General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Yet another back-up story.
Posted by:
Fin Bonset
()
Date: November 29, 2000 07:07PM
<HTML>Here\'s another. This one has a investigator that was convinced the men weren\'t lying.In January 1918 the German U-Boat UB65 sailed into the English Channel looking for potential targets. The \'boats starboard lookout, standing on the conning tower, saw an officer standing on the deck just below him, even though all the hatches were shut apart from the one on the tower. He was about to shout a warning to the officer when the figure turned to face the lookout, revealing himself to be the ship\'s former second officer, killed in an explosion on UB65\'s maiden journey. His shouts brought the captain to the tower, and he also witnessed the apparition before it disappeared.
UB65 was built in 1916, but only a week after work started on her, things started going wrong. A steel girder was being swung into place when it suddenly broke its chains and went crashing to the floor, killing one worker outright and badly injuring another, who died in agony two hours later.
Things seemed to go well after that, but just before the ship was finished, three men were overcome by fumes in the engine room and died before rescuers could reach them. On her maiden voyage, UB65 ran into a storm, during which one man was washed overboard. Later, whilst undergoing diving tests, one of the ballast tanks sprang a leak, leaving the crew without any means of replenishing the air. Repairs took 12 hours, by which time the men were half dead with suffocation. On their return to port, the sub was taking on a supply of torpedoes when one of them exploded, killing the second officer and badly damaging the ship, which had to return to the dockyards for repair.
A few weeks later, just before the sub was due to sail, a crew member ran into the wardroom shouting that the dead officer had just come aboard. Thinking the man was drunk, the captain and another officer ran onto the deck, where they saw another crew member cowering near the conning tower. In a quiet voice, he told the captain that the dead officer had walked up the gangplank and went to the bows. He had then stood there for a few seconds before vanishing into thin air..
The ship soon got a reputation for being haunted, and nobody wanted to serve on her. Eventually the German authorities decided to put a stop to the stories and sent a commodore to investigate the matter.
Sceptical at first, he questioned the entire ship\'s company, during which he became convinced that the stories were real and not just fancies. The sub was withdrawn from service, and whilst in dock in Belgium, a Lutherian pastor exorcised the ghost. UB65 then went back to sea with a new captain and crew. The captain refused to tolerate any talk of ghosts, threatening the crew with severe penalties if the ghost was even mentioned. The ship completed two tours of duty without trouble, but after the captain was replaced, the hauntings started again.
During May 1918 the sub was cruising up and down the channel, and later the coast of Spain. A petty officer claimed to have seen an unfamiliar face inter the torpedo room, but when he went to investigate there was no-one else there. On one occasion, the torpedo gunner went insane, shouting that the ghost would not leave him alone. He jumped overboard and was never seen again.
On July 10th, an American submarine spotted the UB65 on the surface and prepared to attack. Just prior to the torpedoes being launched however, UB65 blew up in a devastating explosion. When the smoke had cleared, all that could be seen was debris.
</HTML>
UB65 was built in 1916, but only a week after work started on her, things started going wrong. A steel girder was being swung into place when it suddenly broke its chains and went crashing to the floor, killing one worker outright and badly injuring another, who died in agony two hours later.
Things seemed to go well after that, but just before the ship was finished, three men were overcome by fumes in the engine room and died before rescuers could reach them. On her maiden voyage, UB65 ran into a storm, during which one man was washed overboard. Later, whilst undergoing diving tests, one of the ballast tanks sprang a leak, leaving the crew without any means of replenishing the air. Repairs took 12 hours, by which time the men were half dead with suffocation. On their return to port, the sub was taking on a supply of torpedoes when one of them exploded, killing the second officer and badly damaging the ship, which had to return to the dockyards for repair.
A few weeks later, just before the sub was due to sail, a crew member ran into the wardroom shouting that the dead officer had just come aboard. Thinking the man was drunk, the captain and another officer ran onto the deck, where they saw another crew member cowering near the conning tower. In a quiet voice, he told the captain that the dead officer had walked up the gangplank and went to the bows. He had then stood there for a few seconds before vanishing into thin air..
The ship soon got a reputation for being haunted, and nobody wanted to serve on her. Eventually the German authorities decided to put a stop to the stories and sent a commodore to investigate the matter.
Sceptical at first, he questioned the entire ship\'s company, during which he became convinced that the stories were real and not just fancies. The sub was withdrawn from service, and whilst in dock in Belgium, a Lutherian pastor exorcised the ghost. UB65 then went back to sea with a new captain and crew. The captain refused to tolerate any talk of ghosts, threatening the crew with severe penalties if the ghost was even mentioned. The ship completed two tours of duty without trouble, but after the captain was replaced, the hauntings started again.
During May 1918 the sub was cruising up and down the channel, and later the coast of Spain. A petty officer claimed to have seen an unfamiliar face inter the torpedo room, but when he went to investigate there was no-one else there. On one occasion, the torpedo gunner went insane, shouting that the ghost would not leave him alone. He jumped overboard and was never seen again.
On July 10th, an American submarine spotted the UB65 on the surface and prepared to attack. Just prior to the torpedoes being launched however, UB65 blew up in a devastating explosion. When the smoke had cleared, all that could be seen was debris.
</HTML>
