Divers identify missing German U-boat off Devon 82 years after loss

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(Deep Sea Diver/Gasperados) Deep Sea Diver/Gasperados

Divers have identified a German submarine lost off the Devon coast in 1944, lying 230 feet down on the seabed where it had previously been logged as a First World War sailing vessel. A dive team called the Gasperados established in August that the wreck is almost certainly U-672, attacked by HMS Balfour in July 1944. The navy's log had recorded the sinking coordinates nearly 40 nautical miles from where the submarine actually rests.

The identification rested on physical details rather than luck. The wreck retains a steel propeller, the remains of German Aphrodite radar decoy equipment, and — crucially — an early Schnorchel snorkel system, a feature that narrows the boat to a specific period of the war. Diver Dominic Robinson noted that unlike merchant ships, German U-boats were built in finite, documented numbers, and researchers have over recent decades identified almost every one lying in the English Channel. The submarine's 52 crew scuttled her and survived; the commander waited as long as possible before blowing the tanks, giving his men their chance.

After the discovery was announced, the family of the commander, Ulf Lawaetz, contacted the divers. They were pleased the wreck had finally been found and identified, 82 years on, and showed the team a small numbered tag that Lawaetz kept for the rest of his life. Robinson said wreck identification can feel focused on positions, construction details and pieces of metal — until a family gets in touch and reminds you there were real people behind all of it.