German U-boat sunk 90 years ago found after five-year search
- On 16/01/2008
- In World War Wrecks
- 0 comments
By Robert Fairburn
A German U-boat sunk off the Scottish coast more than 90 years ago has finally been discovered by two divers after a five-year search.
Jim MacLeod and Martin Sinclair found the wreckage of the U12, the first ever submarine to have an aeroplane carried on its deck, 25 miles from the Berwickshire port of Eyemouth at the weekend.
The exact location of the 60-metre boat had become a mystery to the two divers after a number of searches of the seabed where it was recorded to have been lying proved fruitless.
The pair worked with a researcher and shipwreck enthusiast Kevin Heath, of Orkney, who tracked down the logbooks of British destroyers HMS Ariel, Acheron and Attack, all of which were involved in the sinking of the U12.
The precise location of the vessel was then pinpointed, 15 miles from where it was originally thought to be.
Mr MacLeod, 45, a computer systems analyst from Bo'ness, and Mr Sinclair, 47, a mechanical engineer from Falkirk, then enlisted the help of specialist Eyemouth firm Marine Quest Dive Charters to visit the location where they found the submarine lying 150 feet down on the seabed.
It was the first time the wreck had been visited since it was sunk in 1915.
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