that were undergoing a demonstration for Captain Reginald Bacon in Stokes Bay when a gasoline explosion occurred aboard Holland 1. Along with the other Holland-class submarines, she was quickly reduced to the role of harbor defense and training. By 1909, at the time of fleet display in the Thames, the Holland class were no longer considered "seaworthy" by the media. In 1910, Holland 5 ran aground off Fort Blockhouse, the location of HMS Dolphin and the home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. By 1912, the decision was made to scrap the Holland-class vessels. The submarine foundered in the English Channel off Beachy Head, Sussex, on 8 August 1912, when she was under tow on the way to being scrapped at Sheerness. It was not clear why she sank, but a theory is that the torpedo tube hatch was left open, causing the boat to take on water. Wreck discovery and research In September 2000, the wreck of submarine Holland 5 was discovered at a depth of about off the British coast near Eastbourne. In April 2001, the Archaeological Diving Unit conducted a sonar scan and confirmed the identity of the wreck. The boat sits upright on the seabed. On 4 January 2005, Andrew McIntosh, Minister for Tourism and Heritage of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, announced that the wreck was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act. This makes trophy hunting and vandalism of the site a criminal offence. In 2010, it was discovered that at some point divers had stolen the torpedo tube hatch off the wreck. It was determined that the item would have no monetary value and would have gone into a private collection. There were no official dives on the wreck during 2009 due to the conditions, and the last sighting of the hatch in place was in September 2008. Further damage has been caused to the site by fishing nets, which may have resulted in damage to the periscope and the other implements installed on the upper superstructure. Holland 5 remains the only submarine of her class on the seabed. Holland 1, the only other boat of her class remaining, is on show at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire. Species seen on or around the wreck site include brown crabs, European spider crabs, poutings, poor cod, Sagartia elegans (a species of sea anemone), worms of the Serpulidae family, and