HMS Nottingham the Last Scout from WW1

Found after 107 years and dubbed ‘the last scout’ because she was out looking for German warships ahead of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet she was torpedoed and sunk sunk by German submarine U-52 on 19 August 1916, with the loss of 38 hands, including the loss of 1 Royal Marine.

Sergeant William Edward Patrick Daley Royal Marines Light Infantry (RMLI).

Captain Miller of HMS Nottingham reported: “She was struck by two

torpedoes, fired from a submarine, on her port side, the first bursting

between 28 and 40 station, the second, within a very few seconds,

abreast No. 2 boiler room. The ship settled down considerably and water

appeared in the central passage above No. 2 boiler room. However, by

closing the necessary doors and shoring up No. 40 bulkhead the damage

was localised and the ship retained her buoyancy. The explosion had

damaged the steam pipes and thereby stopped the engines; it had also

carried away both topgallant mast heads and rendered the wireless aerial

useless … About 6.25 a periscope was sight on port side and fired at, but a

torpedo was observed to be approaching the ship which struck her

abreast No. 1 boiler room on port side. The ship then began to settle

down by the head, taking a slight list to port, and although the guns

continued to fire on the periscope whenever opportunity offered, and

some shots fell very close to it, I do not think the submarine was

damaged.”

The circumstances of Nottingham’s loss during the 19 August 1916

action are described in Newbolt:

“It was daylight between four and five [on the 19th]; but the morning

was very hazy. At about half-past five, a small sail was sighted right

ahead of the Dublin. The navigator [Lieutenant G. W. Hill], who took it

for a small fishing-boat, lost sight of it a few minutes later, and thought

that the movement of the ship had obscured it behind some part of the

upper works. This was unfortunate, for he had actually sighted U 52

manoeuvring into an attacking position; and twenty-four minutes later

the Nottingham was shaken by two violent explosions.

Although one of the torpedoes fired had been seen from the Dublin,

which was working with the Nottingham on the screen, Captain C. B.

Miller had sighted nothing, and thought that his ship had struck a mine.

Neither of the two ships was in touch with the next groups on the

screen, and it was not until half an hour after the disaster that the news

was received by Admiral Beatty, who at once detached the destroyers

Penn and Oracle.

The Nottingham remained on an even keel, but her fires and lights were

put out; the vessel was thus without power of manoeuvre, with

everything below the upper deck in darkness.

The Dublin strove to keep down the submarine; but was herself

attacked, and at twenty-five minutes past six another torpedo struck

the Nottingham on the port side. Captain Miller had, by then, got his

crew into the boats, and about ten minutes before the ship went down

the two destroyers arrived and helped in the work of rescue, although

they were, in their turn, attacked. At ten minutes past seven the

Nottingham sank, and the weather was, at the time, so thick that the

Dublin was out of touch with her.”

According to the NSM, torpedoes struck three times on the port side:

the first torpedo struck “the port side forward”, the second “amidships

the port side, probably blowing the bottom out of B. boiler room” and

the third “abreast of the foremost funnel”. As a result, she “heeled

heavily to port” and “sank by the head”. [1]

The ProjectXplore team spent 8 months researching British and German archives to help narrow down the prospective search area for the wreck. 

One of HMS Nottinghams 6in guns illuminated [Steffen Scholz]

The team on board research/dive vessel MV Jacob George located the wreck on the first day of the search in April 2025.

They later returned to the site for a six-day dive to conduct a detailed survey – with permission from the Royal Navy as Nottingham is an official war grave with protected status – filming and photographing the wreck extensively.

The divers found the cruiser lying at a 45-degree angle in around 82 metres (270ft) of water 

Despite nearly 110 years on the seabed and some growth of marine life, the name ‘Nottingham’ is clearly legible.

Indeed, apart from the bow section – the torpedoes struck the cruiser roughly in line with her bridge – Nottingham is in remarkably good condition according to ProjectXplore: the wooden decking on the stern and midships remains in place, as are the four funnels, and all nine of her main 6in guns. [2]

References/ Read More:

[1] Project Explore - The discovery of HMS Nottingham - The Last Scout

[2] Navy News - Royal Navy historians have confirmed that a North Sea wreck found by divers is WW1 warship HMS Nottingham