Sunk with 400 bars of gold - The Sinking and Salvage of HMS Edinburgh

[@historigraph]

Thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video! Head to keeps.com/historigraph to get 50% off your first order of hair loss treatment.

[@Crushnaut]

A bit of a red flag with this product. Per the ad read, you call their doctor and they prescribe you their product? What if another solution was the better answer for your issue? Would they still prescribe their product or refer you to a competitor's product? Their doctors have a huge conflict of interest.

[@nateo-ft4do]

@@Crushnaut dont trust this ad if you ask any dr they will tell you they can’t diagnose you over the phone and you have to come in they can get in trouble doing that

[@cookiesupervisor2211]

HMS Edinburgh is in my port , with 64%wr she is in good hands :)

[@loyalpiper]

You've got to admit the sheer balls of the cruisers captain to take on 3 destroyers while severely damaged and actually put one out of action

[@BetoNetwork]

Sitting out the fight when you have the largest guns while your escort is fighting against the odds to protect your ship would be crazy. What captain wouldn't try? If they did't they could of all or mostly have been sunk.

[@Rybo-Senpai]

Balls the size of her namesake City.

[@michaeld.uchiha9084]

Even so a destroyer is no match against a CL.

[@AdmiralDevil]

the cruiser:heavily damaged also the cruiser:"heavy damage and against 3 destroyers,NO PROBLEM

[@wdcjunk]

@@michaeld.uchiha9084 Tell that to Taffy 3

[@steriskyline4470]

Can you even imagine the courage required to venture in an ocean like that, knowing other guys are out there to send you to the bottom. Absolutely incredible.

[@sonk5831]

Deep ocean that is incredibly dark blue and freezing deadly cold! One can only imagine the fear the sailors had after the ship was damaged let alone before being attacked

[@williamromine5715]

Imagine the courage of the merchant marine sailor with no way to fight back. My father was one of those in the Pacific. He could have sat out the war in a state side job, but volunteered for the merchant marine service instead. These guys were the unsung heroes of the war, and they got no service benefits after the war.

[@kevinverduci7600]

Imagine how they seal the hatches when your hit . They don't tell you but navy seals water compartments meaning if your hit you have no way to get out of many parts of the ship ..

[@gogolsoul]

My father used to be an offshore saturation diver so a few of the divers here are old acquaintances of his (small community back in the 80s). A few points below: -The divers were all given golden necklaces with little golden diving helmets fashioned on them as a thank you -there was apparently a ceremony in Murmansk to return the Soviet share of the gold with a big lockbox with the gold in it, which was to be publicly opened. Except some sinister person superglued the lock shut, holding up the ceremony while they tried to get it open -the 5 missing bars may not be on the ocean floor

[@Zoey--]

I was thinking the whole time "Oh gee I wonder where the 5 missing bars went." I'd very much doubt they just left them behind :D

[@joelellis7035]

A lot of debris down there, you know? It took them weeks just to find the gold that was there. Might have "missed" a couple. Or they may have "fallen out" of the ship as it sunk. Maybe lost forever.

[@Arterexius]

@@joelellis7035 Nothing is truly lost forever. It's just delayed for a long time. The Titanic wasn't found until 73 years after she sunk, and the Swedish crown jewel Vasa, wasn't raised until 333 years after she sunk outside the Swedish Harbor.

[@Ephraim32]

@@Arterexius finding a full sized ship is a little easier than finding a ft long bar on the ocean floor… Just saying. Also pretty sure it’s more like it’s “missing” or “tactically acquired”

[@Arterexius]

@@Ephraim32 It is right now, but just because we don't have the tech to do it right now, doesn't mean it won't be possible. That was the point I tried to make.

[@Paludion]

It's rare that a ship's "afterlife" is as interesting as her years of service.

[@Dayvit78]

I am constantly surprised by the bravery of the men on these little ships always charging head-on into ships that outclass them. Massive respect for all the mariners out there.

[@nevilleneville6518]

To be fair, most of the crew would have no idea of the "bigger picture" of what was going on - they'd be busy at their stations in a turret or engine room etc. The Royal Navy had to ban its captains from ramming German ships, which they had a penchant for doing early in the war. The captain would win himself a VC and the RN would lose a ship and its crew.

