Idées et Tendances salopette 2017
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Multibeam surveys locate sunken German WWI submarine U-87 Multibeam surveys undertaken by the Welsh Bangor University have located the sunken German World War I submarine U-87 off the coast of Wales. The collected data was part of the marine renewable energy SEACAMS 2 project and has resulted in a number of very high-resolution models and images of the seabed and shipwreck sites of interest such as the U 87. It is anticipated that results from this work will contribute to the overall aims and objectives of the potential HLF-funded project: Commemorating the forgotten U-boat war around the Welsh coast 1914-18: Exploration Access and Outreach led by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales based in Aberystwyth. U-87 On Christmas Day 1917 U-87 attacked a convoy in St Georges Channel (in particular the 4812-ton British steamship Agberi). One of the convoy escorts P56 was just 150 yards away from the Agberi when it was struck and turned to ram the submarine while another escort the Buttercup fired and hit its conning tower. Within 10 minutes the submarine had sunk. Some witness accounts claim that the stricken U-boat was sliced clean in half and that the bow section remained afloat for ten minutes with men visible within the submarine. The Royal Commissions research has established that the U-87 was an ocean-going attack boat built by Kaiserliche Werft Danzig. It was commissioned on 26 February 1917 under the command of KapLt Rudolf Schneider. After a training period it undertook five patrols sinking twenty-three ships and damaging two others. On its fifth and final patrol the U-87 departed Wilhelmshaven on 8 December 1917 heading to the western end of the English Channel via the Dover Straits. It sank two small sailing vessels on the way and then on Christmas Eve the 3238ton British steamer Daybreak off Northern Ireland. On Christmas day 1917 the U-87 attacked a convoy in St Georges Channel (in particular the 4812-ton British steamship Agberi see NPRN 274777). One of the convoy escorts was just 150 yards away from the Agberi when it was struck and turned to ram the submarine. Were really excited about the surveys which Bangor University are undertaking. They are allowing us for the first time in perhaps 100 years to actually see the relics of the Great War as fought at sea around the Welsh coast aspokesperson from the Royal Commission said. These are the underwater out-of-sight memorials mostly commemorating single ship actions fought between merchant ships and enemy submarines. Each has a poignant story which should be retold through the Commemorative period. Some 170 vessels were lost to enemy action in Welsh waters with many more sites around the world where Welsh men and women were on board at the time of sinking. They are in effect unmarked war graves. We salute the sacrifices made in time of war. Despite the eye-witnesses accounts the new images of the stricken U-boat show it lying entire on the seabed entire. Although the U-boat had been fatally holed it sank to the seabed without breaking up. In the image to the bottom right the large cut in the hull made by P56 can be seen slanting back to the conning tower.
