The marine historic asset located within the Campania Historic MPA is the remains of a vessel, the Campania, lying wrecked on or in the seabed, objects formerly contained in the vessel and deposits or artefacts which evidence previous human activity on board the vessel.

Boundaries of Historic Marine Protected Area

The area of sea within a distance of 150 metres of position latitude 56° 02'.404 north, longitude 03° 13'.497 west.

The Scottish Ministers are satisfied that designation of the Campania Historic MPA is desirable for the purpose of preserving a marine historic asset of national importance which is located within the area. The wrecked vessel is the Campania, a former Cunard liner converted in 1914 as a Fleet Air Arm carrier. Campania dragged anchor in Burntisland Roads and sank after collision on 5 November 1918. The wreck site lies at a depth of 22-25m below chart datum, 1.7km SSE of the entrance to Burntisland harbour, Fife.

The wreck of Campania is of national importance on several accounts. She represents the first of the steam-driven, steel-constructed transatlantic liners not to rely on auxiliary sail in support of her engines. The wreck also represents a unique survival of a Clydebuilt passenger liner subsequently modified to carry aircraft and have a permanent flight deck. She played an important part both in the international story of transatlantic passenger transport, and in the evolution of fleet air arm warfare during the 19th and 20th centuries. Although substantially damaged by clearance operations and salvage, significant elements of her hull structure and fittings appear to remain intact and this suggests that the wreck retains potential both to illustrate and add knowledge to our understanding of a very important period of UK maritime history.

The wreck of the Campania is located within a busy sea area. Designation as an Historic MPA can help to enhance appreciation of the significance of this site and to encourage responsible approaches to access, management and protection by sea users and relevant authorities.

Intrinsic characteristics

The substantially intact remains of the wreck of Campania survive as a large iron feature measuring approximately 190m in length NE-SW and 20m transversely. In places, the hull structure stands 12m above the seabed. One side of the vessel (probably the starboard) appears mostly intact and visible above the seabed; the bow, stern, and port side (probable) are partially embedded in sediment. Although cleared by explosives around 1921 because she represented a navigation hazard, and subject to some salvage of metals during the late 1940s and 1960s, sonar imagery confirms substantial survival today both of remaining deck structure features (including possible elements of the flight deck) and fittings (e.g the collapsed main mast and cranes fitted on either side of the vessel), and some debris surrounding the wreck. Below deck level, diver inspection of what was immediately visible during the late 1990s/early 2000s, confirmed presence of non-ferrous artefacts, together with existence of collapsed deck structures and a confusing jumble of ship’s structure and fittings. Given the size of the ship, and the wreck’s partial burial within a sediment-rich seabed environment, it seems likely the majority of below deck elements of the ship survive relatively untouched. As such, the site retains potential to add archaeological information to what is readily available in documentary sources about the design and construction of this former 19th - century Cunard passenger liner and about the modifications that took place when the Royal Navy purchased Campania from the ship breakers and converted her into an aircraft carrier in 1914. Reports that Rolls Royce Armoured vehicles may be located on the wreck are unconfirmed.

Contextual characteristics

The wrecking of Campania occurred as an accidental loss on the morning of 5 November 1918, shortly before Armistice, when she dragged her anchor in a sudden squall before colliding with the battleship Royal Oak and battle cruiser Glorious. No other losses occurred during this incident. However, given the location of this incident in the valued deep-water wartime anchorage of Burntisland roads, the wreck should be considered within the broader context of the wartime role of the Firth of Forth and its shoreline installations. The pre-war history of the ship adds further contextual significance - originally built as a passenger liner for Cunard’s Liverpool-New York service in 1893, as RMS Campania, she was the first of the transatlantic liners to rely on steam power alone, dispensing with auxiliary sail and having twin screws. There are ten other known wrecks of Cunard line ships in the waters around Great Britain and Ireland, including the Aurania (also in Scottish waters), and the Lusitania (off Ireland). Then, between 1914 and 1918, as HMS Campania, she played an integral part in the evolution of Royal Naval ship-borne air operations. The only aircraft carrier from World War One not to have been totally destroyed, the wreck of Campania today represents the only British survivor of the early development of aircraft carriers. Her development bridges the gap between Pegasus, the Royal Navy’s initial seaplane carrier, and Argus, the first vessel fitted with a full length flight deck and aircraft lift. At Scapa Flow on 5 May 1915, with the ship under way into a force 4 wind, Lieutenant Breeze successfully flew a Sopwith Schneider seaplane, fitted with wheels, off the deck of Campania. As such, she was the first ship to be modified to have a permanent flight deck and to have an aircraft take off from such a deck. Although aircraft had previously been launched from temporary flight decks on other vessels these were structures fitted retrospectively to enable warships to launch one or two aircraft for spotting purposes.

