465 Soviet gold bars sank in 1942. 40 years later, divers found them

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image

I
1942,
B itish
light
c uise
HMS
Edi bu gh
sa k
i
the
Ba e ts
Sea
afte
bei g
badly
damaged
by
Ge ma
to pedoes,
taki g
58
c ew
membe s
a d
465
Soviet
gold
ba s
with
it.
The
bullio ,
weighi g
about
4.6
to es,
was
bei g
ca ied
as
pa t
of
wa time
payme t
fo
supplies
a d
equipme t.
The
w eck
settled
about
800
feet
below
the
su face,
whe e
the
gold
emai ed
fo
almost
fou
decades.
I
1981,
B itish
salvage
dive
Keith
Jessop
led
a
ambitious
expeditio
to
locate
the
ship
a d
ecove
its
ca go.
Afte
weeks
of
da ge ous
satu atio
divi g
i
f eezi g
A ctic
wate s,
dive s
fi ally
eached
the
bomb
oom
a d
ecove ed
hu d eds
of
gold
ba s
f om
the
w eck.

How
465
Soviet
gold
ba s
e ded
up
o
a
B itish
wa ship

The
gold
was
bei g
t a spo ted
as
pa t
of
wa time
fi a cial
a a geme ts
betwee
the
Soviet
U io
a d
its
Allies.
HMS
Edi bu gh
left
Mu ma sk
o
Ap il
28,
1942,
ca yi g
465
gold
ba s
co ected
to
Soviet
pu chases
of
wa time
supplies,
i cludi g
equipme t
f om
the
U ited
States.
The
bullio
was
wo th
a ou d
£1.5
millio
at
the
time
a d
was
cove ed
by
a
1942
Wa
Risks
I su a ce
ag eeme t.
The
jou ey
soo
tu ed
i to
a
disaste
whe
Ge ma
fo ces
detected
the
co voy.
The
subma i e
U-456
fi ed
to pedoes
at
HMS
Edi bu gh,
with
two
st iki g
the
c uise
a d
seve ely
damagi g
it.

The
attack
killed
58
sailo s
a d
left
the
ship
c ippled.
B itish
vessels
attempted
to
tow
it
towa ds
safety,
but
a othe
Ge ma
attack
made
ecove y
impossible,
a d
the
damaged
c uise
was
eve tually
scuttled
i
the
Ba e ts
Sea.
The
ship
sa k
with
the
gold
sto ed
i
its
bomb
oom
a d
became
the
fi al
esti g
place
of
the
sailo s
who
died.
A
salvage
co t act
was
p epa ed
as
ea ly
as
1954,
but
the
ope atio
was
delayed
because
of
political
difficulties
i volvi g
the
Soviet
U io ,
co ce s
about
distu bi g
the
wa time
g ave
a d
doubts
about
the
tech ology
available
to
ecove
the
bullio
safely.
The
gold
the efo e
emai ed
u de wate
fo
decades.

Keith
Jessop
a d
the
sea ch
fo
the
su ke
gold

I te est
i
the
lost
fo tu e
etu ed
i
the
late
1970s
as
gold
p ices
i c eased
sha ply.
B itish
salvage
dive
Keith
Jessop
assembled
a
co so tium
of
specialist
compa ies
a d
secu ed
a
co t act
with
the
B itish
gove me t
u de
a
” o
cu e,
o
gai ”
a a geme t.
The
ag eeme t
mea t
the
co so tium
would
eceive
othi g
if
it
failed
to
ecove
the
gold
but
would
eceive
a
substa tial
sha e
of
its
value
if
the
ope atio
succeeded.
The
team
combi ed
su vivo
accou ts,
histo ical
eco ds
a d
i fo matio
f om
No wegia
fishe me
whose
ets
had
become
caught
o
u de wate
obst uctio s
to
ide tify
a
likely
sea ch
a ea.
I
Ap il
1981,
they
bega
sea chi g
usi g
so a
a d
echo-sou di g
equipme t.
O
May
14,
a
u de wate
emotely
ope ated
vehicle
i spected
a
w eck
a d
co fi med
that
it
was
HMS
Edi bu gh,
lyi g
o
its
po t
side
oughly
800
feet
below
the
su face.
Befo e
begi i g
the
ecove y,
the
team
studied
HMS
Belfast,
Edi bu gh’s
su vivi g
siste
ship,
at
the
Impe ial
Wa
Museum
i
Lo do
to
u de sta d
the
su ke
c uise ‘s
layout
a d
locate
the
bomb
oom.
The
p epa atio
was
c ucial
because
the
dive s
would
have
to
wo k
i side
a
damaged
wa time
vessel
that
still
co tai ed
da ge ous
mate ial.

