World War II Shipwreck Found In Seas North of Denmark

The German transport vessel sunk in 1940.

world war II
M/S Pionier (Sea War Museum Jutland/handout/Scanpix 2018)
Ritzau Scanpix

The wreckage of the German transport vessel M/S Pionier has been found in the Skagerrak sea north of Denmark following a long search. The discovery of the ship, one of the most highly-sought wreckages in the region, was announced by Sea War Museum Jutland in a press release on Thursday.

The M/S Pionier was sunk on September 2, 1940. Danish and international divers have been carefully searching for the wreck for decades. It was found to be at a depth of 580 feet and a significant distance further east than previously thought, reports The Local Denmark. 

“For us, this is one of the better-known shipwrecks and there has been a lot of mystery about it. So it’s great news that we can now say where it is,” Sea War Museum Jutland director Gert Norman Andersen said to The Local. 

The ship was en route from Frederikshaven to Frederiksstad in Norway with 832 people on board when there was a huge explosion, causing the ship to rapidly sink, killing 333 people. British information said the ship was sunk by a torpedo from the HMS Sturgeon, but Germany rejected this and said it was sunk by a mine or due to sabotage.

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