WWI U-Boat UB-38 to be moved

[u-5075]

http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/200804 ... mnews.html

U-Boat to be moved
Trinity House is to move the wreck of a World War I German U-Boat because it poses a danger to shipping. UB-38 sank with the loss of her 27-man crew in the Dover Strait in February 1918 after hitting a mine.

A consortium of contactors has been engaged to lift the wreck from the seabed south of the Varne Bank and reposition it nearby but clear of the shipping lanes. The work is expected to be carried out in June/July.

During her 18-month career UB-38 sank 46 allied merchant ships totalling more than 45,000 tons.


Motor Boats Monthly, 30 May 2008

[u-5075]

http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/latest ... 4330897.jp
Wartime sub wreck

http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/latest ... 4330897.jp
Wartime sub wreck moved to avert shipping danger

The wreck of a First World War German submarine buried in the English Channel off the coast of Dover has been moved to deeper waters to prevent it posing a risk to large passing vessels.
The U-boat has lain undisturbed since 1918 but the increasing deep draught of modern vessels navigating the Channel has created concern.

A survey carried out in July 2006 found that the submarine - later revealed to be the UB38 - lay at a depth of


77ft, when the minimum clearance depth required is 87ft.

The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, with more than 400 vessels passing through each day, and it is felt the U-boat is restricting the available sea room, particularly for oil tankers.

It was originally thought that the sunken submarine was the UB33, which also sank in nearby waters in April 1918, but on closer inspection investigators confirmed it to be the UB38.

Divers for Trinity House - which holds responsibility for marking shipping lanes and maintaining lighthouses, buoys and beacons in England and Wales - conducted the survey to manage the hazard.

The UB38 sank 90 years ago after it ran into a minefield while trying to flee British destroyers, sinking the submarine with about 27 people on board close to the Varne Bank, according to a statement by Florida-based Titan.

In its two years of operation, the submarine was said to have sunk more than 40 Allied ships, totalling some 47,000 tons.

Titan said the remains of six torpedoes and deck gun ammunition remained on board the UB38, along with the corpses of its crew members.

The U-boat was lifted a few metres off the seabed earlier this month and placed in a new location about two miles away in 131ft of water.