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Submarine identities confirmed
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A wreck off Eyemouth thought to be the British submarine H11 has turned out to be a German U-boat - while another wreck seven miles away has been confirmed as the H11.
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These are the conclusions of submarines expert Innes McCartney (pictured) after a series of dives carried out with local divers in April.
McCartney, Martin Sinclair and Jim McLeod dived the first site and determined that the wreck was U714, a WW2 U-boat sunk in a depth-charge attack in March 1945.
Described by the team as 'remarkably intact', the sub's rare communication gear, snorkel and anti-aircraft armament were clearly visible.
Another detail emerged. 'When U714 was sunk, a life-raft was recovered from the sea. Interestingly, the open life-raft canister can be seen on the seabed next to the wreck,' McCartney said.
The three divers moved on to the other known sub site seven miles away, visited previously by other divers who had informed the Admiralty's Hydrographic Office that it might be the wreck of a British A-class sub.
But McCartney had no trouble identifying it as the WW1 H-class H11. 'Key identifying features include the bows, unique external torpedo door, folding hydroplanes, hatch configuration and stern,' he said.
McCartney added: 'The shroud around the conning tower is made of bronze and although probably not fitted when the submarine was built, it seems this was a common modification made by the Royal Navy.'
McCartney described H11, built for Britain clandestinely in the USA, as 'quite a rare wreck'; and U-714 as 'an important find', being a well preserved example of late-war German sub design.
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