Divers Find German U-Boat Off Devon Coast Once Thought a Sailing Ship Wreck

A wreck lying on the seabed off the Devon coast in England, long assumed to be a sunken First World War sailing vessel, has turned out to be a German submarine from the Second World War, according to Newswav. A dive team says the clues point strongly to a boat called U-672, whose crew survived its loss in 1944.

The identification rests on the divers' assessment of features on the wreck, and the boat's recorded position is a complication. Here is what is known.

What did the divers find?

The wreck sits about 230ft (70m) down. Divers working in July realized it was a German U-boat rather than the sailing ship it had been taken for, Newswav reported.

The following month, a dive team called the Gasperados went out to try to identify it. Diver Dominic Robinson described several notable features, including a steel propeller, an early Schnorchel system (a breathing-tube device for submarines) and the remains of German Aphrodite radar decoy equipment.

How did they decide it was U-672?

The team said the evidence pointed strongly to one boat, U-672. According to Newswav, finding the snorkel was a vital clue.

Robinson explained in a video about the project why a submarine can be easier to pin down than a merchant ship. There were only a limited number of U-boats, he said, and their fates are known for the vast majority. Over the past few decades, diver-researchers have identified almost all the German U-boats lying in the English Channel, he added. That is why one turning up unexpectedly stands out. “We’ve solved another underwater mystery, which is fantastic,” he said.

Why was the location a puzzle?

HMS Balfour attacked the submarine in July 1944. The navy's log, however, recorded coordinates for the boat that were nearly 40 nautical miles from where the wreck lies, according to the report. The source material does not explain the gap.

What happened to the crew?

All 52 crew members scuttled the boat and survived, according to Newswav. After the attack, the submarine was left leaking underwater. Its commander waited as long as possible before deciding to blow the tanks and bring it to the surface, which gave the crew a chance to live.

How did the commander's family respond?

After news of the find, relatives of the U-boat's commander, Ulf Lawaetz, contacted the divers. They told the team they were pleased the wreck had finally been found and identified, 82 years on. The family also showed the divers a small numbered tag that Lawaetz kept for the rest of his life.

Robinson said such moments change how a project feels. Wreck identification can seem focused on positions, construction details, photographs and pieces of metal, he said, but a family getting in touch is a reminder that there were “real people behind all of it.”

Why does it matter?

For history enthusiasts and recreational divers, the find shows that a wreck listed under the wrong description can sit unnoticed for decades, even in a well-surveyed stretch of water. It also shows how physical details such as a snorkel system or decoy equipment can help link a wreck to a known vessel.

For the descendants of the people involved, an identified wreck can bring a sense of closure. In this case, the commander's family said they were glad to see the boat's location settled.

The identification is the divers' own conclusion, based on the clues they found, and the mismatch with the navy's coordinates remains unexplained in the reporting available.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Newswav