SM U-118 was one of nine huge
ocean-going mine laying submarines. Launched on February 23, 1918, she was 267
feet long, displaced 1,200 tons and was armed with a 150mm deck gun, 14
torpedoes and 42 mines. SM U-118 had a lackluster career, sinking only two
ships, one just off Ireland's north coast and the other northwest of Spain. She
was surrendered to the Allies on February 23, 1919, exactly one year after she
was launched. While being towed to France through the English Channel in rough
seas, U-118 broke free. Despite attempts by a French destroyer to break her up,
she ended up aground on the beach in the middle of the city of Hastings on the
Sussex coast in southern England on April 15, just in time for the Easter
Holiday.
The stranding caused a sensation.
Thousands of people flocked to see this monster that had washed ashore, it's
true size evident from the aerial view taken shortly after the beaching.
Three
tractors tried to drag it back to the sea, but failed. At that point, the city
fathers decided to make the best of this instant tourist attraction. The
Admiralty put the local coast guard in charge and allowed the town clerk to
charge sixpence apiece to visitors wishing to climb onto the deck of U-118.
After two weeks, nearly £300 (UK£ 13,200 in 2017) had been raised for the
Mayor's Fund for the welcome home of troops planned for later that year.
Two members of the coast guard,
chief boatman William Heard and chief officer W. Moore, showed important
visitors around the interior of the submarine. The visits were curtailed in
late April, when both coast guard men became severely ill. Rotting food on
board was thought to be the cause, however, the men's condition continued and
got worse. Moore died in December 1919, followed by Heard in February 1920. An
inquest decided that a noxious gas, possibly chlorine released from the
submarine's damaged batteries, had caused abscesses on the men's lungs and
brain.
Although visits inside the submarine
had stopped, tourists still came to take be photographed alongside or on the
U-boat's deck. Finally, between October and December 1919, U-118 was broken up
and sold for scrap. The deck gun was left behind, but was removed in 1921. Some
of the ship's keel may yet remain buried in the beach sand.
So the city fathers turned a potential disaster and problem to their advantage, making a few quid in the process! That's taking an opportunity and turning it to a winner! Well done, Hastings!
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
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