TANKS VERY MUCH; Military vehicles are sunk in loch to create

DIVERS are joining the big guns for an underwater adventure in a Scottish loch - where tanks and armoured cars are among the attractions.

At least 40 species of marine life have now made their homes in Second World War military vehicles which rest on the bed of Loch Linnhe at Fort William in Lochaber.

Lobsters are manning the gun turrets of tanks and crabs are trooping into 30-ton armoured cars.

Conga eels, octopuses and dogfish are also inhabiting the newly- sunken vehicles.

The military fleet - too heavy to be transported to the area by road - was taken by sea and loch on specially-made pontoons tugged by boats 650 miles from Ramsgate, Kent.

They were then placed on the bed of Loch Linnhe about a mile from the shore late last year.

The vehicles consist of Conqueror and Chieftain tanks, Saladin and Ferret armoured cars and a Centurion tank rescue vehicle.

The pounds 20,000 operation followed negotiations between the Scottish Office, the Ministry of Defence and diving experts at Fort William's Underwater Centre.

Hundreds of deep sea divers from all over the world are flocking to the site, the first habitat of its kind.

Enthusiasts have already travelled from countries including India, Australia, Thailand, Israel, Spain, Italy and Scandinavia.

Centre boss Don MacGregor said: "The new facilities provide deep sea diving in a loch.

"Divers get to see things they would usually only see if they dived into a deep sea wreck in places as far afield as Scapa Flow.

"One advantage we have is that the visibility is likely to be better in Loch Linnhe."

He added that the pontoons used to transport the vehicles had now also been incorporated as a feature of the centre.

More than 1,500 divers attend courses in deep sea diving lasting up to 16 weeks at the centre which has been operating for 20 years.

It had to obtain a special licence from the Secretary of State for Scotland to have the military vehicles placed on the bed of the loch.

Copyright 2000 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.