Gallipoli · Turkey · Wreck

HMS E15

A 1915 British submarine in 8 m off Kepez Point

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

The British submarine E15 dived too deep on a run up the Dardanelles, was caught in the current and ran aground off Kepez Point on 16 April 1915; two days later British picket boats torpedoed the wreck to keep her out of Ottoman hands. The 55-metre hull remains off Kepez in 8 metres of water, documented as a wreck but not as a dive.

Where it is and how deep

Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

40.0955° N, 26.3931° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

This one comes with a caveat. E15 is documented as a wreck rather than as a dive: the naval record puts her off Kepez Point in 8 metres of water, but she is not on the park operator's dive-site table and no operator publishes a briefing, a route or a condition report for her. How much of the submarine is left after British picket boats torpedoed her on 18 April 1915, and how she lies today, is simply not written down anywhere.

What is certain is the setting. Kepez Point is inside the Dardanelles, and the current that put E15 on the bottom still runs there: she had dived too deep, was caught in it and grounded about ten miles inside the entrance. Any dive here is arranged through a local operator, since every dive in the park must be guided, and timed around the water rather than the clock. At 8 metres the depth is trivial; the strait is not.

The wreck

Vessel: HMS E15
Type: E-class submarine
Length: 55 m (180 ft)
Sunk: 1915
Cause: Ran aground in the Dardanelles current, then destroyed by British torpedo fire
Lies: Off Kepez Point in 8 m of water; no published condition report

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for HMS E15
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Fair	Fair	Fair	Prime	Prime	Good	Good	Prime	Prime	Good	Fair	Fair

Season follows Gallipoli: April–May and August–September bring the best conditions; the wrecks can be dived all year.

Know before you go

The Dardanelles current runs hard past Kepez Point — it is what grounded the submarine in 1915 — so the guide, not the diver, sets the timing.

Photos from HMS E15

Unknown author · Public domain

Questions divers ask

Can you dive the submarine E15?+

The wreck lies off Kepez Point in 8 m, but it is not listed on the park operator's dive table and no operator publishes a route or condition report for it, so ask locally before counting on it.