[@MrXbow4300]

Can you imagine the guys involved in the diving operation walk up to a bank and saying “I would like to make a deposit of 431 gold bars from 1941”

[@ErrantChordier]

Oh don't mind the armed platoon behind me, it's just my security escort.

[@SepticToxicShark]

For those wondering how the gold was split this is an abstract from a New York Times article in 13 October 1981: "45 percent - more than $36-million, at gold's current market price of about $450 an ounce - went to the British salvage company, Jessop Marine Recoveries Ltd. From that, the company will have to deduct an estimated $2 million in costs and then meet British Government levies amounting to more than 90 percent of its net profit. The Governments divided the remainder on a basis that paralleled the original insurance obligations - a third to Britain, two-thirds to the Soviet Union."

[@Dayvit78]

Thanks for bringing facts to the comment section. Most people just spouting off conspiracies or random anti-government sentiments.

[@matthewl67]

Am I misunderstanding the situation, or was that gold not going toward lend-lease war supplies for the USSR? I suppose my question is why did they get 2/3 of the money? Also, are the British government levies taxes on what the salvage company made?

[@jonny-b4954]

Could you imagine going through the effort and all that and giving away 90% of your profits? I mean that's after paying for everything and all that. What you have you left when it's all said and done with books balanced; 90% was levied by government?

[@Dayvit78]

@@jonny-b4954 You still have a huge ROI. That's why they did it. They knew before hand how it was to be split.

[@bam-skater]

I read the book (Goldfinder) years ago and Jessop screwed up big time. Instead of landing the gold in Norway and selling their share there it was taken straight back into UK waters. That expensive boo-boo was what attracted the 90% tax

[@SimonNZ6969]

Gotta give them credit for the heroic return trickshot. The minesweepers charging in almost had me in tears. Damn legends.

[@kaulquapil6280]

With current gold prices, it is worth more than 300.000.000 US Dollars today

[@binaway]

A work college told me the following story on this subject. His brother had been a diver on the North sea oil rigs and one of a small number who contracted to participated on this expedition. Retrieved gold was stored in a reinforced room that had a combination locked door. KGB security men took records of all gold bars as they landed on deck and escorted them to the secured storage room. On the trip back to Leningrad one of the divers thought it funny to superglue the lock tumblers. On arrival in Port the lock tumblers would not budge. All personnel on the ship were immediately taken into custody, questioned and taken to a KGB lockup. After entry into the room and after all the gold could be accounted for they were released. The divers had the costs of repairing the ship deducted form their percentage of the golds value. The divers not involved were not happy with the individual who had glued the locks.

[@gogolsoul]

Haha i made the same comment in my own post, but in a lot less detail. Cool to see the superglue story come up again!

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

HMS Edinburgh: If I'm going down, I'm taking one of you with me

[@theMoerster]

When your guns work and you're the biggest dog in the fight, you can't sit it out. Not even when you can only turn left like you were a NASCAR driver....

[@mrwhips3623]

Cringe

[@raksmeysamrith6625]

​@@mrwhips3623 what's cringe about this?

[@hubbababuh]

@@mrwhips3623 ?????

[@jimdonovan243]

Held one of the gold bars thanks to Rick Wharton of 2W. Magic story. A second dive after years later was carried out and further gold lifted.

[@shable1436]

And the 5 left? What's your theory? How heavy was it?

[@UnitSe7en]

Yep. Watched the video.

[@kevting4512]

UK Gov: "We found the gold!!" Soviet Gov: "OUR gold comrade."

[@matehavlik4559]

Yeah, having spent it already and not helping with the salvage, I didn't understand why they would get a share of it, other than being intimidating uncooperative bullies.

[@dogcarman]

@@matehavlik4559 Sums up the behaviour of Russia too pretty well…

[@markdavidson1049]

Well, no, it belong to the Brits as payment for material goods they sent to the Soviets.

