HMS Olympus

An honorary member of the ‘Magic Carpet Service’, the Second World War Royal Navy Submarine, HMS Olympus , lies seven miles off the port of Valletta. She was first detected in 2011 using high-frequency sonar. An ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) was deployed to photograph the site, revealing the well-preserved condition of the submarine. HMS Olympus was an Odin-class submarine primarily designed for long-distance patrolling. During World War II she was sent to the Mediterranean as part of the ‘magic carpet service’, the relief convoys that transported cargo, including medicine, fuel and special forces to Malta. By 1942 this task was becoming increasingly dangerous as more than 50,000 naval mines had been laid in Maltese waters by Axis forces. Intensified aerial bombing over Malta led to the destruction of three Royal Navy submarines. HMS Olympus was charged with returning surviving crew members to the United Kingdom. She departed Valletta on 8 May 1942 but struck a mine shortly after leavin