Le Lyonnaissank in November 1856 after colliding with another vessel, leading to the deaths of 114 passengers and crew members.
Atlantic Wreck SalvageMembers of Atlantic Wreck Salvage prepare to look the wreckage ofLe Lyonnais .
In 1856 , the French steamshipLe Lyonnaissank off the coast of Massachusetts after jar with another watercraft , theAdriatic . The terms from the hit lead to the death of 114 of the 132 citizenry on control panel . Although lifeboats were deploy , storms and cold weather claim the life story of most of those who ab initio escaped , leaving only a handful of survivor .
For more than a C , wreck hunters have searched forLe Lyonnaiswith little success . In 2016 , the chemical group Atlantic Wreck Salvage found a novel search . Now , eight year after , diver have located the remnant of the ship off the sea-coast of Massachusetts .
Atlantic Wreck SalvageMembers of Atlantic Wreck Salvage prepare to search the wreckage ofLe Lyonnais.
The rusted locomotive cylinder and other artifacts confirmed the vessel ’s individuality . While the stay ofLe Lyonnaisare too degenerate to be lift , the discovery provided closure to the Explorer and honour the memory of those who give-up the ghost .
The Sinking Of ‘Le Lyonnais’ Off The Coast Of New England
According to aFacebook postbyD / V Tenacious , the dive vas that located the wreckage , the 260 - foot French steamshipLe Lyonnaiswas built by the English company Laird & Sons in 1855 for Compagnie Franco - Américaine . The sauceboat was meant to fall in five other steamer that would make transatlantic trips for both passenger travel and mail service .
D / V Tenacious / Atlantic Wreck SalvageA absorb ofLe Lyonnaisprinted inThe Timeson Dec. 27 , 1856 .
Le Lyonnais , which featured both sails and a steam locomotive engine , also was one of the first ships equipped with a screw propeller and an iron Cordell Hull .
D/V Tenacious/Atlantic Wreck SalvageA drawing ofLe Lyonnaisprinted inThe Timeson Dec. 27, 1856.
In January 1856,Le Lyonnaismade its initiative voyage across the Atlantic . However , it was only in service for several months before tragedy struck .
On Nov. 2 , 1856,Le Lyonnaiswas set off the United States for Le Havre , France , when a glide ship address theAdriaticstruck the vessel and tore a small pickle in its hull .
The crew of theAdriaticnoticed that their ship did not suffer any major price and acquire the same was true forLe Lyonnais . For this reason , theAdriaticdid not stop and rather set course to the closest port for haunt . Back at ocean , however , Le Lyonnaiswas in deep difficulty . The small trap that theAdriaticbelieved to be inconsequential was in reality a calamitous blow .
D/V Tenacious/Atlantic Wreck SalvageDiver Joe Mazraani unearthing part of the ship’s rigging.
D / V Tenacious / Atlantic Wreck SalvageDiver Joe Mazraani unearthing part of the ship ’s tackle .
Three days afterLe Lyonnaiswas strike , the ship dip , killing 114 of the 132 passenger and crew on plug-in . While many people were initially able to escape , all but one of the lifeboat were ultimately lose at sea as well . When a German bark called theElisecame upon the last lifeboat a hebdomad by and by while traveling from Baltimore to Europe , the 16 people on board were the only remaining survivors ofLe Lyonnais .
“ Another terrible calamity has occurred at sea , ” theNew - York Daily Timesreported on Nov. 15 , 1856 . “ The captain and some 40 somebody took to a pile which is believe to have gone to piece early on , many lives being lost . ”
D/V Tenacious/Atlantic Wreck SalvageThe rusted engine cylinder ofLe Lyonnaiswas instrumental in identifying the shipwreck.
For the preceding 168 years , people have been searching for the wreckage ofLe Lyonnais — and now the ship has finally been place .
A Wreck Salvage Company Finds ‘Le Lyonnais’ 168 Years Later
In the late 2000s , shipwreck Orion Eric Takakjian began search for the shipwreck off the sea-coast of New England to no avail . Then , in 2016 , Joe Mazraani and Jennifer Sellitti of Atlantic Wreck Salvage join Takakjian in the hunt . After eight yr of reexamine historical information and explore the sea floor using sonar , they finally found success in August 2024 .
Sonar pick up the wreckage about 140 mil off the slide of Nantucket . Divers then confirmed the cadaver belong toLe Lyonnaisthanks to the ship ’s unique railway locomotive piston chamber .
D / V Tenacious / Atlantic Wreck SalvageThe rusted locomotive engine piston chamber ofLe Lyonnaiswas instrumental in identifying the wreck .
Atlantic Wreck SalvageAtlantic Wreck Salvage members the pose with portholes from the wreck in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
“ Finding it in some ways is closure , in some ways is the end , ” Sellitti told theAssociated Press . “ In some ways it ’s the beginning — documenting it , determining what is down there and what should be play up . This was a very early object lesson of a steam engine . ”
Nearly two C of life beneath the waves has deterioratedLe Lyonnaispast the detail of raising the vas , but the Atlantic Wreck Salvage team has unearth several artefact , like a part of the ship ’s rig , from the wreckage .
Atlantic Wreck SalvageAtlantic Wreck Salvage members the pose with embrasure from the wreck in New Bedford , Massachusetts .
The breakthrough ofLe Lyonnaiswas a euphoric bit for the crew . For Sellitti , who authored a playscript about the wreck titledThe Adriatic Affair : A Maritime Hit - and - Run off the Coast of Nantucket , the discovery signaled a decision to the enigma that had haunted her for virtually a X .
“ Being able to detect this ship , I felt like I was give cloture to the people who meet there , ” Sellitti toldThe New York Timesproudly .
After show about the discovery of the Gallic steamship that sank in 1856 , dive into the floor ofnine of history ’s most famous shipwrecks . Then , interpret about the hunt for theSS Central America , the ship that sank carrying 15 tons of atomic number 79 .
