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German Subs: Sunken WWI U-Boats a Bonanza for Historians
Spiegel Online International ^ | 7/19/2013 | Frank Thadeusz

Posted on 07/21/2013 10:51:24 AM PDT by NCDragon

British archaeologists recently discovered more than 40 German U-boats sunk during World War I off the coast of England. Now they are in a race against time to learn the secrets hidden in their watery graves.

On the old game show "What's My Line?" Briton Mark Dunkley might have been described with the following words: "He does what many adventurers around the world can only dream of doing."

Dunkley is an underwater archeologist who dives for lost treasures. His most recent discoveries were anything if not eerie.

On the seafloor along the southern and eastern coasts of the UK, Dunkley and three other divers have found one of the largest graveyards in the world's oceans, with 41 German and three English submarines from World War I. Most of the submarines sank with their crews still on board, causing many sailors to die in horrific ways, either by drowning or suffocating in the cramped and airtight submarines.

Several U-boats with the German Imperial Navy are still considered missing today. Lists provide precise details on which of the U-boats the German naval forces had lost by the time the war ended in November 1918.

(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Germany; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: germany; godsgravesglyphs; unitedkingdom
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Interesting find! I hope they treat them like war-graves and disturb them as little as possible.
1 posted on 07/21/2013 10:51:24 AM PDT by NCDragon
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To: NCDragon

“Dunkley is an underwater archeologist...”

A proper name for one.


2 posted on 07/21/2013 10:55:26 AM PDT by beelzepug (if any alphabets are watchin', I'll be coming home right after the meetin')
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To: NCDragon

I believe the subs were scuttled in defiance of the surrender conditions.


3 posted on 07/21/2013 10:59:34 AM PDT by Bringbackthedraft (Remember Ty Woods? Glenn Doherty ? Forgot already?)
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To: SunkenCiv

not ancient but still interesting.


4 posted on 07/21/2013 10:59:59 AM PDT by BBell (The Blue Dog is Stupid)
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To: NCDragon
I'm somewhat confused. IIRC..at the end of WW I, U-boats still at sea were ordered to surface, fly a black flag, and proceed to the nearest British port. Many were later grouped together and sunk/scuttled by the Royal Navy, which is why they are being found in such close proximity to each other.

As an aside, for those who might be interested, by far the best novel of U boat warfare in WW II is Nicholas' Monserrat's "The Cruel Sea." Long out of print, it's available on Kindle, and worth it. A superb read. The description, at the end, of the U-boats surfacing and surrendering, is magnificent writing.

5 posted on 07/21/2013 11:02:08 AM PDT by ken5050 (Due to all the WH scandals, MSNBC is changing its slogan from "Lean Forward" to "BOHICA")
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To: NCDragon

They are graves, and they should not be disturbed unless it is to bring these brave submariners home.


6 posted on 07/21/2013 11:02:19 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
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To: NCDragon

While I can see the value in exploring and preserving historically significant sunken ships such as the USS Monitor or the CSS Hunley, is there that much to be gained by exploring these submarines that are presumably well documented in their construction? These are war graves and should just be left in peace.


7 posted on 07/21/2013 11:05:10 AM PDT by The Great RJ (construction)
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To: NCDragon

When I was a child, if someone was to ask be what I wanted to be when I grow up, I always said an archeologist.

Now in my old age, the only difference between and archeologist and a grave robber is one has a license.


8 posted on 07/21/2013 11:06:53 AM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: BBell; nickcarraway; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; decimon; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...