Associative characteristics

Campania was Clydebuilt by the famous yard of Fairfields in Govan and launched on 8 September 1892. Her conversion to an aircraft carrier at the took place at the equally famous shipyard of Cammel Laird at Birkenhead. Campania’s place in the histories of the transatlantic liners is well represented in a wide range of documentary and photographic sources and her design set the pattern for the traditional image of the luxury liners epitomised by the White Star Line and Cunard fleets into the second half of the 20th century. The wreck of Campania also has rich associations with the 'Blue Riband' award for the fastest transatlantic crossing by ship. As RMS Campania, she made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 22 April 1893, and on her return, set a new record passage from New York to Queenstown (Ireland) in a time of 5 days 17 hours and 27 minutes. She held the Blue Riband from 1893 to 1894, losing it to her sister ship Lucania. Documentary sources also record her conversion to an aircraft carrier, and her service in Scapa Flow, which included sailing with the Grand Fleet to provide spotting aircraft for the Battle of Jutland in 1916. In the event, Campania did not make Jutland as her tired engines could not produce the 27 knots required to stay with the fleet and she was ordered to return to Scapa Flow, where she was stationed for the remainder of WW1.

The preservation objectives for the Campania Historic MPA and the marine historic asset are:

a) to minimise loss of the marine historic asset within the area;
b) to minimise deterioration of site condition of the marine historic asset;
c) to prevent the removal, wholly or partly, of the marine historic asset from within the Campania Historic MPA, except where the Scottish Ministers are satisfied that this is desirable for the purpose of making a significant contribution to the protection of the marine historic asset or to knowledge about marine cultural heritage;
d) to prevent the commercial exploitation of the marine historic asset for trade, speculation or its irretrievable dispersal other than provision of professional archaeological or public access which is consistent with preservation objectives a,b,c.

Preservation objectives guide the management of Historic MPAs according to the specific needs of individual areas. Objectives for the Campania Historic MPA are focused around minimising loss of marine historic assets in situ and minimising deterioration in site condition. Additional objectives set out instances where the recovery of marine historic assets (in whole or part) may be acceptable and to restrict commercial exploitation of marine historic assets for trade or speculation. To enable monitoring of progress against these objectives by Historic Environment Scotland, information relating to the survival of marine historic assets and site condition is set out in the table below, based on the results of geophysical surveys undertaken in in 2004 (Wessex Archaeology 2005) and 2008 (ADUS/Salvage and Marine), together with information resulting from periodic monitoring of the wreck as a result of its designation under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (Archaeological Diving Unit various 1999-2000; Wessex Archaeology 2005).

Designation of the Campania Historic MPA places a duty on public authorities with functions capable of adversely affecting marine historic assets to carry out those functions in a way that best furthers or, where this is not possible, least hinders the stated preservation objectives. To fulfil this duty, public authorities must consider and implement changes in the way they carry out their functions to deliver benefits for/ minimise adverse effects on the Campania Historic MPA, taking advice from Historic Environment Scotland.

• When preparing local development plans; marine plans; and fisheries management plans relevant to this location, as well as other programmes, policies and strategies, public authorities must take account of the preservation objectives for the Campania Historic MPA.


