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Intact German WW1 uboat found off Ireland
A team of five sport divers from Cork discovered the WWI German U-boat in good condition in 27m of water just off Roches Point on 6 November after a 12-month search.
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A German WW1 type U1 submarine
| | 12-10-2011
SM UC-42 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. On the 10th of September of 1917 UC42 was laying her deadly cargo of mines at the entrance to Cork harbour when a terrific explosion occurred which sent the vessel to the seabed and the 27 German Submariners aboard to a horrifying death
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On November 2nd of that year, hardhat divers from the Haulbowline dockyard dived the area. The divers reported a German U-boat lying on the seabed with her stern blown off, and a brass plate on her conning tower reading "C42, 1916" identified her as UC-42. No survivors were ever reported even though some of the hatches were found to have been opened. It was thought likely that the submarine had been sunk by one of her own mines detonating under her stern while minelaying.
It was widely believed that in July 1919 divers using explosives from HMS Vernon torpedo school had destroyed the submarine with the remains being dispersed on the seabed by wire sweeps.
The actual wreckwas relocated by two local divers Ian Kelleher and Niall O Regan on 6 November 2010 in 27m of water just off Roche's Point. It was found with "little obvious explosive damage".
As they descended a shot line to see the menacing sight of the hull of a German U-boat emerge from the shadows, both divers were very surprised and ecstatic to find a fully intact World War I U-Boat just outside Cork harbour.
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