Dave_h
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The UB65The UB65
I was flicking through the TV channels this morning looking for something to watch to kill time and I stumbled across Wreck Detectives on Discovery Channel. I had seen brief glimpses of this programme before and found it fascinating to see the ghostly wrecks of once majestic titans of the sea, laying where they fell many years ago, often in very well preserved conditions.
Anyway, I started to watch the programme and soon discovered that they were investigating a submarine wreck off the coast of Padstow in Cornwall. I decided to keep watching, and as the programme progressed and the Submarine was identified by the stamp on the propellers the name struck a cord of fear, and equal excitement into me. The Sub was identified as the UB65. Why would this strike fear into me I hear you ask, well read the story below, it is a story familiar to me, as I have found it to be one of the most intriguing stories I have ever read, and almost certainly true.
In January 1918 the German U-Boat UB65 sailed into the English Channel looking for potential targets. The 'boats starboard lookout, standing on the conning tower, saw an officer standing on the deck just below him, even though all the hatches were shut apart from the one on the tower. He was about to shout a warning to the officer when the figure turned to face the lookout, revealing himself to be the ship's former second officer, killed in an explosion on UB65's maiden journey. His shouts brought the captain to the tower, and he also witnessed the apparition before it disappeared.
UB65 was built in 1916, but only a week after work started on her, things started going wrong. A steel girder was being swung into place when it suddenly broke its chains and went crashing to the floor, killing one worker outright and badly injuring another, who died in agony two hours later.
Things seemed to go well after that, but just before the ship was finished, three men were overcome by fumes in the engine room and died before rescuers could reach them. On her maiden voyage, UB65 ran into a storm, during which one man was washed overboard. Later, whilst undergoing diving tests, one of the ballast tanks sprang a leak, leaving the crew without any means of replenishing the air. Repairs took 12 hours, by which time the men were half dead with suffocation. On their return to port, the sub was taking on a supply of torpedoes when one of them exploded, killing the second officer and badly damaging the ship, which had to return to the dockyards for repair.
A few weeks later, just before the sub was due to sail, a crew member ran into the wardroom shouting that the dead officer had just come aboard. Thinking the man was drunk, the captain and another officer ran onto the deck, where they saw another crew member cowering near the conning tower. In a quiet voice, he told the captain that the dead officer had walked up the gangplank and went to the bows. He had then stood there for a few seconds before vanishing into thin air..
The ship soon got a reputation for being haunted, and nobody wanted to serve on her. Eventually the German authorities decided to put a stop to the stories and sent a commodore to investigate the matter.
Sceptical at first, he questioned the entire ship's company, during which he became convinced that the stories were real and not just fancies. The sub was withdrawn from service, and whilst in dock in Belgium, a Lutherian pastor exorcised the ghost. UB65 then went back to sea with a new captain and crew. The captain refused to tolerate any talk of ghosts, threatening the crew with severe penalties if the ghost was even mentioned. The ship completed two tours of duty without trouble, but after the captain was replaced, the hauntings started again.
During May 1918 the sub was cruising up and down the channel, and later the coast of Spain. A petty officer claimed to have seen an unfamiliar face enter the torpedo room, but when he went to investigate there was no-one else there. On one occasion, the torpedo gunner went insane, shouting that the ghost would not leave him alone. He jumped overboard and was never seen again.
On July 10th, an American submarine spotted the UB65 on the surface and prepared to attack. Just prior to the torpedoes being launched however, UB65 blew up in a devastating explosion. When the smoke had cleared, all that could be seen was debris.
She sank with all hands 34 souls.
That is why I found the episode to be so fascinating. I would now like to point out a few points in the above story that seem to contradict what the Wreck Detectives found, or Visa Versa. Above the story states that the UB65 was apparently witnessed exploding by an American Submarine, however, the wreck of the UB65 was found completely in tact with no evidence of an explosion if any kind. The real reason for the Submarines flounder is believed to be as follows by Military damage experts.
The UB Class Three series (of which the UB65 was one of) were suffering heavy losses due to accidents on Diving, on the programme, close inspection of the wreck showed all exit hatches to be open except one towards the front of the Sub, also one of the water tight doors on the torpedo tubes appeared to be slightly open. It is possible then that the UB65 was taking on water as she dived for one of two possible reasons.
1) An inexperienced crew member failed to shut one of the hatches correctly, leading to the sinking of the submarine as she flooded from the front of the ship. The exit hatches all being open towards the rear of the sub would indicate that the crew had evacuated to the rear to escape the in rushing water, and had opened the rear hatches in a last ditched effort to escape the sinking doomed sub.
2) The slightly open torpedo door may well have lead to the sinking of the submarine, again causing her to flood from the front, and the crew again attempting to escape the sub via the rear hatches.
So the Submarine wasn’t destroyed in an explosion, as the above story states, but was actually flooded in an accident, the ship seems to have had many accidents if the story above is to be believed.
What do you make of the story?
To me it was most interesting to see the wreck of this Submarine on television, and to give the story above some kind of identity, as I can now read it with a clear idea of what actually happened, and what the submarine actually looked like. If this episode is repeated again later today (and if I know Sky, it will be) I am going to record it, and keep it to watch again and again.
BELOW: The 105mm Cannon on the UB65, after 85 years under water.
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Mandatas
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Sounds fantastic, I have heard of haunted ships before. 
Manda
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Dave_h
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Its a cool story, I have been trying to research up on the UB65 and find crew records, equipment details, missions and pics etc, but I can't seem to find anything, its like she never existed lol
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Mandatas
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How wierd!
Manda
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