Also known as
Southwold, L10
Interest
Wreck
Popularity
Medium
Depth
67m (avg), 73m (max)
Qualification
Technical
Shore access
Boat only
Location
35.8720° N 14.5979° E (Nearby)
35°52.320' N 014°35.874' E
35°52'19" N 014°35'52" E
Rating
★★★★★ from 4 divers

HMS Southwold is one of the World War II wrecks around Malta. Southwold was a British Hunt class destroyer, about 85 m in length with 9.5 m beam. On 24 March 1942 she hit a mine and sunk approximately 2.5 km off Marsaskala, east of Malta.

HMS Southwold wreck is in two parts, located some 300 m away from each other on sandy bottom. The bow part is the larger piece, about 40 m in length, and lies on its starboard side in a depth of 68 m. The stern part is about 28 m long and sits upright 73 m deep. Both parts are technical dives.

As of 1st May 2019 HMS Southwold is managed by Heritage Malta, and diving the wreck requires a special permit. Read more about diving the historical wrecks in Malta.

HMS Southwold’s sister ship HMS Oakley (L72), later renamed ORP Kujawiak in Poland, is another deep wreck dive in Malta.

The first video is HMS Southwold's stern section, and the second video is the bow section of the wreck.

More info about HMS Southwold dive site

Wrecksite.eu - HMS Southwold's bow section
Wrecksite.eu - HMS Southwold's aft section
http://www.calypsosac.org/hms-southwold/
Wikipedia.org - HMS Southwold (L10)
Heritage Malta - HMS Southwold
3D model of HMS Southwold's bow section

Guns of the HMS Southwold [Steven Galicia]

Comments and Ratings

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Kevin Aquilina, October 2021:
★★★★★ All the elements of a historic WW2 wreck site. Plenty to see and explore where BT is never enough
Ben VB, August 2020:
★★★★★ Impressive warship. Each half is an excellent dive in its own right. If you have to choose, the depth of the bow affords a little more bottom time. But I recommend returning for the stern!
Adam Sant, June 2020:
★★★★★ Incredible wreck, best coral formations in Malta by far! https://youtu.be/VrFUpxQO04w
Mika Tanninen, September 2015:
★★★★★ Visited the Bow Section. Nice authentic war wreck. Lot of interesting stuff to see.

Short url here: https://maltadives.com/4907