Divers Locate HMS Tiger, the Destroyer Torn in Two by a 1908 Collision

For 118 years, the wreck of HMS Tiger remained missing after a nighttime Royal Navy training accident in the English Channel. Researchers and divers from ProjectXplore have now identified the destroyer’s remains on the seabed south of the Isle of Wight. The Tiger sank on April 2, 1908, after entering the path of Berwick, a 10,000-ton cruiser. The ships were taking part in an exercise intended to simulate a torpedo attack when another vessel launched a flare. Cecil Vinning, an engineer-lieutenant aboard the Tiger, later recalled that the flash was so bright he could not see for a moment afterward. When the ships collided, the destroyer split in two. One section sank almost immediately, while the other remained afloat for about three minutes. Of the 57 crew members aboard, 35 died and 22 survived. Contemporary accounts described men clinging to oars, spars and pieces of wreckage as they tried to escape. The precise reason for the collision was never established. Witnesses at court-martial proceedings held several weeks later suggested that the flares might have affected visibility, but the court made no specific finding on that point. ProjectXplore began searching for the Tiger in 2022, examining telegrams, newspaper reports, court-martial transcripts, logbooks and other records from the time. The team used those findings to guide sonar surveys and identified the wreck’s outline in 2025. Divers examined the stern section in June and the bow section the following month. According to the group’s report, instruments found on the wreck offer clues about the destroyer’s condition immediately before impact. A rudder-angle dial appeared to be set between roughly five and 10 degrees to starboard, suggesting the ship had not turned to avoid the Berwick at that point. An engine-revolution telegraph indicated “full,” suggesting the Tiger had not slowed. The findings do not explain why the collision occurred. Divers photographed and measured both sections without removing objects. They placed a poppy wreath beside the vessel’s tiller in memory of the 35 people who died. ProjectXplore described the Tiger as the last missing 30-knot torpedo boat destroyer sunk in the English Channel.