Divers find wreck of US’ largest naval loss of World War I

Krdo · Apr 30, 2026 · 614 words · By CNN Newssource

Historical Remembrance and National Sacrifice

open_in_new Read the original article: https://krdo.com/news/2026/04/30/divers-find-wreck-of-us-largest-naval-loss-of-w…

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Loaded Language 80% confidence

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fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 6

schedule Pending 5

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

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“The German submarine captain saw his target’s silhouette against the evening sky off the coast of southern England and gave the command to fire a single torpedo.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim relates entirely to the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by U-20 on May 7, 1915, and does not contain any information regarding a German submarine captain firing a single torpedo at a target off the coast of southern England related to the Tampa. Therefore, the claim cannot be corroborated or verified by the evidence provided.

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web search NEUTRAL — RMS Lusitania was a British-registered ocean liner that was torpedoed by an Imperial German Navy U-boat during the First World War on 7 May 1915, about 11 nautical miles (20 kilometres; 13 miles) off …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania

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web search NEUTRAL — The end came the following afternoon, about ten miles off the Old Head of Kinsale on the coast of County Cork. The Lusitania was spotted by a German submarine, SM U-20, which had been active in the ar…
https://explorethearchive.com/sinking-of-lusitania

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web search NEUTRAL — The Sinking and Its Aftermath On May 7, 1915, as the Lusitania approached the Irish coast, the German U-boat U-20 spotted the liner and fired a single torpedo without warning. The torpedo struck the L…
https://www.historytools.org/stories/the-sinking-of-the-lusi…

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“It was the last anyone would see of the US Coast Guard Cutter Tampa and its 131 crew members for more than 107 years.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that the US Coast Guard cutter Tampa was a major naval loss in WWI, and the subsequent discovery of its wreck was a long-awaited event. One source explicitly mentions the wreck being found after a long period, corroborating the claim of a significant time gap.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The List of United States Coast Guard Cutters is a listing of all cutters to have been commissioned by the United States Coast Guard during the history of that service. It is sorted by length down to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Coast_Gu…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Medium Endurance Cutter or WMEC is a type of United States Coast Guard Cutter mainly consisting of the 270-foot (82 m) Famous- and 210-foot (64 m) Reliance-class cutters. These larger cutters are …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_endurance_cutter

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are 65 feet (19.8 m) or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accomm…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Coast_Guard_Cutt…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“Three minutes after that German torpedo struck the vessel amidships, the Tampa was on the bottom of the Atlantic with all crew lost, the largest naval loss for US forces during World War I.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results independently state that the US Coast Guard cutter Tampa was the largest naval combat loss in World War I, confirming the core assertion of the claim.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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“On Wednesday, the Coast Guard announced a team of British divers had located the wreck of the Tampa last weekend at a depth of 300 feet (91 meters) some 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the Cornwall coast.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results independently report the discovery of the Tampa wreck by British divers, specifying the location (off Cornwall, UK), depth (300 feet/91 meters), and distance (50 miles/80 kilometers).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military fo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_guard

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The history of the United States Coast Guard goes back to the United States Revenue Cutter Service, which was founded on 4 August 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. The Revenue Cutter Ser…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_C…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by an Act of Congress (1 Stat. 175) on 4 August 1790 as the Revenue-Marine at the recommendation of the nation's first secretary of the treasur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Revenue_Cutter_S…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“The wreckage was found by the British Gasperados Dive Team, a volunteer technical-diving team that worked with historians and researchers to find wrecks around the UK, according to its Facebook page.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that the wreck was found by the British Gasperados Dive Team, and describe them as a volunteer technical-diving team working with researchers.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — USCGC Tampa (ex-Miami) was a Miami-class cutter that initially served in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, followed by service in the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy. Tampa was used extensively on t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Tampa_(1912)

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web search NEUTRAL — The wreckage was found by the British Gasperados Dive Team, a volunteer technical-diving team that worked with historians and researchers to find wrecks around the UK, according to its Facebook page.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/30/europe/us-coast-guard-cutter-…

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web search NEUTRAL — A British technical-diving team called "Gasperados" found the historic vessel roughly 50 miles off the coast of Newquay, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, resting at a depth of more than 300 feet. The …
https://www.foxnews.com/us/coast-guard-wreck-found-century-c…

+ 1 more evidence source

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“The team had been looking for the Tampa since 2023.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results independently state that the Gasperados team had been looking for the Tampa since 2023, confirming the timeline mentioned in the claim.

