"No Englishman shall set foot on this boat": Revealing UC71

UC-71 struck fear into seafarers throughout World War One after sinking more than 60 ships during her reign of terror in the North Sea. However, after meeting her own watery grave in the aftermath of the conflict, questions have remained as to how this killer machine met her fate, including claims that she had been deliberately scuttled.

Launched into action in November 1916, UC-71 conducted 19 enemy patrols, sinking 61 civilian ships throughout the conflict, via either torpedo or mines.
Following the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918, the vessel, like others in the German Navy was to be turned over to the Allies. On 20 February 1919, as UC-71 headed for the UK from its homeland, the submarine sunk off the German Archipelago of Heligoland. A telegram from its captain cited bad weather and high waves as the cause. It came to rest 28 metres below the surface, where it remains to this day as a protected site.
Professors Rowland and Hyttinen worked with Submaris, a scientific diving company, to visit the wreck site off the German archipelago in the Summer of 2023. They were able to capture the stricken sub in unprecedented levels of detail.