Wreck of US warship sent to protect Cork coast during First World War found off Cornwall

USS Jacob Jones was sent to Cobh after the sinking of the Lusitania to defend Allied shipping from repeated attacks by German submarines during First World War

The RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by a German navy U-boat in May 1915, about 20km off the Old Head of Kinsale.

The wreck of the first American warship sent to protect shipping off the Co Cork coast following the sinking of the Lusitania has been discovered close to the Isles of Scilly near Cornwall.

It is hoped some artefacts from the destroyer, which later became the first US destroyer to be torpedoed by the Germans, may make their way back to Cobh to commemorate the protection the ship offered to merchant vessels and 66 men who lost their lives after it was sunk.