SM ''UB-65'' was a
Type UB III U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
of the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Ordered on 20 May 1916, the U-boat was built at the
Vulkan Werke shipyard in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
launched on 26 June 1917, and
commissioned on 18 August 1917, under the command of ''
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...
'' Martin Schelle.
Service history
During her active career she sailed on six war patrols, sinking six merchant ships and damaging six more. She also sank the British .
The U-boat was lost off
Padstow
Padstow (; kw, Lannwedhenek) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...
,
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
on or after 14 July 1918 with the loss of all her 37 crew.
Rediscovery
An expedition mounted in 2004 as part of the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
''
Wreck Detectives
Wreck Detectives is the title of two TV documentary series from UK Channel 4 aired in 2003 and 2004 presented by Jeremy Seal, Miranda Krestovnikoff and David Manley.
Series 1 - 2003
#Alum Bay wreck, Alum Bay
# Earl of Abergavenny, Weymouth B ...
'' underwater
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
TV series to survey a previously unidentified U-boat
wreck that had been located earlier at
, during a routine survey by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, confirmed the identity of the boat as ''UB-65''. Inspection of the wreck by nautical archaeologist
Innes McCartney
Innes McCartney (born 1964) is a British nautical archaeologist and historian. He is a Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University in the UK.
Career
McCartney is a nautical archaeologist specializing in the interaction of shipwreck archaeology ...
and U-boat historian Dr. Axel Niestlé (through identification of design features such as the type of deck gun, and identification numbers that were stamped on one of her propellers) proved conclusively that the wreck was that of ''UB-65''. A survey of the wreck showed no obvious indication of weapon attack being the cause of loss (although this could not be ruled out; damage assessment expert David Manley determined that shock damage from a depth charge attack could have caused loss through failure of internal seawater systems and hull penetrations that would not be obvious from an external examination). The aft hatches were open, indicating a possible attempt by at least some of the crew to escape from the vessel. Consideration of the various observations of the wreck, along with historical observations regarding depth control and handling difficulties on diving experienced by other boats of the class, led to a conclusion that she was most likely lost through accidental causes on or after 14 July 1918, the date of the sinking of a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
vessel in the
Padstow
Padstow (; kw, Lannwedhenek) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...
area. All of her crew of 37 were listed as lost.
Having been identified as ''UB-65'' the wreck was given ''protected place'' status under the
Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
on 1 November 2006.
Previous beliefs regarding loss
The identification of the Padstow U-boat wreck corrected the earlier accepted version of ''UB-65's'' loss. According to official German Naval records the boat was presumed lost following a premature explosion of one of her own torpedoes on 10 July 1918, south of the Irish coast.
According to
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
records it was reported that, whilst returning from patrol and near
Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current l ...
, the U.S. submarine observed what the captain
Paul F. Foster first took to be a buoy on the horizon. Moving closer, Captain Foster found that it was actually a German submarine, only later to be identified as ''UB-65''. It was listing heavily on the water's surface, seemingly disabled. Forster guided his sub around it, hoping to line up a torpedo shot. But before he could do so, the crippled vessel was torn apart by a huge explosion. ''UB-65'' rose up on its bows and sank. There were no survivors and no bodies were ever recovered. The sound of small propellers and an underwater signalling device could be heard for a short while after the explosion. The cause of the explosion was not known.
RECORD ITEM Y1022 ROLL ONI ROLL
PG 61825 58 TA-17-D
Admiralstab der Marine, Abt. A, KTB, Band 1, U.B.65 der V.U.Flottille und der II. U. Flottille.
Kommandant: Kaptlt. Schelle.
U.B.65 conducted operations in the Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
, the western Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...
, and St George's Channel
St George's Channel ( cy, Sianel San Siôr, ga, Muir Bhreatan) is a sea channel connecting the Irish Sea to the north and the Celtic Sea to the southwest.
Historically, the name "St George's Channel" was used interchangeably with "Irish Sea" ...
.
U.B.65 sank among other vessels an unidentified British armed vessel (probably the sloop ) on 15 December 1917; the Norwegian steamer "Havana" (1,150 t), 5 March 1918; and the British steamer "Pensilva" (4,316 t), 4 May 1918.
U.B.65 departed from Heligoland
Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...
2 July 1918, for war operations and was accidentally sunk on 10 July 1918.
National Archives and Records Service
The National Archives and Records Service is an institutional network, operating on a centralized and decentralized provincial basis under central government control. The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa was established by p ...
, U.S. General Services Administration
The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...
, Washington: 1984
Allegations of haunting
UB-65 is the subject of many tales of a
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
, said to be the second officer, Lieutenant Richter, who was killed when a
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
exploded fairly early in the U-boat's career. Indeed, the building of the ship was plagued by disaster, including
asphyxiation
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
of three crew members by diesel fumes in the engine room and the crushing of two more by a falling
girder
A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ' ...
. While ''UB-65'' was being tested for seaworthiness, one of the crew members was swept overboard when he was inspecting the hatches. He was never seen again. During the first test dive of ''UB-65'', a fracture occurred in a ballast tank, causing the submarine to sink to the bottom of the sea. The crew lacked any means of renewing the oxygen in the vessel, but after 12 hours the crew finally managed to raise the submarine to the surface of the ocean. These incidents may have given rise to a belief among the crew that the ship was
curse
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
d. As no one wanted to board or be stationed on the ship, it is believed that the
German Imperial Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaiser ...
called a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
on board to
exorcise
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...
the ship.
In his book "Tales of Real Haunting", Tony Allan quotes "According to one source, the American officer thought he saw someone on deck just before ''UB-65'' went down. It was a figure in a German officer's overcoat, standing near the bow with folded arms. If this can be believed, Lieutenant Richter may have put in a final appearance".
According to researchers George Behe and Michael Goss, the stories about hauntings from ''UB-65'' were invented by the journalist
Hector Charles Bywater
Hector Charles Bywater (21 October 1884 in London – 16 or 17 August 1940 in London) was a British journalist and military writer.
Biography
Bywater was the second son of a middle class Welshman. The family had emigrated into the United Sta ...
, who wrote about the subject. They speculated that Bywater was a good story teller who had invented some of his references, such as a post-war pamphlet written by a "Dr. Hecht". Behe and Goss concluded that "Official documents make it extremely difficult to believe that UB-65 was haunted... The responsibility for that rumor-like legend in all its dramatic detail cannot be traced back with any certainty before Hector C. Bywater."
[Behe, George; Goss, Michael. (2005). ''Lost at Sea: Ghost Ships and Other Mysteries''. Prometheus Books. pp. 152–166. ]
Summary of raiding history
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
SI 2006/2616 Designation under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
{{DEFAULTSORT:UB065
German Type UB III submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1917
U-boats sunk in 1918
1918 disasters in the United Kingdom
World War I submarines of Germany
World War I shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Protected Wrecks of England
1917 ships
Ghost ships
Ships built in Hamburg
Submarines lost with all hands
1917 in Germany
1918 in England