Going beneath the gun towards the seabed, the upper deck has partially collapsed and skewed to starboard, leaving a swim through between decks on the port side. The cover of the upper deck ends by a large capstan.Torpedoed by UB40 on July 19 1917, the P&O liner Salsette could be just one of many wartime shipwrecks off the south coast, but since it was first dived in the early 1970s a plethora of portholes and other non-ferrous fittings has made the Salsette the Mecca of south coast wreck diving. Ask any Weymouth skipper and it seems that just about every charter group wants to dive the Salsette.
Beneath the stern a tidal scour gives a maximum depth of 48 metres here. On deck, the 4.7-inch gun is still fixed to its mount above the upper deck. This is one of the few structures to survive above the main deck. Other cabins and superstructure have long since rotted and crumpled to the seabed.
Going beneath the gun towards the seabed, the upper deck has partially collapsed and skewed to starboard, leaving a swim through between decks on the port side. The cover of the upper deck ends by a large capstan.
The starboard side of the hull and deck has caved in to provide a large cavity full of debris, though the actual torpedo hole is further forwards towards the boiler rooms amidships.
A large rectangular hole in the deck is filled with debris and has some steel lattice walkways round the edge of it, suggesting that this was once a gallery above the engine room. It is possible to penetrate forwards from here past large-scale engine room machinery and out through the torpedo hole in the starboard side below the waterline.
Just forwards are two cylindrical structures at deck level thought to be water tanks. Another large debris filled hole in the main deck again contains areas of steel lattice walkway, suggesting further engine room areas.
The Salsette once held the coveted blue ribbon for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic and is listed as having 8 cylinders of quadruple expansion engine, presumably 4 cylinders for each shaft, so there is a fair amount of boiler and engine machinery below decks. Part of the problem with being precise here is that the original plans for the Salsette were deliberately destroyed when shipyard companies changed hands many years ago.
Forward of the engine rooms, further debris-filled holes mark the remains of the flues from the boiler rooms. Between these is a hole with some railings on one side. Could this have been a stairway?
Nearing the front of the area of the superstructure, the wheelhouse has mostly gone, but the outline of the supporting steel frame can still be found on the wooden deck, with an upright section still in place towards the port side.
In front of the superstructure are cut-out sections in the deck and hull with a walkway forward to the focsle. These provided access to the forward hold. The hull has split open on the starboard side where the bows are settling slightly towards the seabed.
On the deck above, a crane is located on a pivoting base, now pointing down across the wreck. Just forward of this a few more plates are missing from the starboard side of the hull giving access inside.
We are now amongst the usual bow fittings, with another capstan on either side of the deck, bollards and cleats for tying off mooring ropes. In the centre of the deck is a huge anchor winch. Chains stretch forward and are routed through narrow channels to a pair of anchors, held tight against either side of the bow. Beneath the bow the seabed is again deepened by a tidal scour to 46 metres.
Between the anchor chains is the base of small crane used for fitting anchors. The mast for this crane is still upright, rising to 32 metres and being the shallowest point on the wreck.