Submarine L 10 located

[Michael Lowrey]

The wreck of the British submarine L 10 has been located in the North Sea. She was sunk on October 3, 1918 by gunfire from German destroyers after broaching after torpedoing the destroyer S 33. There were no survivors among the submarine's crew of 39.

 

 

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

Translation from Google

 

There is great pleasure on the ship Vina today. Because after Vina yesterday sued out of Thyborøn, there has been a gain for the Holstebro company JD-Contractor, which has Gert Normann Andersen in the lead.

    The story has been unresolved so far. We are the first in the world.

    Gert Normann Andersen

The gain came in the form of the English WWII L10 submarine, which the ship's divers found on the sea floor 143 kilometers directly north of the Dutch island of Terchelleng.

also read
Possible world sensation: Holstebro company chases the world's most wanted submarine

- It's a big find. It is the only L-type submarine that sank during World War I. The rest of the L-series was cut down many years ago, says Gert Normann Andersen and continues:

- L10 sank with 38 men on board, and there are some relatives and descendants who are happy now. The story has been unresolved so far. We are the first in the world to tell you that the submarine is there.

L10 sank after it shot down a German torpedo boat, which was looking for survivors of another sunken German torpedo boat.

Subsequently, four other German torpedo boats came and lowered the L10.

Scans from Vina show that the submarine and both German torpedo boats are in depth.
On to the next goal
It was with the hope of finding the Polish submarine Orzel when the ship Vina with 26 crew on Wednesday left Thyborøn. Orzel is a WWII submarine and it is considered the most wanted submarine in the world.
On board Vina are eight men from the Polish project SANTI Odnalezc Orla, whose sole purpose is to find the Polish submarine. They have previously been on six expeditions, but with no luck so far.
- Although it wasn't Orzel we found, it's a great story. It's just like a Hollywood movie. A submarine and the two torpedo boats and their fate during World War 1. For us, it's all about telling the good story, so another great story we've come across in our search for Orzel. It opens a chapter and brings the story of the past closer to all of us, says Tomasz Stachura, team leader on the Polish project SANTI Odnalezc Orla.
Vina and the crew will sail to a minefield, which the Germans laid out in the North Sea during World War II, to look for more submarines.
But first, divers from Poland and Denmark must go into the water, where they will try to find a characteristic from L10 that they can bring to the surface. At the last dive a sign must also be dropped in memory of the submarine being found.

Also the opportunity for Dutch finds
Although the main attraction of the expedition is the Polish submarine Orzel, there is also the opportunity to make another find.
Gert Normann Andersen said before the start of the expedition that also the Dutch submarine O 13 is a place out there.
- Orzel and O 13 are the two most wanted submarines in the world, but now we have to see what we find. But if we find one of them, it's a world sensation, Gert Normann Andersen said.
The expedition that JD-Contractor is on right now is expected to be completed on Monday.
Two employees from TV MIDTVEST are on the tour.

[michaeldr]

See also 

 

[Hyacinth1326]

Gunfire eh.  That sounds like more than just a trim failure following the firing of a torpedo.  The men should have been able to fill the compensatory tanks in couple of minutes maximum in an L class boat.  Also lets not forget that L55 was sunk by the Russians in the summer of 1919, so arguably not the only 'L' class boat lost in the War.  Apparently L10 was not fitted with a gun breastwork, hence her striking resemblance to a 'J' class boat.

Edited 8 March , 2020 by Hyacinth1326

[tippypop]

Is there anymore known about what will happen to the sub? I’m intrigued as one of the crew members was a relative. I grew up with his brother (my great uncle) and his sister (my great grandmother). I know from speaking to my mother, that their wishes and that of his mother were if found to raise and allow the body to be buried. But I’m assuming the sub will stay where it is? If not how do we contact anyone to get more info. I have his photo on my wall to this very day and a replica of the sub he had commissioned. This news has come as quite a shock, as we never thought it would be located. I have randomly googled out of interest so this was quite incredible news.  Thank you to the author of this and the Great War forum, it’s a fantastic site. 

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

10 hours ago, tippypop said:

I know from speaking to my mother, that their wishes and that of his mother were if found to raise and allow the body to be buried. 

I think you must surely know that that can't and won't  ever happen.

 

Leaving aside the sheer impossibility of retrieving, then identifying any remains from a century old shipwreck, even assuming there are any remains in the first place, the wreck will be designated a War Grave, meaning that  any disturbance - diving, recovery of souvenirs or human remains, would be illegal.

