Author: Eva Bacchetta
Photo by Lorenzo Del Veneziano
U455 SUB N 243 DECEMBER 2005
HOW WE FOUND THE CAMOGLI U-BOOT
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN U-45, REPORTED MISSING ON APRIL 6, 1944, WITH ALL ITS CREW. IT PROBABLY STRIKED A FRIENDLY MINE, OR PERHAPS ONE OF ITS OWN DEVICE EXPLODED WHILE IT WAS BEING LAUNCHED INTO THE SEA. THIS HYPOTHESIS COULD BE CONFIRMED BY THE FACT THAT THE EXPLOSION TORN HER STERLING. THE DISCOVERY ACQUIRES EVEN GREATER IMPORTANCE CONSIDERING THAT IT IS THE FIRST GERMAN SUBMARINE DISCOVERED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. THE DIVING TECHNIQUE.
The ghosts of the men who inhabit the hundreds of submerged wrecks buried in the depths of the Gulf of Genoa hover inexorably above the surface of that sea which, over the years, has sought to revive some of those souls in the history of time, through our humble testimony in finding and describing the hulls sunk in the darkness and gloom of an expanse of water that, since their loss, has become their secret iron tomb.
Ever since we have devoted part of our energies to the discovery of wrecks forgotten in the oblivion of time and only written in the antiquity of the sea, a particular sunken vessel has intrigued our minds and has animated the search and supported our efforts: a German submarine reported missing in 1944 in the sea off Portofino.
As Clive Cussler, a famous researcher of lost shipwrecks, reports in one of his works:
" To search for a lost shipwreck, you don't need government or university support, you don't need a truckload of expensive equipment, or even an inheritance of a million dollars. What you really need is commitment, perseverance, and imagination. There are man-made things that can never be found. Some were never lost, others are figments of someone's imagination, and all the rest are nowhere near where they're supposed to be.
Research is the key to everything. Research can improve the likelihood of success or make us realize there's no hope.
If and when a wreck decides to be found, it's purely by chance. The truth is, for an amateur, searching is deadly boring. You find yourself bobbing in the waves, sweating your way to the bone, struggling to fight seasickness by observing the constant, straight line on your depth sounder's screen. Yet, when an image appears on the screen, or you see a different trace and realize you've encountered an anomaly or something similar to what you're looking for, the anticipation becomes palpitating. And then, the blood, sweat, and tears spent are forgotten. You're overcome by a sense of triumph, which is better than any victory.
When the divers resurface and tell you that what you found is what you were looking for, then you feel even more heartened and satisfied.
There is always the “surprise” factor and what you find may not be what you were looking for and what’s more you didn’t even know it was there! "
Wonder characterized the month of August this year due to the discovery of what we didn't believe was right there!!!!
An aura of mystery has always surrounded the story of this U-BOOT, so much so that it became a legend to which everyone believed a thread of truth was present.
A submarine that, according to local legends, moved from one point to another across the immense expanse of infinite blue in the sea off Genoa, so much so that it was thought that the crew might have moved it from one place to another to escape, further supporting the legend and bringing the story of the U-Boot closer to the mysterious tales of pirates ruling the seas and extraordinary fantasies.
A famous coral diver claimed to have descended to the wreckage of the vessel and recognized its perfectly intact hull at a depth of about 80-90 meters off Cala dell'Oro. His death in the late 90s silenced any rumors surrounding this legend, leaving the submarine shrouded in an impossible-to-clear fog.
The coral collector had left nothing as evidence of his interesting discovery and that deadly weapon of war of the Third Reich continued its mission of secrecy undisturbed.
In recent years, we have wasted many days scanning the seabed at 80 to 95 meters, from Cala dell'Oro to Punta Chiappa, hoping to find a rise in that otherwise aridly flat terrain and bring to light the story of that ship now hidden in the protective arms of a sea that sometimes leaves no room for illusions.
