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Wreck of German WWI Battleship Discovered Off Falkland Islands

The wreck of an armoured German battlecruiser used during World War I has been discovered off the Falkland Islands, the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust announced on December 5.

Footage released by the trust shows the remains of the SMS Scharnhorst, the flagship of Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee’s East Asia Squadron, which was sunk during the Battle of the Falkland Islands on December 8, 1914, with 800 men aboard.

“The moment of discovery was extraordinary,” said Mensun Bound, the leader of the search. “We sent down an ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) to explore and almost straight away we were into a debris field that said ‘battle.’ Suddenly she just came out of the gloom with great guns poking in every direction.”

The search for the wreck began in December 2014, on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Credit: TVT Productions via Storyful