Events

On 23 March 1916, Corona struck a mine off Ramsgate / in The Downs, believed to have been laid by the German minelaying submarine UC-6, commanded by Matthias Graf von Schmettow. Wrecksite and naval loss summaries record 13 lives lost, with the position often given around 51°08'50"N, 1°25'00"E. For divers, this is a compact but atmospheric Dover Strait war wreck: a requisitioned trawler, a UC-boat minefield, and a loss tied to the same deadly Channel campaign that claimed several merchantmen and patrol vessels in 1916. Small wreck. Heavy story.

On 21 February 1916, Carlton was mined off Folkestone and lost in the Dover Strait. The available naval loss records give the cause as a mine from an unknown source, so I’d avoid confidently naming the U-boat unless you’ve got a local source tying it down. For divers, Carlton is a compact but evocative First World War wreck: a Grimsby fishing trawler turned minesweeper, lost after only a short spell in naval service, in the same brutal Channel waters where small patrol craft worked daily against mines, weather and traffic. Small wreck, hard life, proper Dover Patrol story.

By 1945 she was serving as an anti-submarine trawler under Skipper Lieutenant Sidney John Cory, DSC, RNR. On 8 July 1945, two months after VE Day, La Nantaise sank in The Downs, near the Goodwin Sands Lightship, after a collision with the SS Helen Crest. Records list 11 lost from a crew of 25, with survivors rescued by the tug Empire Henchman. For divers, this is a compact but poignant Channel wreck: a fishing trawler turned patrol vessel, French in name, British in service, lost after the war in Europe had supposedly finished. The sea, naturally, did not read the memo.

On 28 March 1916, Saxon Prince disappeared off Dover / Kingsdown in a violent south-westerly Force 12 storm, while serving on Admiralty patrol work. Some records mention possible mining, but the strongest contemporary explanation is foundering in the furious gale. The Maritime Archaeology Trust records that all 12 men aboard were lost, and likely remains now lie in about 22 metres of water, roughly off the cliffs between St Margaret’s Bay and Kingsdown. For divers, this is a small wreck with a hard human story: a former fishing trawler turned wartime minesweeper, lost not to gunfire or torpedo, but to the Channel itself at its most brutal.

On 8 July 1940, Cayton Wyke was sunk off Dover, close to the South Goodwin Lightship, after being hit by a torpedo from a German E-boat, commonly identified as S-36. Naval-History records her as lost by surface-craft torpedo, while shipwreck lists state that all 18 crew were lost. She also has a notable earlier wartime footnote: in October 1939, she helped HMS Puffin sink the German submarine U-16 near Dover. For divers, Cayton Wyke is a compact but powerful Channel war wreck: a former fishing trawler turned hunter, lost in the knife-edge summer of 1940, when the Dover Strait was less a sea lane and more a firing range with tides

Requisitioned again on 28 April 1940, Tranquil became Royal Navy minesweeper FY 920. After repairs at Tilbury, she left dock on 14 June 1942, but two days later, on 16 June 1942, she sank following a collision off Deal, Kent. At least one crewman is specifically recorded as lost: Seaman Kenneth James Pentreath, Royal Naval Patrol Service, aged 21, who drowned on active service. For divers, Tranquil is one of those quietly powerful Channel wrecks: a fishing boat turned wartime minesweeper, twice taken into naval service, lost close to the Dover approaches in the middle of Britain’s coastal war. Small ship, hard life, proper story.

On 23 March 1916, Sea Serpent struck a mine laid by the German submarine UC-6, commanded by Matthias Graf von Schmettow, and sank off Folkestone Pier, at approximately 51°02’N, 01°12’E. At least two crewmen are recorded as lost: fireman George James Anderson, aged 24, and mess room boy Frederick William Barrow, aged only 16. For divers, this is a classic Channel war-loss: a modest merchant steamer, a practical cargo, a minefield off the Kent coast, and a wreck with the quiet weight of ordinary men caught in extraordinary danger.