Thanks to our reputation as searchers of lost shipwrecks and our passion for discovery and research into the past, we were contacted by the father of one of our collaborators, Andrea, who informed us of an area where he frequently goes fishing.
The seabed is about 120 meters deep, and often, he says, slicks of oil or diesel fuel surface from the depths. We dedicate part of the spring to research, including the volumes we have. It's said that at the end of the war, the Germans, seeing their loss, threw a lot of armament into the sea, including tanks, trucks, and cannons that were never recovered. Perhaps a ship rests down there, and we set aside the search for the submarine. We set off with our eyes fixed on a depth sounder screen whose image never changes: entire expanses of deserted plains inevitably devoid of any form of life, even extraterrestrial.
At a certain point, a faint signal rises from the seabed at 120, 115, and even 75 meters! We're unsure of the shape of what the transducer has so laboriously read and displayed on the screen, but we decide to descend anyway and plan a dive, given the very challenging depths in late summer.
Descending to those depths isn't easy; caution trumps curiosity and adventure. We don't know what awaits us down there—perhaps a wreck—but the vague sound from the depth sounder doesn't bode well.
On August 1st we set off for that mysterious spot that brings us a little closer to the famous submarine.
The team is made up of Lorenzo Del Veneziano, Massimo Croce, and Gianluca Bozzo, who will provide deep-sea assistance, while Loredana, Roberto, and Peter will provide assistance along the descent line, providing the various tanks in case of emergency.
At Lorenzo's command, we launch the slingshot, made of a 50-kg concrete block; the orange tip darts rapidly into the blue, like a reptile stalking its prey, and after forty-five seconds it stops abruptly.
Everything is ready, a "OK," and we're off, toward an unknown that will soon be revealed. The sea at that point is a deep blue and seems to invite divers into a secret hidden for so many years, revealing a side of it that had until then been forgotten and buried amidst a myriad of life and movement.
At a depth of 100 meters, Lorenzo, as planned, leaves his two companions; unfortunately, the marker hadn't stopped at the highest point of that something that lives in the depths of the sea, and still only the liquid element obscures their view.
After about twenty meters Lorenzo reaches the bottom, intrigued by a rope stretching upwards he follows it, climbing diagonally for a few meters: a threatening shadow looms over him, he looks up and sees it, enormous, whole, perfect, like a blade planted in the heart of a man, spilling all his blood on the bottom of a sea that has suppressed him forever, condemning him to the eternal darkness of time.
Lorenzo clearly recognizes the turret, of what he understands to be a submarine, in its entire circumference, intact, with its spray skirts protruding as if to destroy any living thing that might approach. Part of the hull is thrust toward the distant surface as if trying to escape the quicksand that, like a ferocious feline, has swallowed it mercilessly into its jaws.
A thousand emotions flood Lorenzo's heart: fear, respect, and awe at the thought of men who perhaps lie in that iron tomb, sunk in darkness and forgotten by all humanity, but also joy, pride, and a profound sense of victory at having brought back to life a story once lost to nothingness.
It is a submarine, perhaps the very one from the ancient legend, intact in all its tapered hull lines, a terrible and invincible war machine that now lies helpless and defeated, dominated, but at the same time protected, by an enormous mass of water that does not want to let it go.
The scheduled time is up, Lorenzo quickly heads towards his two companions whose lights he clearly sees, similar to two friendly eyes in the fog.
Two submarines are missing in the Ligurian Sea, never found again. They were the architects of battles in a war whose lessons man has never wanted to learn, but they also tell the stories of men who disappeared for their homeland and were never able to have a worthy and deserved remembrance from their loved ones.
The two vessels are L'Usurper, flying the English flag, lost in October 1943 in the Gulf of Genoa.
Usurper departed Algiers on 24 September bound for La Spezia; on 3 October she was ordered to move to the Gulf of Genoa; she did not respond to the next signal on 11 October. She was most likely sunk by the German anti-submarine boat UJ2208 on 3 October 1943, which reported an attack on a submarine in the Gulf of Genoa on that very day.
