Maritime MPM1951 - SMS V82

Remains of the First World War German Imperial Navy destroyer/torpedo boat SMS V82 on the eastern side of Portsmouth Harbour. The vessel was brought to Portsmouth in 1919/20 and used as a target for gunnery practice prior to being sold for scrap in 1921.

Remains of the First World War German Imperial Navy destroyer/torpedo boat SMS V82 located in the intertidal zone on the eastern side of Portsmouth Harbour, south of Whale Island. A site report produced as part of the Maritime Archaeology Trust's Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War project in 2016 recorded that the remains of the vessel were visible above the mud flat for a length of 30 metres and up to a height of c1.5m. The forecastle structure is thought to be relatively complete and extended for 18.4m from the northern end. The bow was also visible, as were two boilers. The ship is thought to have been cut in half in the late 1970s.

V82 was launched in July 1916 and formed part of the Flanders Flotilla based in Bruges in 1917 and 1918. In June 1919 she was beached off the Fara Island when the German fleet was scuttled at Scapa Flow. V82 was then moved to Portsmouth Harbour along with two other vessels, SMS V44 and the cruiser Nurnberg, where she was used as a target for gunnery practice. The vessel was subsequently beached and sold to a ship breaker in March 1921. In 1927 V82 was sold to scrap merchant H.G. Pounds but the remains of the ship were left in the harbour.

Maritime Archaeology Trust, 2016, German Destroyers V44 & V82: Archaeological Report (Unpublished document). SPM551.