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The underwater area in southern Croatia is full of attractive locations for diving. One of the most interesting locations is located on Pelješac near the Lirica lighthouse near the village of Žuljana. At that location is the sunken German torpedo boat S57.

The torpedo boat S57 was produced in 1940. In the same year, it became part of the navy, and for the first three years it was part of the German fleets in the North Sea. The torpedo boat arrived in the Adriatic Sea in 1944 and participated in various German military operations in the southern Adriatic. At that time, British warships also operated in the Adriatic. Torpedo boat S57 was 30 meters long and had a crew of 16 people. On the night of August 19, 1944, a German torpedo boat ended its career in a conflict with British warships, which damaged the ship with cannons and caused a fire on it near Pelješac, about two nautical miles from the Lirica lighthouse. Faced with a serious fire on the ship, the German commander of the torpedo boat S57 had the ship sunk with explosives. Two crew members were killed and nine were wounded.

Today, the sunken German warship is on the steep bottom. The bow of the ship is at a depth of 26 meters, while the stern is at a depth of 40 meters. The ship was made of an iron structure and wooden planks, which rotted over time, while the lattice structure lies preserved and overgrown with sponges of different colours. The ship offers divers a number of attractions - from torpedo tubes on the bow to an anti-aircraft gun on the stern to different fish hiding in its interior.

The wreck of the assault boat is protected by law today. It is very well preserved and represents one of the main diving attractions of the southern Adriatic. Access to the location is only by sea, some hundred meters from the coast. There are generally no strong sea currents at the location itself, but rough seas can cause problems with anchoring. The wreck itself contains some other pieces of equipment and pieces of furniture and personal belongings, however most of these disappeared from the ship during early diving visits before the ship was protected by law.

Fun fact: After the ship's crew, with the help of other German ships that tried to put out the fire on S57, realized that the British warships had seriously damaged the ship with their ambush, the ship's commander ordered the placement of explosives in the ship's hull. The explosive broke the bottom and since then this unique wreck of a torpedo boat has been a top diving attraction.