The second vessel was the German U-Boat 455, which had departed from Toulon and was on its tenth mission in the Mediterranean. Its last contact was in La Spezia, where it was supposed to join the UJs who would escort it to France, a meeting that never took place. It is believed that the submarine sank in April 1944 on a friendly mine. This story is further shrouded in mystery as there are no reports of any Allied attacks in the Ligurian Sea during those days.
The next dive, conducted with Gabriele Paparo, allowed Lorenzo to take some photographs, which revealed with a good degree of certainty that it was a German U-boat. In the following weeks, we were honored to have Luigi Casati and Jean Jackes Bolanz at our Center to organize an expedition aimed at photo-video documentation that could help us understand more about the mysterious vessel.
During the exploratory dives, six in total, many photographs are taken and some pieces of the puzzle are slowly added.
It is undoubtedly a German VIIC-class submarine, presumably U 455. Two-thirds of the ship's hull, perfectly intact, lies planted on the seabed with its bow pointing upward, like a dying animal struggling furiously to cling to its precarious existence. In the very thin bow section, the depth gauges are clearly visible, pointing upward, supporting the theory that the vessel was submerged and, feeling struck, tried desperately to resurface, but the water was quicker to swallow it. On the starboard side, the anchor remains firmly in place; across the entire deck, the remains of the teak that covered it are visible, almost completely destroyed by the devouring force of the sea.
The view from the turret is like an encounter with a fearful supernatural being, here where the submarine reaches its maximum circumference, it reigns undisputed and dominant over those subjects who are now only divers silently observing the spectacle and who do not recognize its sovereignty.
In its main part, the surface antenna or radio direction finder stored in its compartment, the optical detector completely camouflaged by the myriad of oysters and microorganisms that have perfectly camouflaged every part of the hull, the periscope whose artificial eye timidly searches for an enemy that is now no longer there and the compass embedded in the console are clearly identifiable.
The main hatch appears open, revealing a tunnel completely devoid of light and life. Lorenzo and Gigi dedicate part of a dive to cleaning the entrance to assess the possibility of entering the hull. Gigi, the brave adventurer, feels at home in his habitat and attempts to enter the narrow tunnel, but after a few moments Lorenzo sees him turning back; everything is sealed and locked, every secret of the vessel will forever remain guarded within its deep bowels. On the turret, the sprayhood and railing can be seen; at the stern, the hull is still visible for about fifteen meters. On the seabed, the remains of the stern are recognizable; all is disorder and destruction; shrouded in darkness and depth, the proud vessel seems ashamed of its sad end; part of the hull rises up in a sort of cry for help that never came. Scattered on the seabed are the stern, with a visible propeller, and the destroyed remains, perhaps of a torpedo.
The overall view afforded by the vessel's position is evocative and thrilling. The good visibility during almost every descent allowed us to admire the majesty and pride of the hull, which still seems eager to perform its duty. The hull is tapered and thin, and on the deck you can see the anchor winch and the emergency escape hatch.
On the bow and at the end of the tower are the remains of the antenna which lie harmless like two stumps, symbol of a battle never won.
To think that men walked them during a devastating war gives a sense of dutiful respect and makes the whole thing seem shrouded in secrecy that cannot be revealed.
The glorious submarine that had been so camouflaged has perhaps now found its peace and eternal rest. We cannot express any judgment on the course and outcome of a war that brought devastating human losses on both sides, but we can bear witness to a discovery of great interest, closing a chapter in the study of the past that had remained unsolved.
The German submarine reported missing by the Kriegsmarine in the Ligurian Sea appears to be right there. The lost vessel was a VIIC class, more precisely, U455. The one lying at the bottom of our Genoese Sea belongs to that class; now its silence has been broken by the satisfaction of having restored the memory of those who had been abandoned forever, and by a remarkable underwater discovery.
TYPE VII BOATS
Karl Donitz was behind the birth, development, and defeat of the German underwater weapon. It was he who developed and improved its designs.
