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It was claimed that divers worked by day and by night whilst the crew of the salvage vessel maintained a constant vigil lest the suspicions of passing vessels be aroused. It was claimed that using oxy-acetylene cutting apparatus, they raised £60,000 in gold along with personal papers relating to Lord Kitchener’s Russian mission. (Oxy-acetylene cannot be used at depths of more than 30 feet, so this part of the account also appears incorrect.)

Courtney narrated that the wreck was largely covered in sand and that water lifts had to be used to clear access to it. But Hampshire sits on an area of clean shale and historic glacial deposits – the wreck is completely free of any mud, sand or silt deposits, and there is no mud bank in the vicinity so the report is incorrect in that respect too.

The report continued that when three explosive salvage charges were set off, one caused a secondary detonation of some of Hampshire’s munitions that hurled the divers into the mud and caused a mudslide. Courtney claimed to have been flung against the side of the wreck and pinned there by a raging current for an hour, suffering a broken wrist and injured ribs as a result – and that as a result of it being so traumatic an event, his hair had turned white. Two salvage divers were killed and another suffered a serious case of the bends. Courtney returned to New York where he claimed he underwent four operations for ruptures.