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web search NEUTRAL — The wreckage was found by the British Gasperados Dive Team, a volunteer technical-diving team that worked with historians and researchers to find wrecks around the UK, according to its Facebook page. …
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/30/europe/us-coast-guard-cutter-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Coast Guard Cutter Tampa was “located and confirmed” by the British diving team Gasperados at a depth of more than 300 feet in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 50 miles off the coast of Newquay, …
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/wwi-coast-guard-vessel-…

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web search NEUTRAL — In 2023, the Coast Guard was contacted by the British dive team Gasperados, who were looking for more information on the Tampa. The Coast Guard supplied them with information, including archive photos…
https://www.mensjournal.com/news/sunken-coast-guard-ship-tam…

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“On September 17, 1918, the ship began convoy duty in the Atlantic waters.”

SINGLE SOURCE

Two of the three sources mention the date September 17, 1918, but the context is limited to the ship departing on an escort mission. Since no independent source corroborates this specific date and event, and the evidence is not sufficient to establish it as a universally accepted fact, it is marked as single_source based on the limited corroboration available.

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web search NEUTRAL — Toggle the table of contents. List of United States Coast Guard cutters.It is sorted by length down to 65', the minimum length of a USCG cutter. This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Coast_Gu…

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web search NEUTRAL — Eleven days later, on September 17, 1918, Tampa departed on her 19th escort mission. At noon on September 26th, running low on coal, Tampa’s commanding officer, Captain Charles Satterlee, requested pe…
https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/the-legacy-of-the-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The US Coastguard Cutter TAMPA. Newsletter Sign up. Get your latest local news for free in your email inbox.During the late afternoon of September 26, 1918, Tampa parted company with convoy HG 107, wh…
https://www.cornish-times.co.uk/news/shipwreck-of-wwi-us-com…

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“But on September 26, the Tampa’s captain requested permission to leave the convoy it was escorting as his ship was running dangerously low on coal to power its boilers and needed to refuel.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results independently confirm that on September 26, 1918, the Tampa's captain requested permission to leave the convoy due to running low on coal supplies.

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web search NEUTRAL — Captain Satterlee was in command of USCGC Tampa, when that vessel was torpedoed and sunk with all hands on 26 September 1918 in the Bristol Channel while escorting a convoy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Satterlee

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web search NEUTRAL — At noon on September 26 th, running low on coal, Tampa’s commanding officer, Captain Charles Satterlee, requested permission to detach from the convoy. His request was denied due to the danger of sail…
https://www.history.uscg.mil/desktopmodules/articlecs/print.…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 14, 2020 · At noon on September 26th, running low on coal, Tampa’s commanding officer, Captain Charles Satterlee, requested permission to detach from the convoy.
https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/the-legacy-of-the-…

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“Commanders granted the captain’s request, and the ship headed to a port in Wales at full speed around 4 p.m.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

Although the claim relates to the events surrounding the Tampa's departure (Claim 7), the provided evidence for this specific claim is empty (0 evidence count). Therefore, no verdict can be assigned regarding the details of being granted permission and heading to Wales at 4 p.m.

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“Around 8:15 p.m., it was spotted by the German sub UB-41 which fired a lone torpedo.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

The evidence provided for this claim is empty (0 evidence count). Therefore, no verdict can be assigned regarding the German submarine UB-41 spotting the Tampa and firing a torpedo at 8:15 p.m.

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“The blast from the torpedo was followed by a secondary explosion, caused by either coal dust igniting or depth charges aboard the Tampa detonating, according to the Coast Guard history.”

PENDING

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“A plane sent out to search for the ship when it did not arrive at its destination found pieces of its wreckage the next day.”

PENDING

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“Aboard were 111 Coast Guardsmen, four US Navy sailors, and 16 Britons, including Royal Navy personnel and civilians.”

PENDING

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“Eleven of the lost crew were Black according to a Coast Guard history of the ship.”

PENDING

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“The Coast Guard said it is developing plans to explore the wreck further using autonomous systems and robotics.”

PENDING

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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Divers find wreck of US’ largest naval loss of World War I

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