they had opened the hangar door on surfacing while the deck was still awash. The other theory is that the flooding of the hangar was due to failure of the stern hydroplanes. High pressure air tanks were used to bring the boat to the surface in an awash condition, but to conserve compressed air compressors were then started to completely clear the ballast tanks of water by blowing air into them. This could take as long as 15 minutes to complete. The normal procedure for launching the aircraft was therefore to hold the boat on the surface using the hydroplanes whilst the hangar door was opened and the aircraft launched. Failure of the rear hydroplanes would have sent the stern down as observed by the merchant officers and water would have eventually entered the hangar.” (Wikipedia).

We arrived in the Portland car park in time for a full English, sort dive gear and prepare to board the hard boat which was to take us to the wreck. As we approached the jetty we found out that we were not on a hard boat but on the RIB. We are all sure Tony knew this but decided we might be deterred diving with twinsets off a RIB. As it turned out we were very fortunate as the hard boat had an engine problem so all the divers on there did not get to dive.

I have never dived on a submarine before. I had been told they are a bit boring and basically just a tube. Well it was a tube but as my first submarine I really enjoyed it. The visibility was good, there was plenty of marine life and the wreck itself was very interesting. I also saw a lobster claw laying in the sand. It was huge and vindicates my narked assertion in Scapa that lobsters grow as big as labradors.

If I’m honest the best bit of the dive was the end when Jaymes and I were back on the RIB. The technique for exiting is to clip a lanyard attached to the RIB to a chest D ring, exit your harness and climb the ladder. Keith and Tony did this and Tony noticed a large McMahon reel and dsmb with crack bottle, marked with SOLAS stickers lazily sinking below the RIB. Keith had a loose D ring on his waist belt and as soon as he released this the reel and dsmb were lost forever. Together with the lost seal clubber Keith has had an expensive diving season.

They moved along the side of the RIB and as Tony climbed the ladder Keith starting yelling. Keith had decided to hang onto a ladder rung which Tony was now standing on. Keith is a lovely guy but if I’m honest I came very close to pissing myself. In fact I could easily have done so as I was linked to my pee valve.

The super fast journey back on the completely flat sea was extremely fun. Tony and I passed the time by inflating our drysuits almost to popping point. One day we will grow up but not any day soon.

Sadly a week later I was diving in Stoney Cove and managed to lose my large McMahon reel, dsmb with crack bottle and SOLAS stickers. I am no longer in a position to make rude and annoying comments to Keith.