[@qingyangzhang6093]

Spanish Republicans who sent their gold to Moscow for safekeeping: [deafening silence as they ceased to exist]

[@tepidtuna7450]

@@matehavlik4559 They're still the same. 2022

[@RayyMusik]

Z24 and Z25 had 5.9-inch guns. In the animation Z34 and Z36 are indicated. HMS Amazon wasn‘t a Tribal but a prototype built in 1924. Otherwise excellent. 👍

[@s208richard8]

My grandfather did a couple of these runs when in the Merchant Navy, described in his log book as OHMS, as Chief Officer, Master, or 1st Mate. I also have his Merchant Navy A/A Gunnery Course certificates, with handwritten notes on the back, detailing speeds and lead distances for Ju88, FW200 and others. He survived the war, his last voyage was in 1954 as 1st Mate.

[@scottessery100]

Saturation diving at 240+meters is my worst nightmare…. Those guys are unreal

[@lesliemackay7853]

One of My Mates Dad's sailed PQ/QP. Came from Scottish Island farming stock and was unable to take part in killing the beasts, it upset Him and as an ominivore He was aware of the irony. But in Sept 39, realising He couldn't kill and couldn't be a conscientious objector He volunteered for The Merchant Navy. Was sunk twice in the North Atlantic, but always said that the thing that annoyed Him most wasn't the Germans doing their duty/job, but the fact that under merchant marine contract at the time as soon as the vessel sank you were unemployed, no wages! A huge Gentleman, sadly missed.

[@Ashfielder]

Interesting that the Soviets got any, considering they had used it to purchase materiel from the British forty years earlier.

[@Ronald98]

the soviets got a portion of it because they have already paid for the british lend-lease by the 1980s

[@random1493A]

so, you're saying that there are still 5 bars of gold down there 🤔?

[@hmmmm9474]

ferb, i know what we are going to do today

[@FirstLast_Nba]

No, the divers found a clever way to hide and Liberate the 5 bars, I think 5 is fair.

[@burnstick1380]

possible, but it could also be that they were swept away from the torpedo impacts.

[@yc2673]

I wonder if the 1942 crew took them discretely while leaving the ship? Maybe they were previously stolen by the admiral or his crew?

[@EarthenDam]

@@yc2673 The Soviet system was incredibly corrupt, like all despotic regimes, so unless the Royal Navy counted the bars first then I would blame the USSR first.

[@mikejones4240]

My wife's uncle Leading Stoker Hookings was one of the 57 who were killed on that fateful day. He survived the first torpedo attack to be killed in the second attack.

[@Sonofdonald2024]

The book 'Goldfinder' by Keith Jessop is well worth a read. it covers his involvement in the early years of UK scuba and commercial diving and culminates with him being part of the team that recovered the gold from HMS EDINBURGH.

[@hammyh1165]

It's a great read 👍

[@SpaceMonkeyBoi]

The presentation in these videos is so fun

[@SnoutBetter002]

The Royal Navy has always made me proud to be British but hearing heroic stories like this only reaffirms how Proud I am to be British.🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@baguetteman8153]

Colonizer?

[@cladbecaha]

@@baguetteman8153 interesting how many of the once colonised countries inhabitants are now desperate to leave and seek refuge in Britain. And, due to the butterfly effect, without the past, including colonisation, no one alive today to try to virtue signal against it would be alive.

[@wor53lg50]

@@baguetteman8153 i hope you really aint french, or your one of the biggest hypocrites on this comment section...all that effort in making an account for one word, what a sad perfectic little life you must lead, "we want your homes, we want your jobs, we want your country" , greetings from allabambia...

[@ObviousTroll69-i6k]

@@baguetteman8153 thanks

[@beckylhunt]

Thank you for making this video my great grandfather was one of the 57 who died. For years, we thought it had just been shot and sunk, but now we know they died heroes. Thank you

[@nobbytang]

Keith Jessop a Yorkshire diver , salvage expert and ex royal marine commando pulled off this ground breaking salvage backin 1981 ….respect!!

