Built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg the UBII Class, 37m long and 300 Ton UB38 was a German Coastal Attack Submarine of WW1 and a very successful sub that had sunk 49 allied ships under 4 commanders during over 24 patrols.
However on the 8 Feb 1918 while trying to get through the Dover barrage she was sighted by the Drifter Gowan II and attacked by the Dover Patrol, 20 min after submerging she struck a mine and sunk. She was dived on for the first time in July 1918 by Commander Damant’s outstanding RN Divers “The Tin Openers”.
Diving: Regrettably since the report below the submarine has been moved to a deeper location and has a large amount of netting caught around it. Until more reports are received THE SITE SHOULD NOW BE REGARDED AS HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND ONLY DIVED ON WITH EXTREME CAUTION BY VERY EXPERIENCED DIVERS.
The Sub is in a max depth of 32m she lies on her Port side and is quite intact with the outer hull largely corroded away. The Gun and conning tower are intact with the conning tower and gun crew hatch open giving a great view into the hull, which despite some sand and silt are still quite open with many of the controls visible.
The periscope is intact and the optics are on view, on both the periscope and the conning tower.
At the stern there is heavy damage and the props have been salvaged. The bow is quite broken with one broken off section just forward of the hull, the decking is gone and you can see all the winching gear for the anchor.
An excellent dive that can be covered in 30-35 min, however it’s in a shipping lane so must be dived with caution and an appropriate recovery plan for the divers.
