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Tripwire // History
08.13.2026
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Lost For 118 Years: Royal Navy Warship HMS Tiger Finally Found

  1. Divers and historians from ProjectXplore located the wreck of HMS Tiger in the English Channel, 118 years after it sank off the Isle of Wight in a 1908 training exercise collision.
  2. The collision split the ship in two and killed more than half of the 57 people aboard; fewer than 30 crew members survived.
  3. The find comes as the UK considers Armed Forces Bill changes that would extend legal 'protected place' status to military wrecks older than 200 years, including vessels tied to the Spanish Armada.

After five years of archival research, a team of divers and maritime historians has located the wreck of HMS Tiger, a Royal Navy warship that sank in 1908 during a training exercise off England's Isle of Wight, killing more than half its crew.

Why it matters

The discovery closes a 118-year search for one of the Royal Navy's lost ships and arrives just as UK lawmakers weigh stronger legal protections for older military wrecks, which currently only cover vessels lost within the past two centuries.

What to watch

ProjectXplore, which previously located the wreck of HMS Nottingham in 2025, says it will continue documenting the HMS Tiger site as the UK government considers the proposed 'look but don't touch' protections for historic military wrecks.

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Sources
Archaeology News Online Magazine
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