Maritime record MWX2104 - Minerve

Remains of the 1945 wreck of a French submarine, which drifted on to the western shore of Portland while under tow.

Built 1934 Propulsion: 2 screw driven oil engines Armament: 1 deck gun, calibre unknown; 4 torpedo tubes. This Free French ocean-going submarine (P26) was sold out of service for scrapping. She was under tow to a breakers yard when the towing hawser parted and she drifted ashore mid-way between the coastguard aerial array and the lighthouse. The wreck is now very broken and a great deal of salvage has taken place, there being stories of local men hauling large pieces of brass, copper and lead up the cliff face in the 1940s after the vessel was lost. <1> The wreckage is concentrated at a spot at the base of the cliffs, halfway betweenthe lighthouse and the Coastguard radio aerials. The cliff top point which marks the site is the end of the wire perimeter fence at the northern side of the former Admiralty establishment. <2> Position 50 31.10 N 2 27.58W taken from <3> A metal nut and bolt with encrustation recovered from this wreck (Weymouth Museum). (Droit A/4387). <4> Additional sources cited in United Kingdom Shipwreck Index: DGWP p23 (20); Shipwrecks: Abbotsbury to Portland p22 Weymouth Library L910 4 M 1

Record last edited

Jun 1 2023 10:38AM