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 ...
“Dunkley is an underwater archeologist...”
A proper name for one.
I believe the subs were scuttled in defiance of the surrender conditions.
not ancient but still interesting.
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.
They are graves, and they should not be disturbed unless it is to bring these brave submariners home.
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.
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.
more than 40 German U-boats sunk during World War I off the coast of England
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.
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.
There's a 1953 movie based on the novel. Screenplay by Eric Ambler.
Was that The Compass Rose? That is a great book.
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
Oh Yeah, they will.
Bwahahahahahaha.
Amen Brother, you got that right.
remember "bangers! Good-O!"
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.
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. :-)
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