The VII class were the ones he wanted to fight the war, their successes were a direct result of his tactics and their defeat was similarly due to his mistakes.
Donitz dedicated his entire life to the Navy; at the outbreak of hostilities he became “Konteradmiral” and was given the title of Commander-in-Chief of the U-boats, until he rose to Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine and, towards the end of the war, Hitler's successor as Head of the Government.
Large-scale production was due to the fact that Donitz was clear about the need to wage a tonnage war; the task of the German Navy was to disrupt the lines of communication on which England depended by attacking with the only available weapon despite the opponent's clear surface superiority.
Hence the famous tactic of the “wolf packs” which carried out series of forceful attacks with the aim of destroying as many enemy merchant forces as possible.
The Type VII vessels were single-hulled, with the watertight main hull also serving as the outer hull. A lightweight, permeable skin was constructed around the main hull, both fore and aft, to serve hydrodynamic purposes and provide space for the ballast tanks. In the Type C, an additional ballast tank was inserted to increase the positive buoyancy reserve. In addition, two lateral structures, long and tapered external bulwarks, contained additional ballast tanks and fuel tanks.
The space between the strong hull and the outer skins was mostly wet, but some spaces were watertight or in which the ingress and egress of water were deliberate and controlled to balance the vessel or bring it into the desired trim.
Externally, the forward section of the ship's hull was free-flowing and contained the torpedo launcher ports, the servomechanisms for the external torpedo tube hatches, and the anchor winch, as well as the ballast tanks. The anchor was retracted on the starboard side, level with the forward end of the torpedo tubes; the hatches opened inward and, once closed, fitted perfectly with the lines of the ship's bulwark.
Horizontal rudders appeared on each side of the forward plating. Above the rudders were openings for the hydrophonic sensor system. Immediately above them were two circular diaphragms for the underwater telephone system, with two more about fifty centimeters aft.
The deck, which acted as a natural continuation of the covering of the extreme bow that reached the centre of the ship, also called the “sail”, was completely covered by a wooden plank floor.
The sides featured a long row of rather large openings to facilitate the entry and exit of water. The long, thin gap between the deck covering and the external bulwarks served the same purpose.
Several sections of the floor were hinged or completely movable to allow access to the hatches below which were used to store various materials and equipment, including torpedoes.
The false turret's bridge (the external part of the turret) was filled with brackets and various equipment; it housed the cylindrical case of the search periscope, followed immediately by the attack periscope, the surface attack optics, the signal lighthouse mount, and a compartment for the radio direction finder antenna. Navigation lights were located in special recesses on both sides. The diesel intake duct was located under the aft deck plating and extended up to under the anti-aircraft armament on the false turret. The air intake vents were located on the sides of the turret, and the compass was located on the forward part of the sail. Furthermore, the forward part of the bridge was equipped with a spray skirt.
Moving aft, as with the bow decking, we also find a steel structure covered with wooden flooring. Continuing, we note the watertight galley hatch, the aft torpedo chute hatch, and the movable section under which the rear torpedo tube was located. Furthermore, as at the bow, three pairs of retractable bollards are also visible.
The propeller supports, the second pair of horizontal rudders, and the rudder rudders were located in the far aft area. Finally, there was a large aft ballast tank located inside the plating surrounding the torpedo tube.
The resistant hull was a circular section structure with a diameter of 4,7 metres, the thickness varied from 16 to 18,5 mm in the centre of the ship, in correspondence with the control room.
A deck divided the internal spaces of the hull into two levels, the main one where the crew lived and worked and the double bottom dedicated mainly to tanks and storage.
From bow to stern were the following compartments:
-Forward torpedo room:
The forward part of the hull was entirely dedicated to the torpedo tubes, their operating arrangements, and the torpedo handling and stowage. This accommodated four to six torpedoes, plus spare weapons and related equipment. The torpedo room sometimes housed part of the crew's bunks, six on each side, which were however subordinate to the functional needs of the armament. Below the torpedo magazine was a curved bulkhead, beneath which were the bow trim tank and two compensation tanks to counterbalance the weight loss caused by the torpedo launch.
