HMS Olympus Now Open To The World On Virtual Museum Underwater Malta

Newspost │28 November 2025

Heritage Malta’s Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit has added HMS Olympus to the list of underwater sites the public can explore on its virtual museum, from the comfort of home. First placed into service 95 years ago, the submarine was tragically lost during the height of the Second World War. Its loss remains the deadliest in Royal Navy submarine history and highlights the immense risks taken to keep Malta supplied.

The virtual museum Underwater Malta was created to overcome the physical barriers that keep Malta’s underwater heritage out of public reach. Through high-resolution imagery collected directly from divers to generate 3D models, the platform makes otherwise inaccessible archaeological sites, such as HMS Olympus, available to audiences around the world.

Malta’s position at the centre of the Mediterranean turned the island into a crucial Allied base during the Second World War. As Axis forces intensified air raids and laid dense minefields around the harbours, submarines became lifelines in what came to be known as the Magic Carpet Service. Among these was HMS Olympus, an Odin-class submarine designed for long-range patrols and later adapted to carry essential cargo.

By May 1942, HMS Olympus was transporting not only fuel and ammunition but also crew members of other submarines. In the early hours of 8 May, shortly after departing the Grand Harbour with 98 servicemen aboard, including the crews of the submarines P36 and P39, the submarine struck a mine. The explosion caused rapid flooding and cut all communications. HMS Olympus sank within about fifteen minutes. Only nine crew members survived the long, gruelling swim of five hours back to shore, making this the biggest submarine tragedy of the Second World War and in Royal Navy submarine history.

The wreck was discovered in 2011 through a survey by the University of Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. Resting upright at 115 metres, roughly 4 km off Grand Harbour, the submarine still bears visible traces of its final moments: its deck gun angled upward, its conning-tower hatch open – the escape route of the survivors. At its base lies a memorial plaque placed by Heritage Malta in 2017 and cleared of marine growth last year.

Now, through the Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit’s detailed 3D model, the public can experience HMS Olympus virtually, an opportunity previously limited to highly trained deep-water divers. Click here to visit: https://underwatermalta.org/discover/hms-olympus/.