Divers have discovered a “long-lost” German submarine from World War One – and the British merchant ship believed to have sunk it.
The specialists from Guernsey found the German UC-18 last seen in 1917 after a four-year search.
The submarine was taken down on 19 February 1917, after attacking the HMS Lady Olive – which the German forces believed to be a British merchant ship.
Unbeknownst to the submarine crew, the British vessel was part of the Royal Navy’s ‘Q-Ship’ fleet – a group of merchant ships with concealed heavy weaponry, designed to lure attacking U-boats to the surface before opening fire.
It is thought to be the only historical case where a sub and the vessel it was attacking sank each other.
The British ship was struck in the engine room, causing irreparable damage – but the crew were able to pierce the pressure hull on the UC-18.
All 28 crewmates on the German submarine were killed, while British troops escaped with no casualties, with many being rescued off the coast of France.
Although the crew of the Lady Olive maintained that the U-Boat had been destroyed, no wreckage was found, leaving the true fate of the submarine unknown for over 100 years.
The discovery of the wreck is now the subject of a feature-length documentary by local filmmaker and project leader Karl Taylor, set to be released on the BBC in June.
“Finding a wreck of this historical significance is a once in a lifetime discovery,” Karl said.
“It’s been a long and technically challenging project but to be able to set the historical records straight on the details of the battle and the locations of the wrecks is fantastic.”
The local team, which included Guernsey Press Picture Editor Peter Frankland, conducted extensive research to identify three possible target areas to the south and southwest of Guernsey before meticulously scanning the seabed for evidence of the wrecks using state-of-the-art sonar equipment.
After discovering wreckage at four sites the team began carefully planning dives to identify the wrecks which would involve two boats, five divers and four crew.
“The organisation of the dives has been extremely difficult due to the amount of crew and equipment required, the location of the wrecks and the depth of water they’re in,” said Karl.
“We were limited to diving during periods of slack water which only occur during small neap tides.
“These had to be coupled with extremely calm sea conditions and good visibility to give us the best chance of completing these technically complicated dives safely.
“Working so far offshore meant that we had to be especially vigilant when planning our dives as any help, should it be needed, was at least two hours away.”
The UC II Class minelaying submarine UC-18 is currently over 70m underwater, 40 miles west of its historically recorded position of 12 miles south of Guernsey.
It was part of the “Flanders Flotilla,” a group of U-Boats that patrolled the English Channel and North Sea during the war, and is believed to have sank more than 30 Allied ships prior to its encounter with Lady Olive.
The documentary which chronicles the journey, titled “The Hunt for Lady Olive and the German Submarine,” is narrated by actor David Harewood, and follows director Karl Taylor to four different countries in search of the boats.
Karl also tracks down the great aunt of James Simpson, one of the crew members onboard the Lady Olive and is able to prove to her that James’ handwritten diaries detailing an account of the battle were true.
Since notifying the French and German authorities of the find the wreck site has now been recognised as a war grave and closed to any further diving.
The German War Graves Commission have expressed their grateful thanks to the team in locating the wreck and are making plans for a German Naval vessel to be deployed to the site to take part in a wreath laying ceremony this summer.
