DIVERS IDENTIFY GERMAN U-BOAT OFF DEVON COAST

Plymouth dive team Gasperados says it has identified the wreck of German submarine U-672 about 20 miles (32km) off Salcombe, Devon. The submarine sank 82 years ago and lies about 230ft (70m) below the surface. The timeline of its discovery differs, with July and August both given. Divers had previously thought the wreck was a First World War sailing vessel. Gasperados diver Dominic Robinson said its snorkel and conning tower helped the team identify it.

HMS Balfour attacked U-672 in July 1944, leaving it leaking underwater. Its commander, Ulf Lawaetz, brought the submarine to the surface before its 52 crew scuttled it and entered life rafts. All 52 survived. Robinson said British aircraft and vessels found the crew the next day and took them to a prisoner of war camp. German U-boat historian Dr Axel Niestle said a clerical error put the position in a navy log about 46 miles (74km) from the wreck.

Robinson said the wreck also had a steel propeller, an early Schnorchel system and remains of German Aphrodite radar decoy equipment. He said divers had already identified almost all German U-boats lying in the English Channel. “We’ve solved another underwater mystery, which is fantastic,” Robinson said. After the identification, Lawaetz’s family contacted the divers and showed them a numbered tag he had kept throughout his life. Robinson said the family believed Lawaetz would have been pleased to know the submarine had been found.