The Iolanthe (Wreck)

 First World War 1914-1918, shipwreck, interesting place, invisible

IOLANTHE,, cargo steamer, BUILT 1904, SUNK 1918
The 3081-ton Iolanthe steamed quickly past the Shambles Lightship and left a straight white wake in the moonlight as she stopped zig-zagging at exactly 10.35 on 4 January, 1918, writes Kendall McDonald.
Iolanthe was steering east by south and kept up the speed of nine knots only for the short time she was passing the lightship, in case a U-boat was planning to use the area as a killing ground.
Then she started zig-zagging again, as her orders instructed her to do every 15 minutes.
At 11pm she was safely 10 miles SE by E of Portland Bill, but Captain James Scott maintained a strict watch for submarines.
On watch he had two officers with him on the bridge, another look-out on the forecastle, and Leading Seaman John Rooke, one of the two gunners who manned the 12-pounder gun on the stern. However, none of them knew that they had become the watched in the past 20 minutes.
Bound from Greenock for St Helens, Iolanthe carried military supplies and a big cargo of hay in her holds, and on deck were railway wagons.
The crew of 30 Britons and one Norwegian saw nothing until, at 11.05, a colossal explosion erupted on the ship's port side.
U-boat ace Oberleutnant Johann Lohs had put a torpedo from a bow tube of UC75 into Iolanthe's port side, close to No 3 hold, and ripped a huge hole in her hull. Despite this, the ship appeared still to be buoyant, and the crew tried to get some direction on her, but she soon started to settle.
Just after midnight, it was clear that she was about to founder. Captain Scott gave the order to abandon ship. As they pulled clear, they had their first sight of the U-boat as it came out of the dark before disappearing seawards.
Two patrol trawlers tried to take the steamer in tow, but as soon as they got lines aboard, Iolanthe sank. All her crew were landed safely at Weymouth.
The ship, 325ft long with a beam of 49ft, had been built by W Gray and Co of Hartlepool. The wreck remained missing and undived until very recently. She was discovered by the Ballett brothers of Poole, who confirmed their find by bringing up her bell.