HMS Braak
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | HMS Braak | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | brig-sloop | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Dutch Republic | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Royal Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Sea / ocean | North Atlantic Ocean | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | United States | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 2 km from land |
| Position | 38.7760, -75.0639 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
HMS Braak was an 18-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Rotterdam in 1781 and initially served with the Dutch Republic. The British seized her, in Britain, after the Dutch entry into the French Revolutionary Wars, and took her into the Royal Navy. She served briefly with the British before capsizing off the North American coast. She was subsequently the focus of a number of salvage efforts.
Diving & visiting
With the wreck lying on the bottom of Delaware Bay, rumours soon began to circulate concerning the amount of treasure Braak purportedly carried when she sank, with estimates of the value reaching $500 million. A number of artifacts were raised during the 1980s, but maritime archaeologists criticised these efforts for their disregard for proper archaeological methods, and for their discarding of anything not considered inherently valuable. In 1986, Braak′s hull was raised, but in such a way that considerable damage was done to both it and the surrounding area of archaeological interest.
Location
- Recorded position: 38.7760, -75.0639 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Atlantic Ocean
- Nearest coast: United States
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article HMS Braak (1795) (revision 1345246912), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Salvage and controversy”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
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- State of Pennsylvania 1970 · 115 km
Browse more: North America wrecks · wrecks off United States · North Atlantic Ocean