-Forward crew quarters:
Separated from the previous compartment by a hatch, this compartment was more spacious than the previous one, partly because its occupants were generally non-commissioned officers. There was a toilet with shower, lockers, and four bunks for the petty officers with three small shelves for personal items. There was also a table for meals.
Another light bulkhead with a hatch separated this compartment from the next one, dedicated to the officers. The space consisted of two bunks on each side, a table, and four relatively large wardrobes.
The commanding officer had his own cabin aft on the port side. Aft of the commander's quarters was the control room, while in front of it were the rooms for acoustic sensors and radio equipment.
The area under the deck of this section was occupied by the forward storage compartment, aft of which was an ammunition magazine for the artillery piece and the machine guns mounted on deck. Extensions of the forward fuel tank were located on both sides, connected by watertight bulkheads.
-Control room:
While submerged, command and control of the ship was exercised from the control room. This room therefore housed all the steering systems and the valves for flooding the tanks. In the center of the room were the columns of the two periscopes, one for search and immediately behind it, the attack one. The main wheelhouse was located at the forward end of the compartment.
The double bottom housed boxes and tanks.
-Tower:
Between the two periscopes there was a watertight hatch with a ladder which gave access to the turret.
The turret was extremely narrow, protruding from the hull by little more than two metres and containing all the equipment necessary for launching torpedoes.
In the ceiling of this small compartment a watertight hatch allowed access to the false tower platform.
-Stern accommodation and galleys:
A watertight hatch gave access to the aft petty officers' quarters, four on each side, with their lockers.
At the rear there was a kitchen equipped with a sink, electric stove and two galleys.
-Engine Room:
It was entirely occupied by the two large diesel engines for surface propulsion and related accessories.
-Electric engine room and aft torpedo room:
Separated by a bulkhead was the compartment containing the two electric motors for submerged propulsion. There were two large air compressors and, behind them, the aft torpedo launcher with its associated compressed air tank.
The reserve torpedo was located under the bridge and the compensation tank behind it, while the aft trim tank was aft of the reload magazine.
U 455 in detail
We can state with a good margin of certainty that the vessel we found is U 455, although no one can ever be absolutely certain of this since the hull is ineluctably sealed and nothing is visible outside of it, except that it is the emblem of death and alienation of all humanity.
The first VII-class boats, like the submarine in question—six to be precise—were commissioned in 1934. They were the first of over seven hundred examples. Over the course of their development, which extended until 1944, Type VII boats were built in six different versions.
U455, a Type VII C vessel, was built by Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel Gaaden; ordered on 16 January 1940 and launched on 21 June 1941.
She began her warship duty in August 1941 under the 5th Flotilla in Kiel as a training ship, where she remained until December of the same year.
From January 1942 to February 1944, she was transferred to the 7th Flotilla at Saint-Nazaire, and from March 1944 until her disappearance in April 1944, she operated out of Toulon in the 29th Flotilla. Two men commanded the proud vessel from 21 August 1941 to 22 November 1942: Hl Hans-Heinrich Giessler, and from 22 November 1942 to 6 April 1944: KL Hans Martin Scheibe.
U 455 MISSIONS
15.01.1942- 28.02.1942
First trip-active mission
U455 departs Kiel under the command of Hans-Heinrich Giessler and arrives in Bergen after six weeks.
21.03.1942- 30.03.1942
Second trip - active mission
U455 leaves Bergen under the command of Hans-Heinrich Giessler and arrives in St. Nazaire after only a week.
16.04.1942 - 10.06.1942
Third trip - active mission
U455 departs St. Nazaire under the command of Hans-Heinrich Giessler and returns to St. Nazaire after an eight-week mission.
During this mission he hits two units that were sailing in convoy escorted by the ON89 and the SL111
On 3 May 1942 the English ship BRITISH WORKMAN was sunk, while on 11 June the English ship GEO H JONES was sunk.
