UB-65: The haunted submarine

There are a number of ghost stories connected with the Great War, but one of the most famous is the tale of UB-65, a German U-boat (submarine) that served from 1917 to 1918. Allegedly haunted and believed by her crew to be cursed, the vessel experienced a series of strange phenomena before finally sinking in mysterious circumstances with the loss of all hands.

UB-65 was constructed in Hamburg and launched in July 1917. From the start she was plagued by bad luck. Four deaths occurred during her construction, including a workman killed by a falling girder and three engineers killed by fumes in the engine room. While she was on sea trials, a crew member was swept overboard and drowned. On her first test dive, a ballast tank failed, causing the submarine to sink to the bottom.  She remained there for twelve hours. Just as the oxygen was about to run out, the crew managed to repair the damage and surface.

Despite these problems, UB-65 was commissioned into service following her return to the harbour. While refuelling and taking on board weapons, a torpedo exploded, taking the death toll to 11. One of the victims was Lieutenant Richter, the ship’s second officer, who had been overseeing the loading. Not long afterwards, as the damaged submarine was being towed into dry dock for repairs, a crewman swore he had seen the dead officer standing on the prow of the vessel. This was to be the first of many alleged sightings of the ghost of Lieutenant Richter aboard UB-65.

As the repaired submarine was preparing to set out on her first mission, two crewmen reported sighting the spectral officer on separate occasions. Once at sea, the entire engine room staff allegedly reported seeing the ghost standing beside an instrument panel. The duty officer on the bridge also reported seeing the ghost on the prow and watching as it faded from sight. The Captain, having had enough of this ‘foolishness’, berated a crewmember over a further alleged sighting, but then saw the spectre for himself, standing on the submarine’s prow in the midst of a storm.    

The situation had so affected the morale of the crew that the Imperial Navy had the ship exorcised by a priest. On her next tour of duty, UB-65 had a new crew, and a new captain, who forbade any discussion of the alleged haunting. But the ghost continued to be seen. One witness was the Chief Petty Officer, who claimed that the spectral officer had walked right through the bulkhead into his quarters. Another sailor went mad after seeing the ghost and leapt overboard to his death.

In July 1918, UB-65 was sighted on the surface in the Irish Sea by an American submarine. The US vessel, which was submerged, prepared to attack. Before the Americans could fire, however, the U-boat was suddenly stricken by a huge explosion and sank with all hands. It was the final blow in a long series of disasters for the jinxed ship.  

Some sources state that the American crew saw a figure in an officer’s overcoat standing on the prow of UB-65 just before the submarine went down. Did Lieutenant Richter make a final appearance right before his shipmates joined him in the netherworld?