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SS Greatham Wreck Dive Torbay |
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Dive Site Name: SS Greatham Position: 50.18.28N 03.30.42W Type: Wreck Tonnage: 2338 Length: 88.4m Beam: 11.6m Cargo: Coal Date Lost: 22/01/1918 How Lost: Torpedo Max Depth Seabed: 47m Depth to top of Wreck: 40m Minimum Qualification: Deep/Tech Diver The Greatham was an armed merchantman steaming in convoy from grimsby to Blaye, Bordeaux in France with a cargo of Coal. There has been some confusion as to the location/identity of the Greatham as it has been confused with the Elsa. However Steve Macay and a group of divers did some extensive surveying of these 2 sites (within 1nm of each other) in the mid 2000's and identified the 2 sites correctly. On the 22/1/1918 UB3, Oberleutnant Bieber, fired both Torpedos from Periscope depth at the convoy. One Torpedo missed and the second hit the Greatham. The SS Greatham sank with the loss of 7 lives approximately 1.5nm SE of Dartmouth and now lies in 47m of water and stands nearly 10m proud of the seabed. She is reasonably in tact with lifting derreks and other suprstructure features still present. THe SS Greatham was built in 1890 and launched in April of that year. Built by the Grey William and Co yard in Hartlepool she was launched with the name of the SS Bussorah and renamed SS Greatham in 1890. She was owned by the Middlesbrough company Coombes Marshall and company. THe Greatham had a Triple Expansion engine with 2 boilers driving a single screw giving her a top speed of about 9kn. HSe carried the wartime signal letters of LQRP. |
Diving 
