IANTD instructor Mark Powell leads an intrepid band of technical divers half way across the world to dive the wreck of HMS Hermes - the world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier. Sunk during an onslaught from Japanese Zero Fighter Bombers during World War 2, this rarely dived historic wreck is a wreck diver's dream…
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HMS Hermes was the first purpose built aircraft carrier in the world. There had previously been a number of merchant ships that had been converted for use as an aircraft carrier but HMS Hermes was the first to be commissioned as an aircraft carrier.
The First World War had shown the advantage of aircraft in warfare and despite the fact that it was only 20 years since the pioneering flight of the Wright Brothers the use of aircraft had started to change the face of warfare. Previously Naval power has been based on the ideal of Capitol ships. Large battleships had ruled the waves and the introduction of Dreadnaught Class of ships had ratcheted up the arms race between the Great Powers and had been a significant factor in the complex political situation that had led to the First World War.
The use of aircraft for aerial reconnaissance and then for bombing had started to change the balance of power. The Royal Navy, despite a very traditional approach in many areas, was at the leading edge by ordering the first purpose built aircraft carrier in July 1917. She was laid down in January 1918 and launched in September 1919 and so was too late to be of any use in the First World War. She was finally commissioned in July 1923 and so didn’t see active service until the Second World War.
In 1925 HMS Hermes embarked on her first cruise and stopped at Malta, Trincomalee and Singapore before arriving in Hong Kong where she would be based for the commission. In the following years she performed many duties including acting as an escort for British delegates in Hong Kong, searching
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for Chinese pirates and providing protection for British trading interests around Shanghai. She also acted as a dive platform for the location of the submarine HMS Poseidon. Despite a refit in 1933 she was decommissioned in 1937 and reduced to Reserve Fleet where she was used as a training vessel. Within a year the growing political crisis in Europe resulted in Hermes being recommissioned for active service.
Hermes saw action in the Western Approaches, East Coast of Africa, the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf before returning to the Indian Ocean where she patrolled between Sri Lanka and the Seychelles.
In March 1942 the Japanese Navy was ordered to carry out an aggressive raid on Sri Lanka and any British shipping in the area. Vice Admiral Nagumo, who was also responsible for the attach on Pearl Harbour, had a large fleet of aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers and destroyers. In Mid March HMS Hermes and HMS Vampire were ordered to leave Trincomalee on the East coast of Sri Lanka and head towards Freemantle but were recalled to Trincomalee.
On 9th April The Japanese launched their attack with more than 80 Japanese Zero fighter bombers attacked Hermes. Due to a lack of fighter cover Hermes had to defend herself but despite opening fire with every gun it was clear that she was almost helpless against such an onslaught. Numerous bombs struck the ship and she sunk in less than an hour with the loss of the Captain, 19 officers and 288 ratings on board.
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At a length of 182.9m, HMS Hermes was the first purpose-built aircraft carrier
HMS Hermes in better times patrolling the waters off Yantai, China, circa 1931
HMS Hermes rapidly sink after suffering attack from over 80 zero fighter bombers...
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Despite being an incredibly important historical wreck HMS Hermes has lain almost unknown until recently. This was because between 1983 and 2009 Sri Lanka was ravaged by a vicious civil war which had meant that the Hermes was inaccessible to divers due to the political situation. Since the end of the civil war it has finally come possible to dive her.
The aim of this project was to carry out a series of dives on the wreck to determine if it was feasible to dive it using a liveaboard as all previous dives have
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been done from the shore using local boats. The second objective was to determine the layout and state of deterioration of the wreck. A secondary objective was to search for some of the other wrecks that were sunk at the same time as HMS Hermes. These were two support vessels, HMAS Vampire and HMS Hollyhock as well as the RFA tankers SS British Sergeant and SS Athelstane plus the merchant cargo ship Norviken.
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Hermes slips beneath the waves as a Japanese Zero fighter bomber flies past overhead
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It felt strange to be packing a wet suit for a dive trip as most of my diving over the last year has been in a drysuit, but with expected water temperatures of 28 degrees it would be ideal for my Fourth Element Proteus. This was just as well as trying to get my Inspiration rebreather and all other diving equipment within the airline baggage limit was going to be tough. Luckily any problems with the baggage allowance were avoided by the fact that I was using the inspiration packing crate which is too big to go on the check-in scales and so was waved through to excess baggage without being weighed. T4 has a very international air with BA now operating out of T5 the variety of airlines now gathered there made the terminal seem like a mini united nations. After checking in with Sri Lanka Airlines I was on my way. The flight passed easily, Sri Lanka airways are very welcoming with air crew in traditional dress. Food was very good with an excellent chicken curry. It's just a long way.
Just where is Sri Lanka? It's an island just off the SE tip of India. It has been wracked by civil war for many years and the war has only recently finished which has allowed the area to be opened up for tourism. It's for this reason that a wreck as historically significant as HMS Hermes had been relatively unknown until recently. Hermes was the first custom built aircraft carrier. Although other ships had been converted for use as aircraft carriers Hermes was the first to be commissioned, designed and built as an aircraft carrier.
A ten and a half hours flight and then a 7 hour bus drive before we even catch site of the live aboard gives an indication that this is expedition diving in the true sense of the word. I was intrigued to find that Sri Lanka is 5 and a half hours ahead of the UK. The five hours makes no difference but the extra half an hour gives an unusual, other worldly feel to the place. I travel a lot and often face a dual time displaying my pc or phone so I can keep track of the time in the UK and I'm used to seeing this as an offset of a couple of hours in Malta, several hours in Egypt or a large number of hours when further afield but seeing a half hour offset is frankly just a bit weird.
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Columbia airport is a modern, efficient airport. By the time we walked through a short immigration check my crate and bags were arriving on the baggage carousel. As soon as we get outside I am hit by the heat and humidity. The modern look of the airport is in contrast with the sight of a gardener sitting on the grass picking weeds while just wearing shorts and no shoes.
First impressions of the island are that despite being obviously very poor it is very clean and colourful with lots of small businesses. There are lots of fruit stands, hardware shops and mechanics for the scooters and motor bikes that seem to be everywhere. I am struck by how lush and green it is. I am also struck, luckily not literally, by how scary the driving is. After about ten minutes someone asks "anyone worked out what side of the road they drive on yet" There are cows wondering the street, Buddhist shrines along the roadside, in fact all the developing world stereotypes. Later we even see three elephants wandering the road.
It's a long journey, the roads as we leave Columbia are crowded and narrow, further it got better but the last 30k the road deteriorated and seemed to take forever. Once we got there thought the journey was over but we had underestimated the Sri Lankan bureaucracy, first of all we had to go to the police control and have all our passports checked, then its was to the port where the military had to check our passports as well. The security was very tight, this was mainly due to the fact that Trincomalee was right in the middle of the war zone during the civil war which only finished just over a year ago. The military were still very alert and in many ways were still on a war footing. During the night while still in the harbour we could hear the occasional whump of depth charged being dropped in case any rebels were trying to infiltrate the harbour.
We finally arrived at the boat which was a great relief. We enjoyed a very welcoming reception and it was great to finally relax. After a meal and a quick safety briefing it was very nice to be able to get to bed, even if it was occasionally interrupted by the occasional whump of a depth charge.
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Located off the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is a 10.5 hr flight from the UK
Flat seas off Trincomalee awaited our intrepid band of explorers
Despite its recent civil war troubles, Trincomalee remains a tropical paradise
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