Wreck of a unique submarine discovered?

It is very possible that at the bottom of the River Foyle in Northern Ireland, the wreck of a mini-submarine, dating back to World War II, has been discovered. The local environment minister, Alex Attwood, after seeing the sonar images, has decided to call in experts to solve the mystery.

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Diving was temporarily banned in the vicinity of the discovery at Foyle Bridge. This is because it was considered that too much interest in the vessel, before it was fully identified, could significantly affect its state of preservation as well as the safety of divers.

“The wreck is quite shallow and is generally accessible,” – Attwood said, for the BBC’s English service.

As this station’s correspondent Mike McKimm reported, it is unlikely that we are dealing with a full-sized submarine here.

“The German U-boat, would have been almost 10m high and would have been visible, even at high tide, especially as in Foyle, the average depth is only 5m.”

For this reason, everyone is leaning towards the miniature submarine theory. Especially that in 1944. German Kriegsmarine, had a very successful model of a two-man mini submarine – Seehund.

The origin of the vessel, however, is not determined, because also the British side, was in possession of a similar vessel, under the name of X Craft. But whether it is a miniature submarine or anything else, it is certain that it has been lying on the bottom for a very long time.

“Until the site has been investigated, we will not be 100% sure what we have hit. The whole process is unfortunately severely hampered by the very poor visibility that prevails in the River Foyle.” – BBC correspondent Mike McKimm added.

It is hoped, however, that the wreck found will turn out to be a German vessel. It would be a sensation and a reason to tell many, many stories about the spy mission the unit carried out before it ran into trouble and lay for many years at the bottom of the River Foyle.

Source: bbc.co.uk