| Career (German Empire) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | UB-65 |
| Ordered: | 20 May 1916 |
| Builder: | Vulkan Werke, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | Werk 90 |
| Launched: | 26 June 1917 |
| Commissioned: | 18 August 1917 |
| Fate: | Lost, 14 July 1918 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | German Type UB III submarine |
| Displacement: | 516 long tons (524 t) surfaced 651 long tons (661 t) submerged |
| Length: | 55.3 m (181 ft) o/a |
| Beam: | 5.8 m (19 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,100 hp (820 kW) Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 788 hp (588 kW) |
| Speed: | 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) surfaced 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 8,500 mi (13,700 km) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced 55 mi (89 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Complement: | 34 men |
| Armament: | • 5 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) • 10 × torpedoes • 1 × 88 mm (3.5 in) deck gun |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | V Flotilla (30 September 1917–18 April 1918) II Flotilla (18 April 1918–14 July 1918) |
| Commanders: | Martin Schelle (18 August 1917–14 July 1918) |
| Operations: | 6 patrols |
| Victories: | 6 ships sunk (6,197 GRT) 6 ships damaged (11,443 GRT) 1 warship sunk (1,290 GRT) |
SM UB-65 was a Type UB III U-boat of the German Kaiserliche Marine during World War I. Ordered on 20 May 1916, the U-boat was built at the Vulkan Werke shipyard in Hamburg, launched on 26 June 1917, and commissioned on 18 August 1917, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Martin Schelle.[2]
Contents |
During her active career she sailed on six war patrols, sinking six merchant ships and damaging six more. She also sank the British Anchusa-class sloop HMS Arbutus.[2]
The U-boat was lost off Padstow, Cornwall on or after 14 July 1918 with the loss of all her 37 crew.[2]
An expedition mounted in 2004 as part of the Channel 4 Wreck Detectives underwater archaeological TV series to survey a previously unidentified U-boat wreck that had been located earlier at , during a routine survey by the Royal Navy, confirmed the identity of the boat as UB-65. Inspection of the wreck by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney 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; 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 are 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 vessel in the Padstow 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 on November 1, 2006.[3]
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 records it was reported that, whilst returning from patrol and near Fastnet Rock, the U.S. submarine L-2 observed a submarine periscope, followed by an explosion. The sound of small propellers and an underwater signalling device could be heard for a short while after the explosion. The identity of the submarine and the cause of the explosion was not known. After the war the identity of the boat was presumed to be UB-65; cause of loss was unknown but a mine or torpedo from another submarine in the area, or sinking by one of her own torpedoes that malfunctioned were assumed.
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 western Hebrides, and St George's Channel.
U.B.65 sank among other vessels an unidentified British armed vessel (probably the sloop HMS Arbutus) 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 2 July 1918, for war operations and was accidentally sunk on 10 July 1918.
National Archives and Records Service, U.S. General Services Administration, Washington: 1984
It is the subject of many tales of a ghost, said to be the second officer, Lieutenant Richter, was killed when a torpedo exploded fairly early in the U-boat's career. Indeed, the building of the ship was plagued by disaster, including of asphyxiation of some crew members by diesel fumes and the crushing of two more by a falling girder. These incidents may have given rise to a belief among the crew that the ship was cursed. Some sources state that the German Navy even called a priest on board to exorcise the ship.[4][5][6]
|
||||||||