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Last Kon-Tiki raft crewman dies

Knut Haugland, the last crewman of the Kon-Tiki voyage across the Pacific Ocean on a balsa wood raft in 1947, has died.

The explorer died of natural causes in Oslo’s hospital, the Kon-Tiki museum director said.

The expedition was launched from Peru by anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl to demonstrate that South Americans could have settled Polynesia.

The Kon-Tiki sailed with basic equipment some 8,000 km (4,900 miles).

[Full story] [Photo source]

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Wreckage from British WWII-era warship found in Corfu Channel

Pieces of a British warship that was damaged by Albanian mines in 1946 have been found in the Corfu Channel.

The wreckage was found 50 yards (meters) under water in the Corfu Channel between the Albanian mainland and the Greek island of Corfu. It is believed to be a section of the bow of the British destroyer HMS Volage, the researchers said.

Forty-four sailors died in the mine explosions that damaged the Volage and another British Navy destroyer, the HMS Saumarez. Both ships suffered extensive damage but reached Corfu for repairs.

The incident halted talks between Communist Albania and Britain on restoring diplomatic ties that were broken earlier that year. The two countries only formally re-established ties in 1991.

“While largely obscured by mud, the remains show steel frames, electrical wiring, ammunition, stacks of ceramic plates, a British canteen and the remains of boots or shoes,” said James Delgado, president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, who was part of the international team of experts. The institute is nonprofit research body affiliated with Texas A&M University.

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How 67 sailors survived German sinking in WWII

A British seaman’s war-time log has been discovered that discloses how 67 sailors survived 20 days and 1,200 miles adrift at sea after their ship was sunk by a German U-boat.

The men were stranded in four lifeboats and survived on water biscuits, raisins and the odd raw fish caught by hand.

They drank salty rain-water and tins of condensed milk they salvaged from the wreckage.

The newly discovered log tells of how the men were often drenched by heavy rain storms, leaving them cold and wet for days afterwards.

Three men died from hypothermia and exposure and had to be buried at sea during the ordeal in the middle of the Atlantic in February 1943.

Despite their plight, they managed to navigate their way using the stars and eventually found land at Antigua.

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Artifacts from Henry VIII’s Mary Rose

Newly revealed items from King Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose, show what life was like onboard the ship.

A urethral syringe used for curing syphilis, a perfectly restored comb with nits still inside and a bowl with graffiti marks made by the sailor who owned it are among the items to have been carefully preserved.

The Mary Rose Trust unveiled the items to mark the launch of an appeal to raise the remaining £4 million needed to build a new £35 million museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Hampshire, to house the ship’s remains and artefacts.

Other items revealed by the Trust include a giant wooden spoon used to stir a cauldron of porridge and an extremely-well preserved leather “manbag”.

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WWII Navy vessel sunk by u-boat found off coast of North Carolina

A navy patrol boat, sunk by a German sub in 1942, has been found under 325 feet of water off the coast of Hatteras.

Footage of the wreck shows a skeletal vessel with numerous artifacts – light fixtures, batteries, fire extinguishers, port holes – scattered around it. The sides of the hull, with its rivets corroded, had fallen to the side.

Alberg said finding the wreck is significant because it has clearly not been touched since it was sunk on June 19, 1942, by a German submarine and also because it is believed to be a Navy war grave. Of the 24 men aboard, six were killed.

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