SM UB-65

Career (German Empire)
Name:	UB-65
Ordered:	20 May 1916[1]20 May 1916
Builder:	Vulkan Werke, Hamburg[2]
Yard number:	90[2]
Launched:	26 June 1917[3]
Commissioned:	18 August 1917[3]
Fate:	Lost, ~14 July 1918
General characteristics [4]
Class and type:	German Type UB III submarine
Displacement:	508 t (500 long tons; 560 short tons) surfaced 639 t (629 long tons; 704 short tons) submerged[2]
Length:	55.52 m (182.2 ft) o/a [2]
Beam:	5.76 m (18.9 ft)[2]
Draught:	3.7 m (12 ft)[2]
Propulsion:	2 shafts 6-cylinder MAN diesel engines,[3] 1,100 hp (820 kW)[2] Siemens-Schuckert electric motors,[3] 788 hp (588 kW)[2]
Speed:	13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) surfaced 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range:	8,420 nmi (15,590 km; 9,690 mi) at 6 kn (11 km/h; 6.9 mph)[2] surfaced 55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged[2]
Test depth:	50 m (160 ft)[3]
Complement:	3 officers, 31 men[3]
Armament:	• 5 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) • 10 × torpedoes • 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun

SM UB-65 was a Type UB III U-boat of the Imperial German Navy 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.^[6]

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 Anchusa-class sloop HMS Arbutus.^[6]

The U-boat was lost off Padstow, Cornwall on or after 14 July 1918 with the loss of all her 37 crew.^[6]

Rediscovery

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 50°36′40″N 5°00′18″W / 50.611°N 5.005°W / 50.611; -5.005Coordinates: 50°36′40″N 5°00′18″W / 50.611°N 5.005°W / 50.611; -5.005, 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; damage assessment expert David Manley (author) 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 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 1 November 2006.^[7]

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.^[3]

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 what the captain(named Forster) first took to be a buoy on the horizon. Moving closer, captain Forster 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. The 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 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}

Allegations of haunting

It is the subject of many tales of a ghost, said to be the second officer, Lieutenant Richter, who 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 three crew members by diesel fumes in the engine room and the crushing of two more by a falling girder. While the 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 the 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 and 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 cursed. As no-one wanted to board or be stationed on the ship, it is believed that the German Imperial Navy called a priest on board to exorcise the ship.^[8][9][10] 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".

Summary of Raiding Career

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate[11]
31 October 1917	Margrete	Denmark	1,277	Damaged
12 December 1917	Bellville	Sweden	992	Sunk
12 December 1917	Charleston	United Kingdom	1,866	Sunk
14 December 1917	Nor	Norway	1,418	Sunk
16 December 1917	HMS Arbutus	Royal Navy	1,290	Sunk
2 March 1918	Havna	Norway	1,150	Sunk
4 May 1918	Pensilva	United Kingdom	4,316	Damaged
5 May 1918	Pandora	United Kingdom	85	Damaged
5 May 1918	M. J. Hedley	United Kingdom	449	Damaged
8 May 1918	Elizabetta	United Kingdom	335	Damaged
8 May 1918	Thoralf	Denmark	586	Sunk
13 May 1918	Esperanza De Larrinaga	United Kingdom	4,981	Damaged
14 July 1918	Maria Jose	Portugal	185	Sunk

References

• Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4. 

External links

• uboat.net webpage about UB-65
• SI 2006/2616 Designation under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986