St Helena · United Kingdom · Wreck
RFA Darkdale
Fleet tanker torpedoed at anchor by U-68 in 1941
Area photo: NASA Expedition 19 crew · Public domain
A Dale-class fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, torpedoed at anchor in James Bay by the German submarine U-68 on 22 October 1941. She broke in two and sank, and only nine of her fifty crew survived. She lies in 45 metres, the deepest dive the island offers, and the oil left in her tanks leaked for decades until a Ministry of Defence team pumped it out in 2015.
Where it is and how deep
15.9186° S, 5.7225° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The Darkdale lies in James Bay off Jamestown, where she was hit at anchor, and bottoms out at 45 metres, deeper than anything else dived from the island. On 22 October 1941 the German submarine U-68, under Karl-Friedrich Merten, put four torpedoes into her; she broke in two and sank, and only nine of her fifty crew came out of it. What is down there is a tanker 143 m long (468 ft) with a beam of 17.1 m (56 feet 3 inches), lying in two pieces.
The wreck holds fish in numbers. Bullseye, grouper and cavalley work the structure along with St Helena endemics such as green fish and rock fish, so the bottom time you have at this depth is spent among them rather than on bare steel. The water column matters as much as the wreck: on the descent and again on the way back up you can meet tuna and barracuda, and whale sharks turn up over the site too, which is worth watching for on a long ascent.
She stayed a live problem long after the war. She leaked fuel oil for decades, and in October 2012 the survey ship HMS Protector charted her as part of an assessment of the threat she posed to the island's environment. In June 2015 a Ministry of Defence dive team drained the remaining oil, 1,944 cubic metres of it, and Royal Navy divers removed 38 shells from the two main guns. Her dead are commemorated ashore at the Cenotaph in Jamestown and on the Tower Hill Memorial in London.
The wreck
- Vessel
- RFA Darkdale
- Type
- Dale-class fleet oil tanker
- Length
- 143 m (469 ft)
- Built
- 1940
- Sunk
- 1941
- Cause
- Struck by four torpedoes from German submarine U-68 while at anchor
- Lies
- Broke in two and sank in James Bay off Jamestown; maximum depth 45 m
Darkdale was built by the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company in Glasgow, launched on 23 July 1940 and completed that November. On 22 October 1941 she was lying in James Bay when U-68 hit her with four torpedoes; she broke in two and sank, and only nine of her fifty crew survived. The dead are commemorated at the Cenotaph in Jamestown and on the Tower Hill Memorial in London. HMS Protector surveyed the wreck in October 2012, and in June 2015 a Ministry of Defence dive team removed the oil still aboard along with 38 shells from her guns.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
- Barracuda
- Whale sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows St Helena: Whale sharks aggregate Dec–Mar and are snorkel-only; reef and wreck diving runs year-round in 20–26°C water.
Know before you go
- Nine of her fifty crew survived and the rest died on board. Treat the wreck as a grave: do not enter it, and move or recover nothing.
- Thirty-eight shells were lifted from her two main guns in June 2015 and no source states the wreck has been cleared of munitions, so leave anything shell-like alone.
- At 45 m the no-decompression window is short and narcosis is a real factor. Plan the profile and gas before you splash rather than on the shot line.
Dive videos
FDS - RFA Darkdale, Saint Helena · Tex Marshall on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the RFA Darkdale?+
The wreck bottoms out at 45 metres, which makes it the deepest dive on St Helena and a trip for divers with deep or technical training rather than a general boat dive.
How did RFA Darkdale sink?+
She was at anchor in James Bay on 22 October 1941 when the German submarine U-68 struck her with four torpedoes. She broke in two and sank; only nine of her fifty crew survived.
Is the Darkdale still leaking oil?+
No. The wreck leaked fuel oil for decades, but in June 2015 a Ministry of Defence dive team drained the remaining 1,944 cubic metres from her tanks, and Royal Navy divers removed 38 shells from the two main guns.
Sources
- RFA Darkdale — Wikipedia
- Jamestown, Saint Helena — Wikipedia
- HMS Protector (A173) — Wikipedia
- Diving on St Helena — Saint Helena Island Info
In The Logbook
- Gas density: why deep air gets hard to breatheBody & health · 8 min read
- Deep wreck diving: where recreational stopsWrecks · 8 min read
- Where to dive with whale sharks, month by monthBig animals · 16 min read
- WWII wrecks you can dive, by theatreWrecks · 7 min read
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