Summary : Remains of 1918 wreck of German submarine, located approximately 0.5 nautical mile NE of Keldhowe Steel, north of Overdale Wyke. She foundered approximately 1.5 miles north of Sandsend, after being bombed and depth-charged, while on a North Sea patrol out of Zeebrugge. Crew of 31 lost. Built of steel in 1916, she was engine-powered. UC-70 was responsible for the loss of 33 vessels, 8 of which are recorded within English territorial waters. This site was designated in August 2017 under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, Statutory Instrument 2017 No.773.
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More information : Wreck site and archaeological remains:
Vertical Datum: LAT (1)
Horizontal Datum: OGB (1)
Seen to be located approximately 0.5 mile NE of Keldhowe Steel, north of Overdale Wyke. (7)
Position recorded at the time of data capture from UKHO (1) in 1992 as 54 31.591N 000 39.933W (OSGB), with previous positions recorded as 55 31.590N 000 39.932W (OSGB) and 54 31.600N 000 39.933W (OSGB). Position recorded as at 2017 as 54 31.598N 000 40.135W (WGS 84). (7)(8)
07-SEP-1918: Attacked by HMS OUSE in 54 32 30N, 000 40 30W. Wreck located in 54 32 N, 000 40W. (1)(7)(8)
12-MAY-1960: Wreck examined by divers in OCT-1918. Least depth 14 fathoms. Possibility of explosives remaining on board. Position 54 32N, 000 40W. (1)(7)(8)
01-AUG-1969: Permission to sell for salvage purposes will not be granted because of possibility of explosives on board. (1)(7)(8)
20-JAN-1989: Not found. No indication of wreckage on side scan sonar. (1)(7)8)
`The wreck of the UC-70 is 3m high and has a slight list to starboard. She lies on a flat sand and gravel seabed in a general depth of 26.5 - 28m . . .The wreck shows up well on echosounder and is still intact, with some areas of plate where the seams have blown.' (5)
1992: A prop recovered from this wreck, which was declared a war grave by the German Embassy in London. (11)
Two plates recovered from this wreck at Scarborough Sub-Aqua Club. (6)
24-NOV-1995: Wreck dived in 543136N, 004002W (WGD) using GPS. This is a fine example of a UC class minelayer. The main structure, including the conning tower, is intact. The wreck stands on an even keel with a height of 4m on a rocky seabed. The gun is still in place, however the propeller and torpedo tubes have been removed. It is possible to penetrate the wreck by the hatch forward of the conning tower, allowing access to the galley, control room and engine room. (7)(8)
25-NOV-1999: The conning tower has now collapsed, and lies to port. (7)(8)
The wreck is intact. It has a slight list to starboard and sits in a small scour. Two of the deck hatches are open, as are five of the mine chutes. The deck gun is still in situ. (9)
01-JUN-2015: Wreck examined at 19.13m in 5431.598N, 0040.135W [WGD].
06-JAN-2017: Examined in 5431.599N, 0040.139W [WGD]. Least multi-beam depth 18.70m in general depth 22m, length 41.5m, width 5.5m, height 3.9m, orientation 140/320 degrees. Wreck of UC-70 German submarine, lists towards the northeast. (8)
A bulkhead lamp fitting recovered from the wreck of UC-70 off Whitby. (Droit 088/03) (10)
Designation History:
Designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, Statutory Instrument 2017 No.773, in August 2017. (12)(13)
Made - 18th July 2017
Laid before Parliament - 19th July 2017
Coming into force - 18th August 2017
A radius of 30m from position latitude 54 31.5987N, longitude 000 40.1346W, identified as the site of UC-70, off Overdale Wyke, is designated under the Act.. (13)
Remote sensing and diving investigations in 2016 revealed that the UC-70 lies in an upright position, listing slightly to her port side. The outer pressure hull has suffered corrosion and detachment of plates, but the inner hull appears largely intact, as are the ribs of the port and starboard fuel and ballast tanks, despite corrosion. The 88mm deck gun also remains intact and in situ, with the openings of the mine-laying tubes visible on the hull's upper surface. The bow section forward of the tubes is badly damaged, consistent with the reported depth-charge damage. The two bow torpedo tubes were not located and the conning tower plating has fallen away to port, but the two periscopes remain visible and intact. Human remains were observed in an exposed section astern. In 1993 a Kangxi Chinese plate datable to 1654-1722 was recovered from the galley and may be evidence of contact with the German naval base at Tsingtao, captured in 1914, perhaps through the association of a crew member with the base. (12)
Wreck event and documentary evidence:
UC-70 - Sunk by HMS OUSE and seaplane, 1918. (1)
Very lights were dropped along the track of the submarine as it submerged and a 250lb bomb was dropped into the sea, inflicting damage on the craft . . .She had probably accounted for the GIRALDA at Runswick on the day of the attack. (2)
A patrol aeroplane sighted an oil slick not far from U30's last position. A 250lb bomb was dropped, which brought oil and large air bubbles to the surface. The destroyer HMS OUSE was sent to investigate and plastered the wreck in a series of depth-charge attacks. Divers sent down on 14-SEP found the wreck. It is possible that UC-70 had been damaged earlier in a new British minefield off the Yorkshire coast and was lying on the bottom effecting repairs when the slick was spotted. (3)
A quantity of oil leaking . . .was spotted by pilot Lieut. Waring RAF, from his anti-submarine patrol seaplane. Waring then dropped a single 500lb bomb which brought up more oil, the explosion being heard on board HM destroyer OUSE. (4)
`On 28th August 1918, the UC-70 was leaking oil while lying motionless on the seabed, one and a half miles north of Sandsend, near Whitby. Her luck ran out at 3.30pm, when the oil slick was noticed by an RAF pilot, Lt. Waring, who happened to be patrolling the area in an anti-submarine patrol seaplane. The pilot dropped a 500lb bomb in the vicinity . . . The explosion of the bomb was heard by the crew on board the British destroyer HMS OUSE, which immediately raced to the scene at full speed. She released a series of six depth charges over and around the submarine and buoyed her position. Two weeks later, Royal Navy destroyers found that the submarine and her crew had been totally destroyed.' (5)
Source (9) provides a full list of all crew members who died when the submarine was lost.
28-AUG-1918: Sunk by depth charge from HMS OUSE off eastern coast of England at 54 32N 000 40W, with the loss of all 31 on board. (11)
Built: 1916 (4)(11)
Builder: Blohm und Voss (11)
Where Built: Hamburg (11); Germany (4)
Propulsion: 2 x screw driven and 2 x oil engines (4)
HP: 500 (4)
Armament: 1 x 8.8cm gun; 7 x 50cm TT; 18 x UC200 mines (4)
Commanding Officer: Oberleutnant zur See Karl Dobberstein (4)(11)
Unit: Flandern II Flotilla (11)
Crew: 26 (4); 31 (11)
Crew Lost: 26 (4); 31 (11)
Owner: Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) [all sources]
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
SUB p24; TUB Appx 1 p332; SYC p32, 163; BUB p151
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