A wreck discovered off the Aberdeenshire coast is believed to be a lost Royal Navy warship that was sunk by a German U-boat during the First World War.

HMS Hawke sank in the North Sea after being struck by a single torpedo in October 1914, killing 524 people.

Lost in Waters Deep – a group that searches for WWI shipwrecks to help remember wartime losses in Scottish waters – believes it has found the vessel around 70 miles east of Fraserburgh.

A team of divers from the group made the discovery on Sunday following years of research and are waiting for it to be formally identified by the Royal Navy.

Will Schwarz was one of the first divers to lay eyes on the sunken remains 100 metres below the surface.

He told Sky News: “The team from Lost in Waters Deep have been searching for her for years. The wreck itself is just remarkable.”

Mr Schwarz, a marine biologist by trade, said it was still in great condition despite 110 years on the seabed.

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He said: “The lack of nutrients in the water means that there is very little growth on some of the items.

“The guns are in utter pristine condition. They are ready for battle. There were bits that were shiny, it is bonkers.

“There was bridge gear, portholes looking into the cabins, the teak is still there. It’s incredibly, incredibly intact. It’s just beautiful.”

HMS Hawke, a 387ft-long and 60ft-wide Edgar-class protected cruiser, was first launched in 1891.

In 1911, the vessel was damaged following a collision in the Solent with the Titanic’s sister ship, RMS Olympic.

When the First World War broke out, HMS Hawke helped form the 10th Cruiser Squadron and took part in blockade duties between the Shetland Islands and Norway.

In October 1914, the squadron was deployed further south in the North Sea to stop German warships from attacking a troop convoy from Canada.

During a patrol off Aberdeen on 15 October of that year, the vessel was struck by enemy submarine U-9 and quickly capsized.

Mr Schwarz said the team’s research to pinpoint a search area included going through the archive records of the ships HMS Hawke was with at the time of the attack, as well as studying the German U-boat’s logs.

They unearthed details of an “obstruction” but found nothing at the site. However, just half a mile away, the team discovered a huge shipwreck.

The dive was conducted off the vessel Clasina.

Mr Schwarz said: “I was fortunate I was on the first team in. Actually, I was probably the first person to see her. It was unbelievable.”

Although it’s been 110 years, the discovery may help relatives who want to trace their ancestry.

Mr Schwarz said more than 100 of the sailors were under 18, with the youngest just 14-years-old.

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He added: “It’s not about gold and treasure – it’s about trying to actually give closure to families.

“You’ve got the resting place of sadly 524 naval lads. It’s absolutely devastating, but at the same time families now have an ‘X marks the spot’. They’ve got closure, they’ve got a resting place.

“And we can tell exactly where their families unfortunately passed away.”

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Under customary international law, naval warships and associated artefacts are afforded protection through the principle of sovereign immunity.

The UK’s sovereign immune vessels cannot have salvage services conferred upon them without official consent, and those who lost their lives in service of the country should be left in situ and undisturbed.

The team from Lost in Waters Deep hope people will still be allowed to dive at the wreck if confirmed as HMS Hawke.

Mr Schwarz said: “We’d like people to still be able to dive it, but as we did – we looked but didn’t touch.

“You know, 524 people lost their lives, but at the same time it’s a museum down there and people should be allowed to visit museums.”

The Royal Navy said it was appreciative of the efforts made to locate the wreck of HMS Hawke.

A spokesperson added: “Once the evidence to support this find is received, it will enable our historians to formally identify the wreck.”

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