[tippypop]

2 hours ago, Dai Bach y Sowldiwr said:

I think you must surely know that that can't and won't  ever happen.

 

Leaving aside the sheer impossibility of retrieving, then identifying any remains from a century old shipwreck, even assuming there are any remains in the first place, the wreck will be designated a War Grave, meaning that  any disturbance - diving, recovery of souvenirs or human remains, would be illegal.

I honestly have not the first clue. I have now been able to see the wreck and I can see the impossibility. It was a quick reaction to quite unbelievable news. I don’t know any of the laws pertaining to any of it. But grateful of the response so I know. I assumed it wouldn’t be retrieved but I honestly didn’t have a clue what happens or how the vessel would be.  Not an area I’ve ever looked into. Just knowing the story and having had the picture and the replica my relative had commissioned on the wall has always sparked my interest in Cyril and I know my great grandmother used to cry every armistice day over her brother. So even now it’s quite an emotional subject for us.  But I do thank you for a reply as not having considered the possibility of it ever being found.   I hadn’t considered looking at what would happen if it was 

[Hyacinth1326]

You could contact the staff of the Sea War Museum at Thyboren in Denmark.  They are a friendly and enthusiastic bunch.  

 

https://www.seawarmuseum.dk/en

 

The Polish team who found the wreck of L10 worked with them.

[The Treasurer]

I can add a little information about the sinking for those interested.

 

S.33 was torpedoed by the L.10 whilst looking for survivors of the mined S.34.  Both belonged to 9. Torpedobootsflottille. S 33 did not sink immediately, but was severely damaged and 7 men on-board were killed, including two survivors from S.34.

 

L.10 surfaced very close by 'some time later' and was brought under fire from S.33 herself, three other destroyers of her Flotilla and two armed auxiliaries which had arrived on the scene. In the circumstances we can only speculate about why L.10 surfaced, but it can be assumed she was forced to the surface in daylight by an incident on-board that would have otherwise resulted in the loss of the boat anyway.

 

The crew of the crippled S 33 were then taken off, as she could not be towed.  She was finished off with another torpedo from one of the German destroyers.

 

 

[tippypop]

1 hour ago, Hyacinth1326 said:

You could contact the staff of the Sea War Museum at Thyboren in Denmark.  They are a friendly and enthusiastic bunch.  

 

https://www.seawarmuseum.dk/en

 

The Polish team who found the wreck of L10 worked with them.

Thank you for the info 

[tippypop]

10 minutes ago, The Treasurer said:

I can add a little information about the sinking for those interested.

 

S.33 was torpedoed by the L.10 whilst looking for survivors of the mined S.34.  Both belonged to 9. Torpedobootsflottille. S 33 did not sink immediately, but was severely damaged and 7 men on-board were killed, including two survivors from S.34.

 

L.10 surfaced very close by 'some time later' and was brought under fire from S.33 herself, three other destroyers of her Flotilla and two armed auxiliaries which had arrived on the scene. In the circumstances we can only speculate about why L.10 surfaced, but it can be assumed she was forced to the surface in daylight by an incident on-board that would have otherwise resulted in the loss of the boat anyway.

 

The crew of the crippled S 33 were then taken off, as she could not be towed.  She was finished off with another torpedo from one of the German destroyers.

 

 

Thanks for that info.  It’s quite an incredible story and now with the wreck found it’s been quite emotional for the family. In an odd way it feels like he’s finally home.  So all the additional info is fantastic 

[Crispy24]

Hi Tippypop

I have just begun searching about my ancestors and have found this great information, I too am distantly related to Cyril! He is my Great Grandads brother. I tried to send you a message on here having just signed up but it says I can send 0 messages per day so I thought I’d try and reach you this way. Hopefully you still use this site and see my message.

 

[DavidOwen]

17 minutes ago, Crispy24 said:

Hi Tippypop

I have just begun searching about my ancestors and have found this great information, I too am distantly related to Cyril! He is my Great Grandads brother. I tried to send you a message on here having just signed up but it says I can send 0 messages per day so I thought I’d try and reach you this way. Hopefully you still use this site and see my message.

 

Welcome to the forum, now you have posted you should be able to send your message.

[Crispy24]

Hi David,

Many thanks, I realised this after posting but thank you for letting me know, I have sent a private message. I am so thrilled to have found this information.