[@deaks25]

One running engine, no rudder, most of her stern missing, a huge hole amidships and only local control of her guns and yet Edinburgh still managed to put up such a powerful fight she forced the German ships, who thought they were about to bag an easy victory, to retreat. That is a crew that knew how to fight their ship! I remember reading that Edinburgh took so much ordinance, including gun-fire and depth charges to sink her that at one point it was debated whether to reboard her and it was the very last torpedo that finally did her in. That was a ships that took the meaning of "It'll take everything you've got" literally. And yet despite four torpedoes and being held together by her deck plates and keel, she hadn't broken in half and is still in the one piece. Edinburgh's story is an incredible one that deserves to be told more often than it is. It is incredible that there were no incidents during the salvage; those conditions must've been extremely hazardous. A testament to the skill of the salvage team.

[@TrungNguyen-du9cn]

Kudos to the divers recovering the gold. Kudos to this channel too. Another outstanding video.

[@cornelius_ii8491]

This man really has it in for the British atm 😂😂

[@KOVROL]

so 5 divers kept 5 golds, fair salary :)

[@mafiousbj]

Or some clever sailor back in 1942...we will never know

[@samdumaquis2033]

I say they earned it

[@tonydoherty2190]

I'm wondering where the 5 bars went

[@radityapoerwanto7018]

Maybe it's still up for grabs.

[@bam-skater]

The divers worked on 'no cure, no pay' contracts. They were due a reasonable % of what came up anyway

[@Rocketsong]

At 7:28 when you said "Metal fishes" I heard Messer Fisch. (Knife fish). So... from now on, I propose we call German torpedoes Messerfisch.

[@henrykeyter53]

It's operation is closer to a tin-opener though....

[@Guapo10292]

Fun fact: the captain was a relative of the actress Helena Bonham-Carter

[@raymondcoventry1221]

She's a baroness or in line to be one iirc

[@Hollywood2021]

One of your best videos ever! You set the “bar” really high…ok I’ll show myself out now

[@greygalah]

just discovered this channel have watched lots of them in two days. Great work.

[@anthonystejan8492]

Amazing job as usual, please cover the Sunda Strait Battle or The Sinking of the Exeter, very much appreciated...

[@CA999]

I look forward to part 2 when they describe the cooperative politics of this deal during the midst of rivalry during the Cold War.

[@Dayvit78]

There was lots of cooperation during the Cold War... which is why it was a cold war, not a hot one.

[@sampackman69]

Fun fact, the British had more diplomatic meetings in West Berlin than the US and France combined (which is big if you know the split of Germany after WW2) So although they weren't allies, and at the hight of the Cold War, it's still very useful to keep diplomacy alive, and I'm going to guess that why a portion of the gold was returned, as a sort of good faith deal

[@legatemichael]

Remarkable story. absolutely fascinating. Thank you for finding and sharing this good tale.

[@montinaladine3264]

Super great video! Held me spellbound. This is one of the best videos of its type I have seen both in terms of clarity of understanding (no irrelevant and distracting music!) narration and of combinations of graphics and old film footage. Well done.

[@niekhofman428]

Thank you helping me escape studying for my math exam :D

[@TankerBricks]

Wow! Thanks for this incredible video!

[@TrickiVicBB71]

Thank you for the animation of how the wreck looks like

[@camrsr5463]

Kip Punch?! Silence is golden.

[@merlin6955]

It will soon be worth diving down for the remains 5 bars!

[@TomLuTon]

If you're wondering, Adm Stuart Bonham Carter is the 2nd cousin of Helena Bonham Carter's Dad

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

He was an unlucky Admiral. After two cruisers had been sunk under him, RN seamen began referring to their lifejackets as their 'Bonhams.'

[@kylebehiels3963]

“We could only get 93% of the gold, the rest is still down there I promise”

[@rogerchua7199]

I actually now want to retrieve the remaining gold bars now

[@gregspoony7691]

I got to say I enjoy your videos been watching them for over a year now.

[@coolstorybrooooo7643]

HMS Edinburgh doing the ol' Warspite spin

[@stevenda22]

Another great video. Really interesting subject and one I wasn’t really familiar with. Keep up the good work!

[@lowellmccormick6991]

Are you familiar with the USS Central America and Tommy Thompson. I think the Central America sunk with 21 tons of gold in 1857. Tommy Thompson found it in the the 1980's and recovered over 3 tons of gold. More was recovered years later. Check out the book "Ship of Gold". A good companion book is "The World Rushed In".

[@sproge2142]

@historigraph I belive the value listed at 13:56 and at other points in the video might be a bit off, I've looked around and all the articles I have found say the following. "The bullion value was £45 million in 1942 with a value of £173 million ($222 million) today." and that it was worth £80 million in 1981. I'm not sure if you might have mixed up the value of their cut, £40 million, with the total value? Either way thanks for the great video as always! ❤️

[@djtruthsayer]

praise the algorithm

[@vvvppp6021]

Agreed

[@devvy_01]

And pass the views and likes

[@prime8krish]

Moral of the story: There are still 5 ingots lying there.. :)

[@JYF921]

Churchill: OH NO MY GOLD Random admiral: But sir, what about the cruiser and the crew? Churchill: Not now damnit my gooooollllld

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

The gold was a payment from the USSR to the United States for aid. HMS Edinburgh was part of the escort of an Arctic convoy. It really isn't difficult to grasp if you try hard.

[@richardclarke3924]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 it was -payment for British aid not US, Britain supplied about 35% of the supplies revived to the Russians during WW 2.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

@@richardclarke3924 According to the sources I have read, the gold was a payment to the USA Treasury.

[@pierredecine1936]

244 meters = 800 feet Very interesting story - I had never heard of this ...

[@scottessery100]

So much bravery is seen again and again in naval battles. A mine sweeper v 2 German destroyers With 5 inch guns Edinburgh saving the British destroyers…. Was there any record of what happened to cpt Faulkner? Was he reprimanded for loosing his ship?

[@dynamo1796]

One must think he'd cop it in the ear for losing the gold lol

[@ianmcdonald8147]

According to the meet our alumni page of Melbourne Grammer school he recieved the distinguish service order for his actions on HMS Edinburgh. He was promoted to rear adrmial and made allied naval commander in chief in the final year of the war.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

After the sinking he was appointed as Chief of Staff to a number of commanders, becoming a Commodore in November, 1943, and a Rear Admiral in July, 1949. He retired in 1952, and died in Taunton in 1969. He was born in Tasmania, by the way.

[@scottessery100]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 to be fair cpt Faulkner deserved all the credit he received

[@scottessery100]

Thanks guys 😊👍🏽

[@KumaBean]

Five bars still down there and unaccounted for, _riiiiight_ ,..... 🤣

[@weyits10]

I’m in my 30s and I’m not losing my hair, but I still love your videos.

[@mellometermedia]

There's still 5 more bars lads. Let's get that bread!

[@mmarsh1972]

At least she took one of her murderers with her...RIP.

[@smartysmarty1714]

I think I'm going to swim out there next weekend and get those last five gold bars...

[@kairopalmer5109]

Correction at 6:12 1936A class. 5 Single 5.9 inch guns. Tribal class 4 Twin 4.7 inch guns. The British weren't outgunned just outnumbered and they had superior torpedoes.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

Tribals had three twin 4.7 inch guns by mid 1942. X mounting had been replaced by a twin 4 inch AA gun.

[@empirestate8791]

I'm more impressed with the fact that a rudderless ship with a huge hole in its side managed to take out a German destroyer. That's some extreme bravery!

[@jacobmorris1400]

Interesting that the captain didn’t try to save the gold and put it on the other ship. You think if it was sinking slow enough they needed to sink it with a friendly torpedo they would have had enough time to get the gold, but maybe I’m missing something.

[@amiscellaneoushuman3516]

I'd guess that he didn't want to put his crew in unnecessary danger by staying any longer

[@historigraph]

The room containing the gold was already flooded

[@whispofwords2590]

Also I think thats a lot easier said then done..

[@mafiousbj]

I find it amazing or very lucky that the Soviets didn't just raid the wreckage during all those years. They had the technology to send people to space yet couldn't or didn't want to dive to those depths...makes you think how dangerous deep sea exploration is (and this wasn't even a relatively deep area for ocean floor standards)

[@doanphat1480]

The unluckiest maid of the Royal Navy

[@TheGreatest1974]

I read Keith Jessop’s book on this, it’s amazing!

[@datatronx]

Fantastic video, job well done with the respect they deserved, win win 👍

[@cecilwilson5442]

Brave men and glad to see that respect for the sailors remaining in the depths was upheld ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️😃

[@NeistH2o]

Amazing video, as usual :)

[@BA-gn3qb]

Would love to know what the split was between the salvaging crew and the governments (which did nothing to help)

[@Dayvit78]

Didn't you see the part about the destroyers and other escorts ships? That's all government work.

[@stephenfarthing3819]

Even damaged - HMS Edinburgh would have been a formidable opponent. The German Destroyers were still outgunned. She may have been reduced to a floating wreck but there was no doubt that she was lucky to get her crew off. With only 57 fatalities. Again, that amounts to better than 90% of her crew! The legitimate salvage operation was culmated in a service of remembrance and was equally as successful. Not unlike the wrecks in the Java Sea area and the Dutch East Indies. Or HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. Those were illegal extraction against wargraves!

[@indigohammer5732]

I remember when this happened. It was a big news story, very exciting!

[@texx1985]

I held one of those goldbars in my hand. It was still deformed by the blast

[@stuff___idontknow2610]

Todays the 80 year anniversary of the sinking

[@oneshotme]

It looks great!! Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@saturnv2419]

HMS Edinburgh to German destroyers: I am not trapped here with you, you are trapped here with me.

[@tedparkinson2033]

These guys clearly played Dead Money the right way.

[@Stu-SB]

This was shown on a BBC programme in the early 80s, the divers had balls of steel.

[@thatnnoob6109]

So there are still 5 gold bars down there?? Welp I guess I know what I’m doing this summer.

[@shable1436]

There are 5 bars still down there supposedly but I seriously doubt that by now

[@richarddickson747]

Just a minor correction as HMS Amazon was an old A class destroyer and not a powerful Tribal class destroyer.

[@shathriel]

I know it is an old post but the Amazon was not an A class, she was one of two prototypes that lead into the A class :)

[@dark1810]

all that effort for some money but they couldn't find the effort to protect the war graves in and around the pacific .

[@toastytoast9800]

theres not exactly a financial incentive to protect the graves

[@whispofwords2590]

...bruh. How the hell are those things even remotely the same to you? Salvaging the gold from a single ship that you know the rough location of versus somehow keeping a constant watch over, and regulating the access to, a number of sunken vessels in open waters with all sorts of regular civilian traffic coming through.

[@generaladvance5812]

Edinburgh went down like a champion.

[@joelellis7035]

So, this means that there might be 5 bars still down there.

[@davegoodridge8352]

Nice knife opening that Keeps package

[@ryanelliott71698]

I like how he adds Finland as apart of the Axis. People still think they weren’t apart of the axis because they didn’t sign a piece of paper.

[@midsue]

Interesting topic 👍 Thanks for uploading.

[@fastyaveit]

Great stuff!! 5 bars still left 🤔🤔🤔

[@traceurGeorge]

Incredibly interesting, great channel.

[@69Applekrate]

excellent work. thank you

[@discover854]

You know what this means right? We need to get together and get those last 5 bars.

[@arwo1143]

…why did the soviets get a part of it? “Our gold”….? It was payment for the British

[@coyote4237]

Fantastic video. Thank you.

[@scottessery100]

Great video

[@robert48044]

So now when I play Warships I can tell people and bots not to target me I don't have the Gold yet.

[@micahistory]

Interesting, I had never even heard of this ship

[@BlindMansRevenge2002]

Wow, all that effort and the people who actually recover the gold got the short end of the stick! Well, hindsight being 2020 at least they were able to get something. I would’ve thought that that first stop at Murmansk with ended up with a NKBD contingent confiscating every last ounce.

[@killyourtelllievision]

Way kuul channel Bro. You're a master storyteller.

[@J_McPhearsom]

So the other 5 were pocketed by the divers? 😂