Gallipoli · Turkey · Wreck

Masséna

A French battleship scuttled as a breakwater, in 5–7 m at V Beach

The French battleship Masséna was towed from Toulon late in 1915 and scuttled off Cape Helles on 9 November to form a breakwater sheltering the Allied evacuation. What is left of the 112-metre hull lies in 5 to 7 metres of water at V Beach, alongside the transport Saghalien. It is a shallow, structural dive with very little published about it.

Also known as Massena.

Where it is and how deep

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

40.0447° N, 26.1889° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

Masséna is one of two ships run ashore at V Beach in November 1915 to make a breakwater, and she is dived for what she was rather than for what is left of her: a battleship of 112.65 metres, towed the length of the Mediterranean from Toulon to be sunk on purpose so that an army could be taken off the peninsula. The dive centre's table gives 5 metres and the park's own page 7, so this is a flat, sunlit swim with the boat above you the whole time.

Beyond that depth the published record is thin. No operator publishes a route, a condition report or a species list for her, and no position for the wreck itself is given — the sources place the two ships together at V Beach in the Cape Helles area, close to the River Clyde. Expect a guide-led swim over shallow structure, briefed as history first: the evacuation these ships were scuttled to protect withdrew the Allied expeditionary force in January 1916.

The wreck

Vessel: Masséna
Type: French battleship
Length: 112.65 m (370 ft)
Sunk: 1915
Cause: Scuttled to form a breakwater protecting the Allied evacuation
Lies: Run ashore at V Beach, Cape Helles, alongside the transport Saghalien

Masséna ended her career as a piece of harbour engineering. Towed from Toulon to Cape Helles late in 1915, she was scuttled on 9 November together with the French passenger ship Saghalien to form a breakwater at V Beach, sheltering the evacuation that withdrew the Allied expeditionary force from the peninsula in January 1916. The hulls were still conspicuous four years later: in February and March 1919 the Australian Historical Mission photographed them from HMS Tumult, about half a mile offshore, while documenting the Gallipoli battlefields.