Hi all, I don’t post much here but I might read quite a lot! Anyway, I went on a diving trip to the Shetland Isles last August and thought some of the pics of E49 might be interesting.
She was a WW1 sub with 31 crew on board. They had moored in Baltasound harbour on Unst while transiting back south to Scapa Flow in March 1917. There are two channels leading out from Baltasound and these had been mined by UC-76 which may have seen E49 entering harbour. While travelling south on the surface in 30m of water E49 struck one of two mines in her path and her bow was blown off. She sank with the loss of all hands. Records say that the explosion was only witnessed by two people walking on the cliffs otherwise her fate might have been a mystery.
One last one of me messing about with a camera (Olympus TG7 in an underwater case and video light). I’m using a drysuit in 12C temperatures and twin 12L cylinders for redundancy with a long hose setup ‘cos it’s cool (there might be other reasons too!).
As you can see, the E49 sits pretty much upright but deep in the sand. It’s one of the standout dives among some fantastic wrecks on that trip which included a couple of WW1 freighters in 45m. It’s a war grave so there’s always the reminder that this is the last resting place of a brave crew, something to be aware of while I’m enjoying myself.
The deepest and darkest dive I’ve done and in 9c water. She is lying on a slope going down beyond 70m so this is as far as I could safely go. She’s also rolled over on her side so the decks are a bit beyond vertical. Intimidating for my first dive on her but absolutely intact, apart from the rocket damage which is hidden on the underneath.
Covered in sea life and lots of hanging obstructions to watch out for.
She saw prior service in WW1 as an armed commerce raider named SMS Möwe (seagull) with over 50 confirmed merchantman kills and I’ve read is possibly the most successful warship of all time. Up for debate I reckon, depends how you define it.
Getting my card is on my list to do in retirement, but that can wait for till at least the spring. I love snorkeling, and being able to stay down longer will be wonderful.
