The Maritime Archaeology of a Modern Conflict by McCartney Innes

The Maritime Archaeology of a Modern Conflict by McCartney Innes

Author:McCartney, Innes [Innes McCartney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317601654
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)


U671

Hydrographic Record No. 20310 Position: 50 23.690; 000 19.093E Depth: 44m

Similar to U767 and U678 (see above), U671 had sailed from Norway for the Atlantic in May and was diverted to the Channel after D-Day. On 30 June the U-boat was attacked off Beachy Head and forced into Boulogne for repairs. It sailed again on 26 July and was destroyed on 4 August off Beachy Head (Wynn 1997b, 121).

The movements of this U-boat (Bigram “IN”) from the time it left Boulogne were unknown to OIC, but it correctly estimated that on 3 August “IN” was in the Spout, north of 50 10 degrees of latitude (NA ADM 223/200, 031230B). The U-boat was detected on Asdic by HMS Stayner whilst in company with coastal forces on an anti-E-boat sweep. Initially damaged by hedgehog and finished off by depth-charges from HMS Wensleydale, six survivors were plucked from the sea, revealing the U-boat’s identity. Consequently AUD assessed the attack “A” Known Sunk (NA ADM 199/1786, M08929/44). The survivors stated they had escaped through the conning tower hatch (Blair 1999, 605).

The wreck was dived, identified and recorded on video by the author on 10 July 1999, just after it had been discovered by local divers. The wreck is depicted in Figure 5.6 and the key features are labelled as: A) This wreck has bronze torpedo tubes. U671 was laid down in 1941 (Wynn 1997b, 121) when supplies of torpedo tubes must have still been plentiful. They were later made of steel. Compare this image to the obviously steel tubes in U1195 (below), one of the last Type VIIC U-boats to be built. B) A circular grate at this location was a surprise when the tape of this dive was reviewed for this study. The item has fallen to its current location and is not attached to the deck framework. The question is: where did it come from? Because the wreck has a Marcks container (see E) at the old gun mount position, it could not have come from there. Also the presence of a snorkel means that it was not a replacement for the forward Marcks container seen on some pre-snorkel U-boats. It must have been fitted in an alternative and probably unique location on the foredeck of the U-boat. If anything it demonstrates that nonstandard features are not uncommon on U-boats of this period (see the circular hatch on U1191 in the next chapter). Despite a search at the German U-boat Museum in 2012, no photo of the U-boat from this time has been found by the author to establish where this feature was actually located. C) Damage consistent with a nearby depth-charge explosion can be seen on the port side aft of the hydroplane. D) Looking down the conning tower hatch, the lower hatch above the control room can be seen to be open. This confirms the survivor’s testimony that this was their escape route. E) The wreck has the Type 1 snorkel mast with flange fitting and a Marcks container at the position where the U-boat would have originally been fitted with a gun mount.



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