New Insight

Expert leads commemorations to lost sub

A University of Wolverhampton law expert has supervised a diving expedition to the wreck of a submarine that sank 75 years ago, claiming the lives of 60 people.
 
The wreck of HMS M2 off the Dorset coast is one of the UK’s most important heritage sites. Mike Williams, Senior Lecturer in Law, was the first person to be granted a special licence by the Ministry of Defence to conduct commemorative diving operations on a ‘protected place’.
 
The Fleet Air Arm Museum, the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) and Innes McCartney, a world expert on submarines, joined forces to commemorate the loss of the submarine. This month, the NAS filmed the submarine as a Royal Navy flag was attached to the wreck, and a wreath will be dropped from a helicopter by a descendent of one of the dead sailors.
 
Mike, from the School of Legal Studies, said: “The conditions were difficult and challenging. When the flag broke out and was streaming in the current and we felt it was extremely poignant. It was almost like the submarine was sailing again and the flag was streaming in the wind.
 
“When the helicopter came in the dropped the wreath a lot of people said they felt a lump in their throat because it brings back how great the loss of life was. Everybody on the diving team felt that it was an extremely worthwhile achievement. “
 
HMS M2 was designed and built during World War I, and was experimental as it had an aircraft hangar on board. It is thought the hangar door was opened too soon on surfacing, or the vessel’s hydroplanes failed, and it sank on January 26, 1932. Sixty people lost their lives. At the time, the Royal Navy made three attempts to salvage the sub. In 2003 it was eventually designated a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
 
Mike Williams was the first person to be granted such a licence under the same act. His function was to ensure that the MoD’s strict conditions were absolutely adhered to and that the diving operations were safely conducted.
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