HMS E39
HMS E39 is a British submarine wreck lying on the seabed off the Pembrokeshire coast of southwest Wales, making it one of the many fascinating underwater heritage sites scattered around the rugged coastline of St Brides Bay. The wreck rests at a depth accessible to recreational divers and sits at the given coordinates near the southern Pembrokeshire coast, not far from the St David's Peninsula. As a First World War-era Royal Navy submarine, it holds considerable historical significance, representing both the technological ambition and the terrible human cost of Britain's underwater warfare programme during that conflict.
HMS E39 was an E-class submarine, one of the most successful and prolific classes of British submarine built during the early twentieth century. The E class was constructed between roughly 1912 and 1916 and served as the backbone of the Royal Navy's submarine fleet during the First World War. These boats displaced around 660 tons on the surface, were approximately 181 feet in length, and were armed with torpedo tubes fore and aft as well as a deck gun. E39 was laid down and commissioned during the war years and served in active operations. The submarine was lost through an accident rather than enemy action, foundering off the Welsh coast, which accounts for its position in coastal waters rather than in the deeper operational theatres such as the North Sea or the Heligoland Bight where many of her sister boats were lost in combat.
For divers, the wreck of HMS E39 provides a genuinely atmospheric and historically rich underwater experience. The submarine lies broken but recognisable on the seabed, with sections of her pressure hull, ballast tanks, and internal machinery still discernible beneath accumulations of marine growth. Visibility in this part of the Bristol Channel and outer St Brides Bay varies considerably with season and tide, but on a good day divers can take in the overall profile of the vessel. The wreck is encrusted with anemones, sponges, and soft corals, and provides habitat for conger eels, wrasse, and various other fish species typical of the southwestern Welsh coast.
The surrounding seascape is characteristic of Pembrokeshire's varied and dramatic coastal environment. The waters off this part of Wales are influenced by significant tidal flows, meaning conditions at the wreck site can change quickly and divers should always check tidal data and plan their dives around slack water. Above the surface, the nearby coastline is spectacular, forming part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the only coastal national park in Britain. The cliffs, coves, and headlands near St Brides Bay are renowned for their geology, their seabird colonies, and their wild, windswept beauty.
Access to the dive site is primarily by boat from local dive charter operators based along the Pembrokeshire coast, with Dale and Milford Haven being among the nearest harbours. The postcode SA62 3RP places this in the Dale area of Pembrokeshire, which is a popular base for diving operations in the region. Dive charter companies operating out of Dale are familiar with the local wrecks and tidal patterns and are the most practical means of reaching HMS E39. Shore diving is not realistic given the offshore nature of the site. The best diving conditions are generally found between late spring and early autumn, when water temperatures are higher and visibility tends to improve.
As a war grave, HMS E39 has a particular solemnity and legal standing that divers should respect. Under UK law, wrecks of vessels lost with crew during wartime are protected as war graves, and interference with or removal of artefacts from such sites is a criminal offence. Divers visiting the site are expected to treat it with appropriate reverence, diving to observe rather than disturb. The men who served and died aboard submarines like E39 were volunteers engaged in one of the most hazardous forms of warfare imaginable, operating in vessels that were primitive by modern standards and offered little chance of survival if something went wrong beneath the waves.