(Image: Keith Burton)
On the gloomy tidal mudflats of coastal Kent, the rusting hulk of a German U-boat lies where it ran aground almost a century ago. The abandoned submarine, known as SM UB-122, was commissioned by the German Imperial Navy during the final year of World War One. But the fearsome Type UB III submersible, which was capable of carrying 10 torpedos and 34 men, became beached on the River Medway in southern England after being surrendered to the British on November 24, 1918 under the terms of the Armistice with Germany.
U-boat SM UB-122 is now understood to be the only German submarine wreck to be completely visible off the UK coast at low water. The 183-foot-long diesel-electric vessel was one of around 25 surrendered German subs sailing up the Medway for scrapping at the end of the First World War. But the vessel ran aground on the Kent mudflats and hasn’t moved since.
(Image: Keith Burton)
Several other abandoned U-boat wrecks are also thought to haunt the surrounding shallows. But the rusting hulk of UB-122 is the only one still visible. One-time terror of the sea turned scrap metal, the rusting submarine is now a popular sight for military enthusiasts willing to brave the mud at low tide.
Mark Dunkley of English Heritage told the Daily Mirror that more than 100 Germany Imperial Navy U-boats were surrendered to the British at the end of World War One. He added that their engines were often salvaged before their hulls were recycled.
(Image: Keith Burton)
Many more sunken wrecks can also be found in the waters off the Kent coast. But according to Mr Dunkley: “this one was never fully scrapped and has remained in the Medway since. People can go and see it beached there near Hoo at low water. But beware of the mud. I’ve got stuck before.” He added: “There are no plans to move UB-122. It’s not under any threat and will just stay exactly where it is.”
Built in Bremen by AG Weser, UB-122 was one of 201 Type UB III U-boats planned for German naval service during the Great War. Only 95 vessels were completed, however, and 37 were lost at sea. Type UB III U-boats carried a crew of 34 and could cruise for almost 9,000 miles.
The type is thought to have sunk 519 merchant vessels and warships between 1916 and 1918, including the Royal Navy King Edward VII-class battleship HMS Britannia, which was torpedoed just two days before the Armistice. Submarine UB-122’s record is less impressive, however, having completed only two patrols with no recorded victories.
(Image: USN; UB-148)
The grainy image above shows another Type III class U-boat, UB-148, revealing how UB-122 would have looked before she foundered on the Medway.
Related: 10 Abandoned Submarines, Bases & Sub Pens of the World
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