Innes McCartney - The Maritime Archaeology of a Modern Conflict

An essential addition and corrective to accounts of the submarine war in European waters during World War I and World War II.

Paul G. Halpern, Emeritus, Florida State University, US

Innes McCartney brilliantly shows how archaeology has rewritten the history of submarine warfare in a compelling look at the extensive underwater battlefield off Britains coasts. This is a must-have in the library of any naval enthusiast, scholar and archaeologist, or wreck explorer.

James P. Delgado, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Maritime Heritage, US

Over the last 30 years, hydrographical marine surveys in the English Channel helped uncover the potential wreck sites of German submarines, or U-boats, sunk during the conflicts of World War I and World War II. Through a series of systemic dives, nautical archaeologist and historian Innes McCartney surveyed and recorded these wrecks, discovering that the distribution and number of wrecks conflicted with the published histories of U-boat losses. Of all the U-boat war losses in the Channel, McCartney found that some 41% were heretofore unaccounted for in the historical literature of World War I and World War II.

This book reconciles these inaccuracies with the archaeological record by presenting case studies of a number of dives conducted in the English Channel. Using empirical evidence, this book investigates possible reasons historical inconsistencies persist and which Allied operational and intelligence-based processes caused them to occur in the first place. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers in the fields of nautical archaeology and naval history, as well as wreck explorers.

Innes McCartney is a nautical archaeologist, historian, author and broadcaster. He obtained his PhD from Bournemouth University and is known for his work in using archaeological research to identify 40 new German submarine wrecks in the waters around the UK and Ireland. He has published in such places as the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology , and SKYLLIS, The Journal of the German Society for the Promotion of Underwater Archeology .

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15 The Archaeology of Roman Britain
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16 The Maritime Archaeology of a Modern Conflict
Comparing the Archaeology of German Submarine Wrecks to the Historical Text
Innes McCartney

Comparing the Archaeology of German Submarine Wrecks to the Historical Text

Innes McCartney

First published 2015
by Routledge
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2015 Taylor & Francis

The right of Innes McCartney to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him/her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McCartney, Innes, 1964

The maritime archaeology of a modern conflict: comparing the archaeology of German submarine wrecks to the historical text / Innes McCartney.

pages cm (Routledge studies in archaeology; 16)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Submarines (Ships)GermanyHistory. 2. Excavations (Archaeology)English Channel. 3. World War, 19391945Naval operationsSubmarine. 4. World War, 19391945Naval operations, German. 5. World War, 19391945CampaignsEnglish Channel. 6. ShipwrecksEnglish Channel. 7. Underwater archaeologyEnglish Channel. I. Title. II. Title: Comparing the archaeology of German submarine wrecks to the historical text.

D781.M22 2014
940.54'510943dc23
2014026243

ISBN: 978-1-138-81435-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74754-5 (ebk)

Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

In memory of the servicemen and civilians of all nations and services who perished at sea during two world wars

Over the last 30 years, UK Hydrographic Office marine surveys in the English Channel (the Study Area) have helped uncover the wrecks of 63 German submarines (U-boats) sunk in both world wars. The author began to systematically dive on and record the wrecks in 1997, when it became clear that the distribution and numbers of the wrecks often conflicted with published histories of U-boat losses.

This study sets out to test whether, firstly, the U-boat wrecks themselves can be accurately identified from detailed examinations of their archaeological remains. If this could be achieved with accuracy, then secondly, a clearer appreciation of U-boat losses in the Channel could be derived. This could then be used, thirdly, to assess the accuracy of the original historical texts of 1919 and 1946 and reveal when and why the assessors at the time succeeded and failed in establishing the real fates of the U-boats.

The U-boat wrecks themselves are either where the historic record says they should be, or they are located in positions where they reside outside of current historical knowledge. These latter cases, termed the mystery sites, are the key to understanding how, when and why inaccuracies appear in the historical texts, and they were therefore accorded the highest priority during the research and were the most challenging cases to attempt to identify.