Dive s
spe t
weeks
u de wate
to
ecove
the
gold

The
depth
a d
A ctic
co ditio s
made
the
ope atio
ext emely
da ge ous.
The
dive s
used
satu atio
divi g,
livi g
a d
wo ki g
i side
a
co t olled
p essu ised
e vi o me t
fo
exte ded
pe iods
befo e
t avelli g
to
the
w eck
i
a
divi g
bell.
They
b eathed
a
helium
a d
oxyge
mixtu e
suited
to
ext eme
depths,
while
gas- eclamatio
tech ology
helped
ecycle
helium
du i g
the
le gthy
ope atio .
The
o igi al
pla
was
to
e te
th ough
the
to pedo
damage
that
had
c ippled
the
ship,
but
deb is
blocked
the
oute.
The
team
i stead
had
to
cut
th ough
the
hull
a d
spe t
about
a
week
clea i g
a
passage
towa ds
the
bomb
oom,
whe e
ammu itio
a d
othe
haza ds
emai ed.
The
b eakth ough
came
o
Septembe
16,
1981,
whe
dive
Jo
Rossie
located
the
gold
a d
adioed
the
su face
to
a ou ce
that
he
had
fou d
it.
The
dive s
the
bega
b i gi g
the
bullio
up
i
metal
cages,
with
each
ba
weighi g
about
23
pou ds.
By
the
time
wo se i g
weathe
fo ced
the
expeditio
to
leave,
431
of
the
465
ba s
had
bee
ecove ed.
The
gold
was
wo th
a ou d
£45
millio
at
the
time,
a d
the
ext ao di a y
ope atio
became
k ow
as
the
“salvage
of
the
ce tu y”.

460
ba s
we e
eve tually
ecove ed,
but
five
emai
missi g

The
ecove y
co ti ued
afte
the
fi st
expeditio .
The
salvage
team
etu ed
to
HMS
Edi bu gh
i
1986
a d
ecove ed
a othe
29
gold
ba s,
b i gi g
the
total
ecove ed
to
460
of
the
o igi al
465.
Five
ba s
emai
u accou ted
fo
a d
could
still
be
somewhe e
i side
the
w eck,
be eath
deb is
o
i
a
i accessible
sectio
of
the
ship.
The
ecove ed
bullio
was
divided
betwee
the
pa ties
with
claims
to
it.
The
salvage
co so tium
eceived
its
co t actual
sha e,
while
the
emai i g
gold
was
divided
betwee
the
Soviet
U io
a d
B itai .
B itai ‘s
sha e
was
se t
to
the
Ba k
of
E gla d,
with
much
of
it
late
melted
dow
a d
efi ed,
while
some
ecove ed
bullio
was
used
to
p oduce
coi s
at
the
Royal
Mi t.
The
salvage
ope atio
became
a
la dma k
i
comme cial
deep-sea
divi g,
demo st ati g
the
pote tial
of
satu atio
divi g,
so a ,
emotely
ope ated
vehicles
a d
helium- eclamatio
systems
i
ext eme
co ditio s.
Mo e
tha
eight
decades
afte
HMS
Edi bu gh
sa k,
the
five
missi g
ba s
emai
the
o ly
pa t
of
the
lege da y
ca go
that
has
eve
bee
accou ted
fo .

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