Divers identify German U-boat wreck off Devon coast 82 years after it was scuttled

Wreck long assumed to be a First World War sailing vessel is confirmed as U-672, attacked by HMS Balfour in 1944

By LineZotpaper

Published21 October 2026

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A team of divers has identified a German U-boat lying on the seabed off the Devon coast as U-672, solving an underwater mystery 82 years after the submarine was attacked and scuttled during the Second World War.

The wreck, sitting about 230ft (70m) down, had long been assumed to be a sunken First World War sailing vessel. In July, divers established that it was a German U-boat, and the following month a dive team called the Gasperados set out to identify it.

Clues pointed strongly to U-672. The submarine had been attacked by HMS Balfour in July 1944, and its 52 crew scuttled it and survived. Yet the navy log placed the attack nearly 40 nautical miles from where the wreck now lies.

After the attack, the U-boat was left leaking underwater. Its commander waited as long as possible before blowing the tanks to bring the submarine to the surface, giving the crew a chance of survival.

Gasperados diver Dominic Robinson said the wreck had distinctive features, including a steel propeller, "the early Schnorchel system and the remains of the German Aphrodite radar decoy equipment". Finding the snorkel was a vital clue in identifying the U-boat.

"We've solved another underwater mystery, which is fantastic," he said.

"Submarines are particularly interesting because unlike merchant ships, there were a very finite number of them. We know which German U-boats existed. We know the fate of actually the vast majority of them. And over the past few decades, diver researchers have identified almost all the German U-boats lying in the English Channel. There really aren't many mysteries left, which makes it rather special when another one suddenly appears."

After the discovery, the family of the U-boat's commander, Ulf Lawaetz, got in touch with the divers and said how pleased they were that the wreck had finally been found and identified, 82 years on. The family showed the divers a small numbered tag that Lawaetz kept for the rest of his life.

Robinson said: "Wreck identification can sometimes feel very focused on positions, construction details, photographs and pieces of metal. Then somebody's family gets in touch and suddenly you are reminded that there were real people behind all of it."

Analysis

Why This Matters

The identification resolves an 82-year-old mystery and adds U-672 to what divers say is a nearly complete map of German U-boats lying in the English Channel.
The find also corrects the historical record: wartime navy logs placed the attack nearly 40 nautical miles from where the wreck actually rests.
The family's response is a reminder that the wreck, now a subject of technical study, was once a living crew's only escape route.

Background

During the Second World War, German U-boats hunted Allied shipping in the Atlantic and in the waters around the British coast. Late in the war, submarines were fitted with Schnorchel tubes that allowed them to run diesel engines while submerged, reducing the time they had to spend on the surface where they could be spotted. U-672's commander chose to scuttle the leaking boat and bring it up rather than risk his crew, a decision that saw all 52 men survive. Over recent decades, wreck researchers have identified almost all German U-boats lost in the English Channel, making each new identification increasingly rare.

Key Perspectives

Gasperados dive team: For the divers, the find closes one of the last gaps in the record of German submarines in the Channel and validates their detective work through features such as the Schnorchel system and radar decoy equipment.

Family of Ulf Lawaetz: The commander's family welcomed the identification and kept a personal memento, a small numbered tag, for the rest of his life, underscoring the human story behind the wreck.

Naval historians and maritime archaeologists: The wreck offers physical evidence that can be checked against wartime logs, and the discrepancy in coordinates shows the limits of historical records from the period.

What to Watch

Whether maritime authorities or historians formally confirm the identification in official records.
Whether further dives are planned to document the Schnorchel system and Aphrodite radar decoy equipment in greater detail.
Whether the discovery prompts re-examination of other unidentified wrecks in the Channel that had been written off as older vessels.

Sources

Divers discover missing German wartime submarine – 82 years on · The Independent UK

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedDivers identified the wreck off Devon as a German U-boat.The Independent UK: “Divers have discovered a German submarine that went missing during the Second World War off the Devon coast.”
SupportedThe wreck was identified 82 years after it was scuttled.The Independent UK: “82 years on.”
Partly supportedThe U-boat was confirmed as U-672.The Independent UK: “clues pointed strongly towards it being one particular boat, U-672.”
Partly supportedDivers identified the wreck as U-672.The Independent UK: “clues pointed strongly towards it being one particular boat, U-672.”
SupportedThe wreck had long been assumed to be a sunken First World War sailing vessel.The Independent UK: “The wreck had been sitting on the seabed, about 230ft (70m) down, but it had been assumed to be a sunken First World War sailing vessel.”
SupportedHMS Balfour attacked the submarine in July 1944.The Independent UK: “HMS Balfour had attacked the submarine in July 1944,”
SupportedThe submarine’s 52 crew scuttled it and survived.The Independent UK: “its 52 crew scuttled it and survived.”
SupportedThe navy log placed the attack nearly 40 nautical miles from the wreck’s current location.The Independent UK: “However, navy log had coordinates for it that were nearly 40 nautical miles away.”
SupportedRobinson described the wreck as having “the early Schnorchel system and the remains of the German Aphrodite radar decoy equipment”.The Independent UK: ““the early Schnorchel system and the remains of the German Aphrodite radar decoy equipment”.”
SupportedRobinson said, “We've solved another underwater mystery, which is fantastic.”The Independent UK: ““We’ve solved another underwater mystery, which is fantastic,” he said.”
SupportedRobinson said the quoted passage about submarines, their finite number, and how few English Channel U-boat mysteries remain.The Independent UK: ““Submarines are particularly interesting because unlike merchant ships, there were a very finite number of them. “We know which German U-boats existed.”
SupportedRobinson said, “Wreck identification can sometimes feel very focused on positions, construction details, photographs and pieces of metal. Then somebody's family gets in touch and suddenly you are reminded that there were real people behind all of it.”The Independent UK: “Mr Robinson said: “Wreck identification can sometimes feel very focused on positions, construction details, photographs and pieces of metal. “Then somebody's family gets in touch and suddenly you are reminded that there were real people behind all of it.””