British divers locate wreckage of long-lost WWI Coast Guard vessel
Published: 30 April 2026
By Anthony Thompson
via the USA TODAY newspaper website
us-coast-guard-cutter-tampa
British divers discover site of WWI-era U.S. Coast Guard cutter Tampa in April 2026 (Provided By The U.S. Coast Guard)
More than a century after one of the deadliest maritime losses in American military history, the wreckage of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa has been located deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, the Coast Guard said Wednesday, April 29.
A team of British technical divers confirmed the discovery after a three-year search, identifying the long-lost vessel roughly 50 miles off Newquay, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, according to a Coast Guard news release. The wreck lies more than 300 feet below the surface.
The find brings new clarity to a tragedy that unfolded in the final weeks of World War I, when the Tampa was struck by a German torpedo and sank in a matter of minutes.
Sunk during wartime attack
The Tampa was torpedoed on Sept. 26, 1918, by German submarine UB-91 in the Bristol Channel during the final stages of the war. The cutter sank in less than three minutes, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
All 131 people aboard were killed, including 111 Coast Guardsmen, four U.S. Navy personnel and 16 British sailors and civilians. The incident remains the largest single combat-related loss of life for an American naval vessel during the war.
The wreck was identified by the Gasperados Dive Team, an all-volunteer group that said it relied on extensive research, historical records and deep-water exploration to locate the vessel.
“After a three-year search, the Gasperados Dive Team is proud to announce that we have found the wreck,” the group said in a statement, adding that video footage was captured to help confirm the ship’s identity.
Team leader Steve Mortimer said the discovery carries deep meaning.
“Tampa is of huge importance to the United States and the relatives of everyone who died that day,” he said. “Their final resting place is known at last.”
The team also credited support from maritime historians, the Coast Guard and partners who assisted in narrowing the search area.
USCG Tampa
Read the entire article and see more video on the USA TODAY website.
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