Gallipoli · Turkey · Wreck

HMS Majestic

An 1895 battleship lying upside down and largely intact in 23 m

Photo: L'Illustration No 3772 · Public domain

HMS Majestic was the third British battleship torpedoed off the Gallipoli peninsula in a fortnight, capsizing in nine minutes on 27 May 1915 with the loss of 49 men. She lies inverted and largely intact off Cape Helles, at depths published between 18 and 24 metres, inside the Gallipoli Historic Underwater Park that Turkey opened over these wrecks in October 2021.

Where it is and how deep

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

40.0417° N, 26.1839° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

Boats run out to the Cape Helles wrecks from Kabatepe Harbour, where the park's dive centre is based, and every dive here is guided. You descend onto the upturned hull of a 128-metre battleship: the park's table gives 23 metres and a tourism listing 18 to 23, while the naval record puts the wreck at 24, so plan the profile for the deeper end. Majestic went over in nine minutes in May 1915 and has stayed largely intact since, so the shape of the ship reads clearly from one end to the other.

The guided route works along the inverted plating and over the deck, where the forward and aft turrets are still in place and unexploded ordnance lies where it fell. Nothing here is souvenir material: the park is run as an underwater museum and the wreck is the grave of the 49 men who went down with her. Marine life is not the reason to come and no operator publishes a species list for this wreck — the interest is structural, and the ship itself is the whole dive.

The wreck

Vessel: HMS Majestic
Type: Pre-dreadnought battleship
Length: 128 m (420 ft)
Built: 1895
Sunk: 1915
Cause: Torpedoed by the German submarine U-21 under Otto Hersing
Lies: Inverted and largely intact on the bottom off Cape Helles

Majestic was built in 1895, a 128-metre battleship (421 feet) of 16,060 long tons. On 27 May 1915, while stationed off W Beach at Cape Helles, she was hit by a torpedo fired by the German submarine commander Otto Hersing and capsized in nine minutes with the loss of 49 men, the third battleship torpedoed off the peninsula in two weeks. Her upturned hull stayed visible for months until the foremast collapsed in a storm and she settled. In October 2021 Turkey opened the Gallipoli Historic Underwater Park over these wrecks, putting Majestic and the battleship Triumph within reach of divers.

Marine life and season

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

Month-by-month season rating for HMS Majestic
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

Unexploded ordnance still lies on the deck; the wreck is a museum exhibit and a grave, so nothing is touched, entered or lifted.
Divers report strong currents around some of the Gallipoli wrecks, so the guide sets the timing; bottom time at 23 m is short in any case.

Photos from HMS Majestic

Unknown photographer of the time · Public domain
Charles Dixon · Public domain

Dive videos

HMS Majestic · Gallipoli Wrecks Dive Centre on YouTube

We Explored HMS Majestic | Gallipoli's Legendary WWI Battleship · Discover Underwater on YouTube

4K DIVING TURQUIA BATALLA GALLIPOLI PECIO HMS MAJESTIC · PATXI URUBURU on YouTube

Questions divers ask

How deep is the HMS Majestic wreck?+

Published figures run from 18 to 24 m. The park operator's dive table gives 23 m and a tourism listing 18 to 23, while the naval record puts the wreck at 24 m.

Can beginners dive HMS Majestic?+

No. At 23 m on an inverted hull it calls for Advanced or wreck training, and like every wreck in the Gallipoli Historic Underwater Park it must be dived with a guide.