• Competent authorities with responsibilities for issuing authorisation for all developments and licensable activities (for example, through marine licensing; planning permission; issuing of seabed leases) within and outwith the boundaries of the protected area must consider impacts on the preservation objectives for the Campania Historic MPA, taking advice from Historic Environment Scotland. Decisions must also be taken in accordance with the relevant marine plans and policies.


• Where their functions or acts which they intend to undertake may significantly hinder the achievement of the preservation objectives for this Historic MPA, public authorities are required to notify Historic Environment Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland has 28 days to respond and public authorities must have regard to advice or guidance given by Historic Environment Scotland.



 
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Operational Advice for the Proposed HMPA

The following advice is intended to enable sea-users and public authorities to prioritise beneficial management of activities that might otherwise hinder the preservation objectives for the Campania Historic MPA. The seabed within this area preserves archaeological remains that represent a finite, non-renewable resource, the survival of which could be affected by a complex interplay of processes originating from sources that may be naturally occurring (e.g. chemical, biological or physical factors) or man-made (Historic Scotland 2012a, 8). Table 2 indicates which key pressures are known currently although there are additional pressures which could hinder the preservation objectives were they to occur.

In summary, this site is considered most vulnerable to the following impacts from man-made operations:

Direct Impacts

Physical damage/loss/alteration arising a) from collision/abrasion by construction or extraction activities (e.g capital dredging), commercial fishing operations which impact on the seabed (particularly demersal trawling - e.g scallop dredging), and anchoring/mooring of vessels, all within the protected area; b) from selective removal of artefacts and/or excavation of sediments by diving/archaeological operations within the protected area.

Indirect Impacts

Alteration/loss of the marine historic asset arising from any construction/extraction/dumping at sea/commercial installation operations in the vicinity which might result in significant erosion of sediments within the area or changes to water chemistry such that these changes are likely to exacerbate corrosion-related degradation of the wreck significantly.

Operations

Historic Scotland's Strategic Heritage Management Team will be pleased to provide detailed operational advice where impacts are anticipated on a case by case basis. The basis for this advice is set out in the table below.

Admiralty, 1918, ADM156/90; ADM156/173: Board of Enquiry reports into collision of HMS Campania with HM ships Royal Oak and Glorious after dragging anchor. Documents archived with the National Archives, Kew

Larn, R, Larn, B 1998, Shipwreck Index of the British Isles: Volume 4, Scotland. London.

Layman, R D 1989, Before the Aircraft Carrier the Development of Aviation Vessels, 1849-1922, London.

Oxley, I 2003, 'Focal study: archaeological work in advance of the Fife Council shoreline management plan'. In Dawson, T 2003, Coastal Archaeology and Erosion in Scotland, Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, 177.

Warren, M D 1993, The Cunard Royal Mail Twin-screw Steamers Campania and Lucania, Sparkford: Patrick Stephens.

Online resources

Historic Scotland 2012, Guidelines on the Selection, Designation and Management of Historic Marine Protected Areas. Copy available at www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/historic-mpa-guidelines.pdf

Historic Scotland 2012a, Historic Marine Protected Areas, a guide for visitors, investigators and managers – copy available at www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/historic-mpa-leaflet.pdf

Scottish Government, 2010, Making the most of Scotland's seas – copy available at www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/01085908/2

Wessex Archaeology, 2005, Archaeological Services in relation to the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973): HMS Campania, Firth of Forth. Designated site assessment: full report. Ref: 53111.03p. Copy archived with RCAHMS and available at http://orapweb.rcahms.gov.uk/wp/00/WP000730.pdf

Wessex Archaeology, 2010, Existing designated historic assets: transition to Historic Marine Protected Areas and identification of biodiversity/geodiversity value. Prepared by Wessex Archaeology for Historic Scotland, August 2010. Ref:73210.04. Copy archived with RCAHMS and available http://lmid1a.rcahms.gov.uk/wp/00/WP000732.pdf

Wessex Archaeology, 2012, Characterising Scotland's marine archaeological resource. Prepared by Wessex Archaeology for Historic Scotland, January 2012. Ref: 76930.04 Copy archived with RCAHMS and available at http://lmid1a.rcahms.gov.uk/wp/00/WP000720.pdf