Allen yacht to aid search for sunken ship’s bell
Paul Allen’s mega-yacht Octopus will assist next month in an attempt to recover a bell from the British warship HMS Hood, sunk in 1941.
The 414-foot Octopus, which Allen has in London for the Olympics, is equipped with a remotely operated vehicle that can search the ocean floor.
More than 1,400 sailors were lost when the battlecruiser Hood was sunk by the German battleship Bismark in the North Atlantic on May 24, 1941, resulting in the largest loss of life suffered by any single British warship, according to the Royal Navy.
Its wreckage lies at a depth of 9,200 feet off the coast of Greenland.
Allen’s yacht will work with the salvage company Blue Water Recoveries, which has previously located and photographed the bell, weighing approximately 110 pounds. An Allen spokeswoman said Allen, who is attending the Olympics, may be on board his yacht during the recovery mission, expected to start in late August and take about 10 days.
The Royal Navy news release said the recovery of the bell would not disturb the rest of the Hood’s wreckage. If recovered, the bell would be placed in a museum as a memorial to those who were lost.
Comments | More in General news | Topics: HMS Hood, Paul Allen
