Divers locate German WW2 submarine off British coastmore than 80 years after it sank

Divers have discovered a German wartime submarine 20 miles off the coast of Devon — after it sank 82 years ago.The wreck was initially named an unidentified German U-boat by Ian Taylor and the Skin Deeper team while diving the channel.But it was suspected to be a First World War sailing vessel.Dom Robinson, 55, and his diving team, Gasperados, decided to visit the wreck 20 miles off the coast of Salcombe in the hopes they could identify it.After consulting boat historian Axel Niestlé, they found the wreck to be the U-672, a Type VIIC submarine lost in 1944 that sank after being attacked by HMS Balfour on July 18 of that year.Dom said: “During World War II, we used these weapons called Hedgehogs, which were basically these mortars used to sink ships.Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

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Never miss a story.“A hedgehog weapon would be fired in front of the ship, they would sink and attach to the submarines, causing them to fill with water due to holes in the framework.“This particular ship held 52 crew members — all of which miraculously survived.“When the crew realized they were filling with water — it became very apparent they couldn’t pump the water out as fast as it was filling — or drive home.“So, they waited until dark to rise to the water’s surface — where they got on little dinghies.

This was the day after D-Day, so there were a lot of allies about.“They were rescued and interviewed about what happened — hence why we know the story to this day.”The predicted whereabouts for the submarine were actually out by 40 miles, which shocked the team.Dom said: “We didn’t quite expect to find it there, and in fact this was our second attempt trying to find the ship.“It was a jackpot moment to find it — and I couldn’t stop thinking about how scary it m...