The mystery of the sunken U-246 boat off the coast of the Isle of Man

Video report by Isle of Man correspondent Joshua Stokes

Underwater footage has revealed what remains of a sunken German submarine off the southwest coast of the Isle of Man.

The U-246 lies around 30 miles off the coast between the island and Anglesey and was sunk on 17 March 1945.

She was discovered after the crew mistakingly revealed their location to a British ASW trawler called HMS Lady Madeleine.

All 48 crew died on board after she opened fire.

  • Divers explore the wreckage of the U-246

The U-246 was a Type VIIC U-boat during the Second World War, often referred to as a german submarine.

She had a short career, only participating in two war patrols and was unsuccessful in sinking any enemy vessels.

At the beginning of March, the boat left her home base in Norway and was due to operate in the Irish Sea.

However, she soon lost contact with the base while patrolling the waters.

U-Boats were used by the Germans during the Second World War. Credit: British Pathe

On 30 April 1945, a sonar contact was found and they depth charged what they believed was a working U-boat, but turned out to be the already sunk U-246.

This resulted in various personal items being discovered including socks embroiled with a name of one of the crew members, confirming it was indeed the U-246.

Adrian Corkhill has been gathering data on shipwrecks for 35 years and has previously dived the U-246 himself.

His database contains more than 2,000 wrecks around the Isle of Man, with 120 still visible to divers today.

Adrian Corkhill has been working with Manx National Heritage to compile information about shipwrecks around the Isle of Man. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Speaking on Manx shipwrecks he said: "In the olden days, ships used to hit the Isle of Man on a frequent basis. What we know about this U-boat is that it was broken in to two separate pieces".

He continued: "My database is never complete, I'm learning new stuff every day!"

Adrian and a group of divers teamed up with a father and son from Germany, whose family member was killed on the boat.

Josef (right) and his father Joseph (left) travelled from Germany to the Isle of Man to visit the wreckage. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Josef and Joseph travelled to the Isle of Man to lay a wreath at the wreckage.

Speaking after the dive, Josef said: "It was totally worth it to come out here. Not only for the beauty of the island, but it also was a great experience that's brought the peace in mind to our family of what happened to our Grand Uncle".

The U-246 took its final dive in 1945 and remains on the Isle of Man seabed.

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