New light has been shed on a WW1 shipwreck that up until now has been shrouded in mystery and tragedy.

Eighty nine crew were aboard HMS Pheasant when she sank in 1917 - and only one body was recovered.

Now, the first sonar image of the wreck of HMS Pheasant has been released after experts located the spot of the First World War destroyer just off Orkney's Old Man of Hoy.

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The first view of the wreck os HMS Pheasant has been released. It was created using sonar imagery. The colder colours show areas that are deeper. Sonar imaging involves transmitting sound pulses and converting the returning echoes into digital images

WHAT HAPPENED? At 0.15am on 1 March 1917 the ship left Stromness to patrol the waters to the west of Orkney. Steaming down the west side of Hoy at full speed she most likely struck a mine off Rora Head close to the Old Man of Hoy that had been laid on the 21 January 1917 by German submarine U 80. The Trawler HMT Grouse was at anchor under Rora Head due to the heavy sea prevailing at the time and two deck hands on watch reported an explosion and smoke at 6am but tragically the skipper was not informed until two hours later when she proceeded to the area. The Trawler HMT Cairo which was patrolling in the Hoy Sound heard a faint explosion at 6am but took it to be gunfire and so remained on station off Stromness. The first reports only started coming in two hours after HMS Pheasant struck the mine when at 8.15am the trawler HMT Oropesa reported finding ' Large quantities of oil and some wreckage one mile west of Old Man of Hoy.' Advertisement

Experts found the wreck during an archaeological maritime survey conducted last month from the decks of the Marine Scotland vessel MV Scotia.

The wreck itself is protected as a designated vessel under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 which means that it can be dived - but not entered or disturbed without permission from the Ministry of Defence, which gave permission for the project.

The ship's discovery was made by Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA), the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute and SULA Diving using multibeam sonar sensors.

Sonar imaging involves transmitting sound pulses and converting the returning echoes into digital images - similar to an ultrasound.

This allows researchers to 'see' what is going on through dark or cloud water by judging the depths at various points on the sea bed, even in zero visability conditions.

HMS Pheasant was an M class destroyer built by Fairfield Shipyard on the Clyde and launched on 23 October 1916.

At 0.15am on 1 March 1917 the ship left Stromness to patrol the waters to the west of Orkney.

Steaming down the west side of Hoy at full speed she most likely struck a mine off Rora Head close to the Old Man of Hoy that had been laid on the 21 January 1917 by German submarine U 80.

HMS Pheasant (pictured) was an M class destroyer built by Fairfield Shipyard on the Clyde and launched on 23 October 1916

MULTIBEAM SONAR SENSORS Multibeam sonar sensors transmit a pulse called a ping through a transmitter. It then receives that same pulse through a receiver close to the transmitter. The transmitter converts the electrical signal into an acoustic pulse. The receiver converts the acoustical pulse into an electrical signal. A computer determines how long it takes to receive the returning pulse which then translates into depth. The more time it takes for the pulse to come back the deeper the seabed is. Advertisement

The Trawler HMT Grouse was at anchor under Rora Head, the sandstone cliffs just south of the Old Man of Hoy, due to the heavy sea at the time.

Two deck hands on watch reported an explosion and smoke at 6am but tragically the skipper was not informed until two hours later.

The Trawler HMT Cairo which was patrolling in the Hoy Sound heard a faint explosion at 6am but took it to be gunfire and so remained on station off Stromness.

The first reports only started coming in two hours after HMS Pheasant struck the mine.

At 8.15am the trawler HMT Oropesa reported finding 'Large quantities of oil and some wreckage one mile west of Old Man of Hoy.'

The found the wreck during an archaeological maritime survey conducted last month from the decks of the Marine Scotland vessel MV Scotia (pictured)

Experts say they have finally located the spot of the First World War destroyer just off Orkney's Old Man of Hoy (pictured) - 100 years after it sank

The crew also picked up a life buoy marked HMS 'Pheasant'.'

Only one body was recovered - that of Midshipman Reginald Campbell Cotter RNR. He was 20 years old and he is buried in the military cemetery at Lyness, Hoy, Orkney.

This year marks the centenary of the loss of HMS Pheasant and there is an initiative underway to develop a memorial on Hoy, Orkney to commemorate all those who lost their lives aboard.