After years of searching, a team of British divers has discovered off Scotland the “virtually intact” wreck of a warship believed to be that of HMS Hawke, which sank nearly a century ago during World War I .

Divers from Lost in Waters Deep believe they have found the Royal Navy ship that was hit by a German torpedo in October 2014.

Paul Downes, who was part of the team that filmed the wreck found in northeast Scotland, told AFP it was a “unique discovery”.

“It’s incredible how well it’s in condition, considering it’s a 110-year-old wreck and the ship met such a violent end,” he commented.

The organisation, which is trying to locate World War I shipwrecks off the coast of Scotland, is now awaiting official confirmation from the Royal Navy as to the “identity” of the ship.

At least 500 of HMS Hawke’s crew lost their lives and only 70 survived the attack by a German submarine in October 1914, just months after the start of the war. The cruiser was 118 meters long and 18 meters wide and was launched in 1891.

After being torpedoed, HMS Hawke burst into flames, exploded and sank in just eight minutes and amid rough seas in the North Sea.

The ship found by divers is about 110 meters deep, which may have helped keep it in such good condition, Paul Downs said, explaining that because it was not close to the surface it was not affected by bad weather.

Although it remained at the bottom for almost 110 years, the cannons, the bridge and some elements of the interior decoration, such as a clock and a barometer, were clearly visible.

“All the bronze elements, such as portholes and cannon openings on the bridge, still shine (…) apparently due to the very good construction” of the ship, with high quality materials, at a time when the British Empire was at its height, Downs noted.

The organization had been trying to locate the warship for years and scrutinized the diary of the German submarine’s commander and those of other British navy cruisers that had come into contact with HMS Hawke.

“From a historical point of view, the wreck is very important,” Paul Downes said, predicting, however, that the ship will not be raised unscathed after so many decades at the bottom. “Maybe one day we will be able to dive there, but without ever touching it,” he stressed.

HMS Hawke was one of the first British warships lost in the war, at a time when the British fleet was struggling to deal with the threat of German submarines.

Welcoming the discovery, the Royal Navy announced to British media that its historians would examine the “evidence” provided by the divers in order to “identify” the wreck officially.