Lost Patrols

This book brings to life the stories of the 121 submarines that lie entombed on the seabed of the English Channel. Most of them got there as the result of war and peacetime accidents. The first was lost in 1774; the last was the tragic accident that befell HMS Affray in 1951, the last British submarine to have been lost at sea. In the dates between, lie some remarkable tales of heroism and innovation. U-boats operated in the Channel during both world wars. From the Dover Straits to the Isles of Scilly, many were hunted to destruction while carrying out their deadly missions. An experienced recreational diver, photographer and historian, Innes McCartney has long been interested in the submarine wrecks of the Channel and has personally located and identified 18 of them, which mark the graves of 552 submariners. Among these was the monitor submarine HMS M1 lost in a collision in 1925. Others include several U-boats; one in particular was covered in a revolutionary rubber coating that helped identify it as U480, a submarine thought sunk over 200 miles away from where it lies. This book is the result of over eight years of archival research, wreck hunting and diving. Within its pages are the revised fates of many submarines and details of all of the wrecks known today. Each submarine has its own story told in a concise history, focusing on the circumstances of its loss and where the wreck can be found. It should be of interest to divers, archaeologists, and historians.