HMS Campania
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | HMS Campania | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | seaplane tender | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | United Kingdom | Wikidata P137 operator → P17 country |
| Operator | Royal Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | World War I | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | North Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Scotland | official dataset |
| Position | 56.0401, -3.2249 | Historic Environment Scotland Historic MPAs, wreck position (OGL v3) |
| Historic MPA | Campania Historic MPA (HMPA4) | Historic Environment Scotland |
| Designated | 2013-11-01 | Historic Environment Scotland |
About the wreck
HMS Campania was a seaplane tender and aircraft carrier, converted from an elderly ocean liner by the Royal Navy early in the First World War. After her conversion was completed in mid-1915 the ship spent her time conducting trials and exercises with the Grand Fleet. These revealed the need for a longer flight deck to allow larger aircraft to take off, and she was modified accordingly. Campania missed the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, but made a number of patrols with elements of the Grand Fleet. She never saw combat and was soon relegated to a training role because of her elderly machinery. In November 1918 Campania was anchored with the capital ships of the Grand Fleet when a sudden storm caused her anchor to drag. With no second anchor being laid, she hit several of the ships and the collisions punctured her hull; she slowly sank, with no loss of life.
Diving & visiting
This site lies within a Historic Marine Protected Area designated under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Check the HES designation record for what activities are permitted before diving.
Location
- Recorded position: 56.0401, -3.2249 (Historic Environment Scotland Historic MPAs, wreck position (OGL v3); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Sea
- Nearest coast: Scotland
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 Campania (1914) (revision 1374700483), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Contains Historic Environment Scotland data © Historic Environment Scotland – Scottish Charity No. SC045925 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Blessing of Burntisland 1633 · 2 km
- SS Orsova 20 km
- USS Stockton 29 km
- SMS München 1921 · 29 km
- HMS Whiting 41 km
- HMS Success 47 km
Other wrecks of the World War I
- HMS Aboukir 1914
- HMS Bulwark 1914
- HMS Cressy 1914
- HMS Good Hope 1914
- HMS Hawke 1914
- HMS Niger 1914
- HMS Pathfinder 1914
- SM U-11 1914
- SM U-13 1914
- SMS Emden 1914
All 163 wrecks of the World War I →
Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off Scotland · North Sea