Thanks BBell.
more than 40 German U-boats sunk during World War I off the coast of England

9 posted on 07/21/2013 11:23:29 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (McCain or Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: ken5050
My uncle served as Naval Armed Guard on the Liberty Ship, SS William Clark. His ship was sunk in November of '42 in the Greenland sea. He survived, losing a couple of toes to frostbite, plus a life of self mediating against PTSD. But even with that he was better off than those, Navy and civilian crew, who did not survive. Or much of the crew of the U-boat, U-354 that sank them, which was itself sunk later in the war, under a different captain. The Clarke was the only merchant vessel U-354 sank.
10 posted on 07/21/2013 11:35:36 AM PDT by El Gato ("The second amendment is the reset button of the US constitution"-Doug McKay)
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To: ken5050

It was one of my mother’s books from the Book of the Month club. One summer when I was 11 and with nothing to do I began to read some of her adult books instead of the books that children normally read like Walter Farley’s Black Stallion or Terhunes’s books about collies.

It was a revelation in my book reading, and I realized that adults read books that were interesting and exciting. It was made into a damn good movie as well.


11 posted on 07/21/2013 11:46:16 AM PDT by wildbill
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To: El Gato
Thanks for sharing that story.

The first time, many years ago, that I toured the USS Bowfin, at the submarine memorial at Pearl Harbor, I finally grasped..albeit to some small extent, what life was like for submariners. What was most amazing for me was the galley..that 2-3 cooks could produce meals 24/7 for a crew of 70-80 for 8 weeks ( duration of the average war patrol) in a space that about the size of my closet. I'm a foodie, love to cook, and told my then-wife that never again would I complain about a lack of counter space in our kitchen.

12 posted on 07/21/2013 11:48:47 AM PDT by ken5050 (Due to all the WH scandals, MSNBC is changing its slogan from "Lean Forward" to "BOHICA")
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To: ken5050
by far the best novel of U boat warfare in WW II is Nicholas' Monserrat's "The Cruel Sea."

There's a 1953 movie based on the novel. Screenplay by Eric Ambler.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045659/

13 posted on 07/21/2013 11:59:02 AM PDT by Moltke (Sapere aude!)
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To: ken5050

Was that The Compass Rose? That is a great book.


14 posted on 07/21/2013 12:00:03 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: wildbill
Wow..that takes me back..I loved the Black Stallion novels..and all the "Lad" books.. I wanted a collie..mom said no..she felt they shed..so we got a beagle.

Did you ever read the Clair Bee "Chip Hilton" books?

If I can recommend one more..I'm sure you know Alistair MacClean from his epic novels (later films) like "Guns of Navaronne" and "Where Eagles Dare"..but his first novel "HMS Ulysses" is based on his service in WWII..and is, I think, his best work...again..worth trying to find..I think there's an e-book edition

15 posted on 07/21/2013 12:00:12 PM PDT by ken5050 (Due to all the WH scandals, MSNBC is changing its slogan from "Lean Forward" to "BOHICA")
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To: NCDragon

Oh Yeah, they will.

Bwahahahahahaha.


16 posted on 07/21/2013 12:00:25 PM PDT by Venturer
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To: American in Israel

Amen Brother, you got that right.


17 posted on 07/21/2013 12:01:45 PM PDT by Venturer
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To: blueunicorn6; Moltke
Yup..it's a great war movie..one of the best..and it's Compass Rose..

remember "bangers! Good-O!"

18 posted on 07/21/2013 12:02:00 PM PDT by ken5050 (Due to all the WH scandals, MSNBC is changing its slogan from "Lean Forward" to "BOHICA")
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To: NCDragon

The Germans scuttled their whole fleet of war ships at Scapa Flow in Scotland. Their subs were ordered to a different location IIRC. I wonder if some of these were scuttled at that time as well although the crews wouldn’t have gone down on those.


19 posted on 07/21/2013 12:03:55 PM PDT by gorush (History repeats itself because human nature is static)
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To: ken5050

Never heard of Chip Hilton, but I did read all the Hardy Boys mysteries and even the older series called the Radio Boys which were from my uncle’s generation and in his bookshelf.

By the way, the first serious descriptions of sex I was exposed to also came from those popular novels on my mother’s bookshelves. Not nearly as graphic as you find today, but I learned a lot there too. :-)


20 posted on 07/21/2013 12:10:56 PM PDT by wildbill
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