A Nazi warship sank by the British has been found 80 years later, after a power company stumbled across it while inspecting their underwater lines. The Karlsruhe was returning from the Nazi invasion of Norway in when it was torpedoed by HMS Truant, forcing the Germans to scuttle the sinking ship.
But while the story of the Karlsruhe is recorded fact, it's location remained a mystery β until now. Norwegian power company, Statnett, found the vessel after identifying a wreck close to its underwater lines in the strait of Skagerrak. Nazi warship, the Karlsruhe, pictured was returning from the invasion of Norway in when it was hit by a torpedo from British submarine, the HMS Truant.
For 80 years the location of the wreck remained a mystery - until now. It was found off the coast of Norway by a Norwegian power company, Statnett. Pictured: a scan of the wreck. The existence of a wreck 13 nautical miles from Kristiansand in southern Norway was first revealed by sonar during a Statnett inspection in But it wasn't until June this year that Statnett engineer, Ole Petter Hobberstad, was given the chance to inspect the ship, using a remote-controlled submarine.
The existence of a wreck 13 nautical miles from Kristiansand, a city in southern Norway, was first revealed by sonar in , but in June this year an inspection of the ship was carried out that discovered it was the lost Nazi warship. Footage of the Karlsruhe, found meters below sea level, shows the ship upright with cannons pointing into the sea pictured. We were very excited and surprised that the wreck was so big. Footage of the wreck site reveals how it is adorned with a swastika, topped by a Nazi eagle or Parteiadler, with an anchor shape underneath.
The first images also show that, unusually for a ship with a high centre of gravity, the Karlsruhe remained upright after sinking. An inspection of the wreck by a remote-controlled submarine found the guns and barnacle-encrusted superstructure clearly visible.
