Divers miraculously discover 18th century 130ft-long WARSHIP in Florida Keys ... trends now
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An 18th-century British warship was miraculously discovered by divers from the National Park Service in the Florida Keys after it sunk during the Anglo-Spanish War in 1742.
The HMS Tyger was a 50-gun frigate ship built in 1647 and its existence had not been confirmed after it ran aground near the reefs of what's now known as Dry Tortugas National Park over 280 years ago.
The ship - measured 130 feet long and weighing 704 tons - was on patrol during what was known as the War of Jenkins' Ear between Britain and Spain from 1739 to 1748.
New research by the Submerged Resources Center and the Southeast Archeological Center alongside archeologists from the park confirmed that remains discovered in 1993 are definitively that of the Tyger.
The proof came from the discovery of five six and nine-pound canons found during a survey of the site in 2021 about 500 yards from the original wreck.
An 18th-century British warship was miraculously discovered by divers from the National Park Service in the Florida Keys after it sunk during the Anglo-Spanish War in 1742
The HMS Tyger was a 50-gun frigate ship built in 1647 and its existence had not been confirmed after it ran aground near the reefs of what's now known as Dry Tortugas National Park over 280 years ago
Researchers believe they were found in that location because they accessed old logbooks from the ship saying the crew 'lightened [the Tyger] forward.'
Tossing out the canons had initially refloated the HMS Tyger before it sank for good in shallow waters on January 13, 1742.
'Archeological finds are exciting, but connecting those finds to the historical record helps us tell the stories of the people that came before us and the events they experienced,' Park Manager James Crutchfield said.
The Tyger's some 300 crew members
