I have been researching UB65 for quite some time now and desperately need some help please.

Apparently the boat was responsible for the sinking of 9 ships in total on her missions. Can somebody please name all of the victim ships plus their tonnage and dates of sinking for me? Others have given me info but there are gaps in the totals usually associated with this particular U boat.

Interesting post. I came across this blog by accident, but it was a good accident. I have now bookmarked your blog for future use. Best wishes. Sofia Vergara.

Next time I am down there I will have a closer look at the props to see if there are any other markings. Hopefully I will have a working strobe for that depth by then and get some better photo’s.

It is a cracking dive in good conditions.

If the story of it being haunted is not true then so be it. It’s still a cracking story.

It’s standard procedure to identify WWI U-boats through propeller markings plus a very good understanding of U-boat operations.

The marking on the second propeller actually supports the case. It’s a reserve/replacement propeller. I have a photo of it. It says: 60 - 65 & 72 (unreadible but would say 74). (Propeller markings varied by yard; if you scrub a little more, you’d find some more writing above and below the boat number.) Vulcan AG in Hamburg was awarded the contract on May 20, 1916 to build UB 60 - UB 65 and on September 23, 1916 to build UB 72 - UB 74. The propeller is obviously for those boats. War losses were UB 61, UB 63, UB 65, UB 72, and UB 74 — with UB 61, UB 72, and UB 74 being obviously out.

Dr. Axel Niestlé also did a lot of research that supports the conclusion that the wreck is UB 65. The wreck is in UB 65’s assigned patrol area, there’s U-boat activity in the area on July 14, 1918 including the sinking of a Portugese sailing vessel in a stop-and-sink operation which no U-boat that returned home claimed. The description of the U-boat involved is consistant with a UBIII class submarine. He also uncovered new information about UB 63 movements that greatly reduces the odds that she would have been in the English Channel/Cornwall area before she disappeared on her final patrol. He also found a Flanders flolitta document concluding that UBIIIs had a tendence toward diving accidents. And given the quantity of UBIIIs that are missing (UB 66 and UB 70 both in the Med, for example), some accidents in home waters, and some of the located wrecks of that class, that seems quite possible.

The uboat.net fate listing accepts the conclusion that the wreck is UB 65, that she sank a sailing vessel on July 14 given a not earlier than date, and that the loss is operational/a marine casualty (she went down on her own and not because of some Royal Navy action). And yes, I do have the UKHO file on the wreck.

Michael

It was identified by the BBC2 series “The Wreck Detectives”, the only identifying marks were on the props. From what I remember, one had loads of U numbers on it, the other only had UB-65. I remember asking myself perhaps this prop was from UB-65 and the sub was in fact something else. The argument was that it would have had the last U boats number on it, but if that was true why didn’t the other prop have UB-65 as its last number? I am no expert, they no more than me I would assume.

If there is any way we could better identify this U-boat please let us know and we will go back and find out, and maybe prove the wreck detectives were not correct in this case.

p.s.Why does uboat.net state “UB 65 - 14 Jul, 1918 - Lost by accidental cause (marine casualty) off Padstow, Cornwall on or after July 14, 1918.” This is where the U-boat I dived lies, 9.75 miles 330 degree out of Padstow.