SS Fernwood Wreck at Woodspring Bay - Mavic Air 2

Shot on Mavic Air 2, A 20th century bombing target, visible as the Second World War wreck of the vessel HMS Staghound, was mapped from aerial photographs taken in 1946. Located on Langford Grounds in Woodspring Bay, HMS Staghound is about 57.5 metres long, lying WSW-ENE, with the bow to WSW and the stern to the ENE, the hull’s shape still being recognisable in 1979 dated aerial photographs. The Staghound was destroyed by German aircraft bombs off Torquay on 27th March 1942. Built in 1894 as a civilian commercial cargo vessel, the Glasgow registered Staghound was a 468 ton, steel, steam-driven ship. Requisitioned as a distilling ship by the Admiralty from her owners, Monroe Brothers Ltd (since 1931), Staghound was used as a block ship at Torquay when sunk and was salved for use as one of two bombing targets by the military air gunnery range and weapons test site on St Thomas’s Head (ST 36 NE 14). The wreck of SS Fernwood (ST 36 NE 11) lies about 140 metres WSW. In aerial photographs taken in 2000, the wreck’s superstructure has been largely destroyed, with pieces of the vessel scattered around, although the buried hull appears still intact.