EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND—NPR reports that a shipwreck discovered off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea may be the HMS Hawke, a Royal Navy warship sunk by a German torpedo fired from a U-boat in October of 1914 at the start of World War I. More than 500 members of the crew of HMS Hawke were killed when the ship caught fire and sank in less than eight minutes. Diver Paul Downs of Lost In Waters Deep, a group that searches for World War I shipwrecks in Scottish waters, said that the ship rests under 360 feet of water and is mainly intact. The depth of the wreckage likely protected it from North Sea storms, he explained, since the vessel’s guns, decking, brass portholes, and some interior features, such as a clock and wall-mounted barometer, are preserved. The Royal Navy is now working to confirm the identification of the ship, which would likely be classified as a war grave. To read about a survey of the World War I battlefield at Gallipoli, go to "Letter from Turkey: Anzac's Next Chapter."
