SM U-118: Difference between revisions

|Ship image=[[File:SM U 118 Beach.jpg|300px|SM ''U-118'' washed ashore at Hastings, Sussex.]]

|Ship caption= SM ''U-118'' washed ashore at Hastings, Sussex.

|Ship class=[[German Type UE II submarine]]

|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1164|t|LT|0|lk=inon|abbr=on}} surfaced

*unknownUnknown start – 11 November 1918

'''SM ''U-118'''''{{#tag:ref|"SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" ({{lang-langx|en|His Majesty's}}) and combined with the ''U'' for ''Unterseeboot'' would be translated as ''His Majesty's Submarine''.|group=Note}} was a [[German Type UE II submarine|type UE II]] mine -laying submarine of the [[Imperial German Navy]] and one of 329 [[submarine]]s serving with that navy during [[World War I]].

SM ''U-118'' was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 8 May 1918, following her construction at the [[AG Vulcan Stettin]] shipyard in Hamburg. She was commanded by Herbert Stohwasser and joined the I Flotilla operating in the eastern Atlantic. After four months without sinking any ships, on 16 September 1918, the SM ''U-118'' scored her first hit. Some {{convert|175|mi}} north-west of Cape Villano, the ''U-118'' torpedoed and sank the British steamer ''Wellington''. The following month, on 2 October 1918, she sank her second and last ship, the British tanker ''Arca'' at about {{convert|40|mi}} north-west of [[Tory Island]].<ref name=U118/> The [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|ending of hostilities]] on 11 November 1918 led to the subsequent surrender of the Imperial German Navy. The SM ''U-118'' was surrendered to the Allies at [[Harwich]] on 23 February 1919.<ref name="wreck">{{cite web|url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?138132|title=U-118|access-date=24 January 2010}}</ref>

''U-118'' was to be transferred to France, but while in tow from Harwich to [[Brest, France|Brest]], in company with [[SM {{SMS|UB-121|UB-121]]sub=y}}, in the early hours of 15 April 1919, she broke tow in a storm, and ran aground on the beach at [[Hastings]] in [[Sussex]] at approximately 00:45, directly in front of the Queens Hotel.

Initially, there were attempts to displace the stricken vessel. Three tractors tried to refloat the submarine, and a French [[destroyer]] attempted to break the shipboat apart using her guns.<ref name="wreck" /> All were unsuccessful, and the closeness of the submarine to the public beach and the Queens Hotel prevented the use of explosives.

The stranded submarine became a popular tourist attraction, and thousands visited Hastings that Easter to see her. She was under the authority of the local coast guard station, and the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] allowed the Towntown Clerkclerk of Hastings to charge a small fee for visitors to climb on the deck. This went on for two weeks, during which the town gained almost £300 (UK£ {{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|300|1918|r=-2}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}) to help fund a welcome for the town's soldiers returning from the war.<ref name="wreck" />

Although visits inside the submarine had stopped, tourists still came to be photographed alongside or on the U-boat's deck.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/u-boats.htm|title=U-boats|access-date=24 January 2010}}</ref> The wreck was sold by the [[British Admiralty]] to James Dredging Co. on 21 May 1919 for £2,200 (£ {{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|2200|1919|r=-3}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}) and broken up on the beach until 1921.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dodson |first1=Aidan |last2=Cant |first2=Serena |title=Spoils of War: the fate of enemy fleets after the two World Wars |date=2020 |publisher=Seaforth |location=Barnsley |isbn=978 -1 -5267 -4198 -1 |pages=22, 24, 96–98,125}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hastingschronicle.co.uk/|title=Key events 1900 – 1949|access-date=24 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225234509/http://www.hastingschronicle.co.uk/|archive-date=25 February 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

File:SM U 118 hinten.JPG|A postcard showing SM ''U-118'' washed ashore.

File:SM U 118 sturm.jpg|SM ''U-118'' shortly after being beached at Hastings.

File:SM U 118 seaview.jpg|Ground view of SM ''U-118'' in front of the Queen's hotel.

File:SM U 118 crowded.jpg|SM ''U-118'' crowded with tourists.

File:SM U 118 Hastings.jpg|Aerial view of SM ''U-118'' in front of the Queen's hotel.

File:Uboat3.jpg|SM ''U-118'' being dismantled.

|title=German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels