This is a list of all military vessels designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. All of the wrecks are designated under the 2019 order (which came into force on 2 September 2019) since this revoked the previous order. [1] Information about the wrecks can generally be found in the announcement for the year that they designated (2002, [2] 2006, [3] 2008, [4] 2009, 2017 [5] or 2019 [6] ).
The primary reason for designation under this Act is to protect as a 'war grave' the last resting place of UK servicemen (or other nationals). HMS Ardent (F184), HMS Antelope and HMS Coventry, which were sunk in the Falklands War, are not protected under this act, but are protected under the Falkland Islands Protection of Wrecks Ordnance 1977.
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 provides for wrecks to be designated for their historical, archaeological or artistic value or because they are dangerous. A small number of wrecks are given protection under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
Protected places are designated by name and can be designated even if the exact location is not known. Diving on these sites is permitted, but it is an offence to penetrate the wreck, interfere with, disturb or remove anything from the site unless licensed to do so by the Ministry of Defence.
Controlled sites are specifically designated by location and no operations, such as diving, excavation or salvage, may be carried out without a license from the Ministry of Defence
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
Atlantic Conveyor was a British merchant navy ship, registered in Liverpool, that was requisitioned during the Falklands War.
HMS A7 was an A-class submarine built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She sank in a training accident in 1914 with the loss of her entire crew. Efforts to salvage her failed and her wreck is a protected site. Diving on her is prohibited without a licence from the Ministry of Defence.
The Receiver of Wreck is an official who administers law dealing with maritime wrecks and salvage in some countries having a British administrative heritage. In the United Kingdom, the Receiver of Wreck is also appointed to retain the possession of royal fish on behalf of the British crown.
HMS M1 was a submarine of the British Royal Navy, one of four vessels of her class ordered towards the end of the First World War. She sank with the loss of her entire crew in 1925.
SM UB-81 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 18 September 1917 as SM UB-81.
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks.
The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft and designated military vessels. The Act provides for two types of protection: protected places and controlled sites. Military aircraft are automatically protected, but vessels have to be specifically designated. The primary reason for designation is to protect as a 'war grave' the last resting place of British servicemen ; however, the Act does not require the loss of the vessel to have occurred during war.
St Anthony or Santo António was a Portuguese carrack that foundered in Gunwalloe Bay, Cornwall, in 1527 en route from Lisbon to Antwerp. She had a mixed cargo including copper and silver ingots. The wreck was recorded historically, because the salvage of the cargo was the subject of an international dispute that led to a Court of Star Chamber, but the location of the wreck was unknown until 1981. The wreck is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act and is managed by Historic England.
Storaa was a 1,980 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1918 by the Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company as Wellpark for British owners. In 1927, she was sold to Belgium and was renamed Navex. A further sale in 1937 saw her renamed Prina. In 1938, she was sold to the Netherlands and was renamed Willy. In 1939, she was sold to Denmark and was renamed Storaa.
HMS Vandal (P64) was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, yard number 838. The submarine had the shortest career of any Royal Navy submarine, being lost with all 37 onboard just four days after commissioning.
SM UB-65 was a Type UB III U-boat of the Imperial German Navy during World War I. Ordered on 20 May 1916, the U-boat was built at the Vulkan Werke shipyard in Hamburg, launched on 26 June 1917, and commissioned on 18 August 1917, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Martin Schelle.
HMS K4 was a British K-class submarine built by Vickers in Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 28 June 1915 and commissioned on 1 January 1917, one year before the end of World War I.
HMS Natal was a Warrior-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She escorted the royal yacht in 1911–1912 for the newly crowned King George V's trip to India to attend the Delhi Durbar. During World War I the ship was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet, but did not participate in any battles. Natal was sunk by an internal explosion near Cromarty on 30 December 1915 with the loss of at least 390 crewmen and civilians. Most of her wreck was slowly salvaged over the decades until the remnants were demolished in the 1970s so they were no longer a hazard to navigation. The remains of her wreck are designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 as a war grave.
The Wheel Wreck is the remains of a shipwreck lying in Crow sound off Little Ganinick in the Isles of Scilly. The wreck site consists of a discrete mound of cargo that appears to consist of numerous sizes of different iron wheels, cogs, clack valves, tubes and boiler pipes. Lead scupper pipes and other small artefact material show the ship was once present, however, not much remains of this vessel today. A Trotmann style anchor lies some 60m from the site, and this along with the cargo, date the site as sometime just after 1835. It has been published that this may be the wreck of the Padstow, however, being lost in 1804 this can not be so as neither boiler tubes or Trotmann anchors were invented back then. The wreck was discovered by local diver Todd Stevens in 2005 and investigated by the archaeological contractor for the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 in 2006. It still remains unidentified. However it is most likely to be a ship called the 'Plenty' which is recorded locally as having sank- "within 1 mile of the principal island" -in 1840.
Barter Island LRRS Airport is a public/military airport located near the city of Kaktovik on Barter Island, in the North Slope Borough, located 312 miles (502 km) east of Point Barrow, Alaska. The airport is owned by the North Slope Borough. It is also known as Barter Island Airport or Kaktovik Airport. The acronym LRRS stands for Long Range Radar Site or Long Range Radar Station.
HMS K17 was a British K class submarine built by Vickers in Barrow-in-Furness.
HMS Vervain was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.