When this German U-boat sank during WWI, its captain claimed a sea monster had scuppered it. So will the discovery of UB-85 almost 100 years later give the story teeth or reveal a monstrous lie?

As the Great War finally nears its endgame, a Royal Navy ship plucks survivors from a stricken German U-boat in the Irish Sea off the coast of Britain. Willingly, they surrender to their enemy, with the captain claiming that a giant and more sinister foe had attacked them from the depths. Then almost a century later, the wreck of the submarine is discovered on the seabed. But what happened to UB-85, and was a sea monster really responsible for it being dispatched to Davy Jones’ locker?

Towards the end of April 1918, World War I was beginning to swing in favor of the Allies. The Germans’ attacks on the Western Front had begun to peter out, depleted forces leading to a lack of momentum. However, there was at least one front on which the battle was still being fought.

In the North Channel, a narrow strait in the Irish Sea between Ireland and Scotland to the west of the British Isles, German U-boats remorselessly stalked the waters. As merchant ships made their way to Britain, the stealth submarines lay in wait, and with a strike from their torpedoes, the underwater vessels could send vital supplies to the bottom of the sea.

Launched in October 1917, UB-85 was a German Type UB III submarine. The U-boat was more than 180 feet in length and came equipped with ten torpedoes, a deck gun and space for some 34 men. Above the waves, meanwhile, it was capable of reaching speeds in excess of 15 mph.

Image: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, vol. VII via ABC – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Now on April 30, 1918, UB-85 was lurking in the Irish Sea, waiting for an unsuspecting merchant ship to cross its path. That month, the Germans had already successfully destroyed almost 280,000 tons of Allied ships and cargo. UB-85, however, hadn’t managed to contribute to that total at all.

In any event, hours later, when the HMS Coreopsis spotted UB-85 bobbing in plain sight on the surface of the water, it seemed as if the submarine’s run of bad luck had continued – and, indeed, worsened. Stranger, though, were the actions of the submarine’s crew, who were said to have surrendered to the British without resistance.

However, once the crew of UB-85 were safely on board the Coreopsis, an incredible tale began to emerge. As Captain Günther Krech recounted the events of that morning, it soon became apparent why the Germans had so readily accepted the chance to board their enemy’s vessel – no matter what the consequences.

According to Krech, in the early hours of that morning he had been standing in the surfaced UB-85’s conning tower, using a pair of binoculars to search the horizon for enemy ships. Suddenly, so the captain’s account went, a powerful force had collided with the submarine, and looking out, Krech saw something incredible.

There, clinging on to the submarine, was apparently a fearsome sea monster. Reportedly, Krech went on to describe the creature in great detail. “This beast had large eyes, set in a horny sort of skull,” he claimed. “It had a small head, but with teeth that could be seen glistening in the moonlight.”

And the story didn’t end there. Allegedly, as the monster bore down on UB-85, the submarine seemed almost ready to sink. Nonetheless, Krech claimed that he and his crew hadn’t been ready to go down without a fight. “Every man on watch began firing a sidearm at the beast,” he said. “But the animal had hold of the forward gun mount and refused to let go.”

Eventually, though, it seems, the Germans prevailed. Loosening its grip on the submarine, the monster apparently disappeared back into the ocean. However, according to Krech, the struggle had left UB-85 somewhat battle-scarred. In fact, he claimed, the damage was so severe that the crew could not risk submerging.

Instead, UB-85 was left stranded on the surface, where it was soon spotted by the Coreopsis. So it was that the bewildered Brits brought the Germans aboard, and Krech span his incredible yarn. From there, too, the fantastical fable of the submarine and the sea monster spread, and it has now been told time and again on various websites dedicated to paranormal phenomena.

Somewhat incredibly, though, UB-85 wasn’t the first vessel to report a sea monster sighting during World War I. The previous year, the British HMS Hilary had been sailing southeast of Iceland when its passengers and crew spotted what they believed to be a strange creature some 90 feet off the starboard side.

According to reports, the creature had a long neck and a triangular dorsal fin, with a head like that of a turtle or a cow. Sadly, though, the crew saw fit to use the beast as target practice, and it soon vanished into the depths. Then only days later, the Hilary followed the supposed monster towards the bottom of the ocean.

Image: United Kingdom Hydrographic Office via Mirror Online

Despite that striking precedent, however, there is no record of whether or not Krech’s story was believed at the time. In fact, researchers have struggled to find any solid information relating to the incident at all. And, as all those who were present on UB-85 have now died and taken their testimonies with them, it began to seem unlikely that the truth about what happened that day would ever be known.

However, in 2016 a team of engineers working on energy company Scottish Power’s Western Link made a shocking discovery. The aim of the project they were tackling was to lay a marine cable of almost 240 miles in length between Scotland and northwest England. And, interestingly, part of the undertaking involved surveying the bed of the Irish Sea.

Just off the coast of Scotland, close to the southwest county of Wigtownshire, the engineers stumbled across the unmistakable remains of a U-boat on the ocean floor. What’s more, the submarine’s location matched the last known position of UB-85. Was the mystery finally about to be solved?

According to historian Innes McCartney of Bournemouth University, the wreckage could well belong to the famous UB-85 – although it may also be that of its sister vessel, UB-22. Yet the scans and photographs could tell researchers little about why the submarine sank – or whether there was a supernormal cause.

At any rate, inspired by the renewed interest in UB-85, wartime researcher Guy Walters began looking for answers. And amazingly, he found them – in a book about U-boats written by U.S. Naval Institute historian Dwight R. Messimer. Apparently, it was Krech’s own demands – rather than a monster from the deep – that ultimately put his men at risk.

According to a damning account from a crew member in Messimers’ Verschollen: World War I U-boat Losses, the captain had requested a heater in his on-board accommodation – even though the route of the power cables would compromise the sealing mechanism of the conning tower. When the submarine attempted to submerge, then, the hatch flooded, and UB-85 was forced back to the surface. So, was the sea monster tale merely a way for the chilly Captain Krech to avoid hot-faced embarrassment when met with his own incompetence? Or did a long-lost relative of Nessie really make a late appearance for the Allies during the war?