22.08.1942 - 28.10.1942
Fourth trip - active mission
U455 departs St. Nazaire under the command of Hans-Heinrich Giessler and returns to St. Nazaire after nine and a half weeks on the mission.
24.11.1942 - 24.01.1943
Fifth trip - active mission
U455 departs St. Nazaire under the command of Hans-Martin Scheibe and returns to St. Nazaire after more than eight weeks on a mission.
23.03.1943 - 23.04.1943
Sixth trip - active mission
U 455 departs St. Nazaire under the command of Hans-Martin Scheibe and returns to St. Nazaire after a four-week mission.
During this voyage he laid mines which caused the sinking of the French unit ROUENNAIS on 25 April 1943.
30.05.1943 - 31.07.1943
Seventh mission - active mission
U455 leaves St. Nazaire under the command of Hans-Martin Scheibe and returns after less than nine weeks.
During this mission, on 2 June it was attacked by an enemy aircraft (RAF 248 squadron) and suffered minor damage; it was attacked again on 19 June by an aircraft (USAAF 2 squadron), but on this occasion too it emerged unharmed from the clash thanks to the support ship which promptly defended it without, however, shooting down the vessel.
20.09.1943 - 11.11.1943
Eighth voyage - active mission
U455 departed St. Nazaire under the command of Hans-Martin Scheibe and arrived in Lorient after a seven and a half week mission.
06.01.1944 - 03.02.1944
Ninth voyage - active mission
U455 departs Lorient under the command of Hans-Martin Scheibe and arrives in Toulon after four weeks.
22.02.1944 - 06.04.1944
Tenth trip-active mission
U455 departed Toulon under the command of Hans-Martin Scheibe and was reported missing on 6 April 1944. No survivors.
THE DIVE SEEN BY LORENZO DEL VENEZIANO
The descent into the submarine is certainly one of the most challenging I have ever planned in the Mediterranean.
The difficulties are many: depth and current are the most important, in addition to the brightness which at those depths in the Ligurian Sea is considerably reduced.
To descend, I used a BUDDY INSPIRATION electronic closed-circuit automix rebreather, with a diluent of 8% oxygen and 70% helium, with a constant oxygen partial pressure of 1.3, which I believe gave me a good safety margin compared to a conventional open-circuit system. This provides advantages in terms of decompression and the peace of mind of having a substantial gas supply. At such great depths, the pressure gauge of an open-circuit system drops very quickly, yet still causes the diver minimal stress due to gas management.
In any case, to deal with a possible emergency in the event of a breakdown of the machine, I had with me 12 liters of trimix 12% Oxygen and 50% Helium, 10 liters of Ean 36 and 7 liters of pure Oxygen, as well as various cylinders that I had previously positioned on the descent line.
I completed nine dives, all with BUDDY INSPIRATION, reaching a maximum depth of 120 meters and an average depth of 105 meters. Bottom times of between 18 and 20 minutes gave me a run time of between 90 and 110 minutes. The decompression program I used was RGMB.
Visibility was always good, although in some cases the current, sometimes even on the bottom, forced us to limit our search exclusively to the hull of the wreck. We explored around the hull for a radius of about ten meters, finding twisted and unidentifiable pieces of sheet metal.
I took a fair number of photographs with a diving suit and Foto Leone lights which I hope can give an idea of the state of conservation of the submarine, as well as a video with a digital camera and a self-built diving suit.
Special thanks to Luigi Casati, Jean Jackes Bolanz, Gianluca Bozzo, Massimo Croce, Dr. Guido Parodi, Loredana De Sole, Massimo Mazzitelli, Roberto Liguori, Gabriele Paparo, and Luca Pozzi.
Sponsor: Giòsub – Dive System – Foto Leone
Article published in SUB n. 243 December 2005
Tigullio Diving Center – Genoa
www.cstigullio.it E. cstigullio@genie.it
Reproduction of the text and photos in this article, even partial, is strictly prohibited without the author's consent.
