'Silent deadly killers': the legacy of Kent's submarines

A U-boat U-118 became an unexpected tourist attraction when it washed ashore in 1919

Getty Images A black-and-white photo from 1919 shows three children and a woman sitting on the gun barrel of the submarine. To the left, a crowd of men and women also smile at the camera. In the background, the shoreline of Hastings Beach can be seen. — A U-boat U-118 became an unexpected tourist attraction when it washed ashore in 1919

During World War I, German U-boats terrorized Allied shipping.

Little remains of these formidable weapons of war, yet submarines continue to enjoy a remarkable relationship with the South East.

Especially for the people of Hastings, who on April 15, 1919, woke up to find a giant machine washed up on the beach opposite the Queens Hotel.

“The public knew that submarines were silent and deadly killers, the death toll they left behind was enormous and now they were coming face to face with one,” said Alice Roberts-Pratt, senior curator at the Hastings Museum Art Gallery.

Extremely effective during the conflict, they sank more than 5,000 ships and cost the lives of 15,000 Allied sailors.

But after the armistice, the German fleet was handed over to the Allies, with most of the ships stripped of metal and essential components.

A ship, U-118, was being transferred to France via the English Channel when it drifted due to a storm, ending up on the coast at Hastings.

The 80-metre-long vessel has become an unlikely new tourist attraction, Roberts-Pratt said.

The submarine Hastings was dismantled and today only a few fragments remain.

Getty Images A black and white archive photo of a submarine in shallow water on Hastings Rocky Beach. People are on top of the vessel and others are on the beach watching the craft. Some are in boats on the shore. — The submarine Hastings was dismantled and today only a few fragments remain.

She said: “The Admiralty actually allowed Hastings to charge people for these tours and all the fees charged went into a fund for local heroes returning from the First World War.”

But the adventure was to end tragically, according to Alice.

Two of the tour guides fell seriously ill: it is believed that the corroded batteries released toxic gases.

It was cut up for scrap, with only a few fragments remaining – the speaking tube is now kept at the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery.

“Why did he get there?”

One of the only surviving examples of the ship has lain intact in the mud of the River Medway, off the Isle of Grain, for over a century.

If the timing is right and the tides are right, the rotting carcass of a former German World War I submarine can be reached by boat.

But to this day there is confusion as to his exact identity.

Hefin Meara, a maritime archaeologist at Historic England, believes it is “almost certainly” one of three UB-class submarines known to exist in the area: UB144, UB145 and UB150.

Remains of former German WWI submarine may be discovered in the Medway

A rusty green, gray and red wreck of a German submarine lies in green water. — Remains of former German WWI submarine may be discovered in the Medway

He said: “Why did it end up there? We’re not sure exactly, it was probably being towed somewhere else and the tow cable snapped and it drifted.

“I guess it wasn’t profitable to take it out, so it was left there and abandoned.”

The submarine’s outer casing and its internal workings were disassembled for parts – and most likely recycled, Meara said.

He said: “We have evidence that some of them were used in power stations, in cement factories and places like that.

“What we can learn from this is the fascinating process of recovery and dismantling that took place.

“It was a huge industry that helped fuel the economy and industrialization of the Southeast after the war.”