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Re: U31 --1915

Some more on the mysterious fate of the U31, this time from "The German Submarine War 1914-1918" by R N Gibson and Maurice Prendergast, 1931... "Three boats, U22, U31 and U32, had sailed for the Thames Estuary on January 13, but on the ninth day U32 returned damaged. Hoppe (U22) came in on Jan 27, the bearer of a tragic tale. Six days previously, U22 had encountered a submarine off the Dutch coast; twice he challenged her, but had received no reply. Convinced she was a British boat, Hoppe had then torpedoed her. One man was picked up from amongst the wreckage - the sole survivor of U7, captained by Konig, Hoppe's best friend. As for the third boat, U31 (Wachendorff), she never returned; it was surmised that she
blew up on a mine off the East Coast. The German version of this mystery is that she foundered during a bad dive, or that defective batteries overcame her crew; further, that six months later she was found by the British, still water-tight, and her crew dead at their stations. It is an interesting tale, but it entirely lacks corroboration. The truth is, the exact circumstances, date, and place of U31's loss are as much a mystery
today to the British naval authorities as they are to the German." 

It is interesting that this account was published two years before the appearance of the translation of Admiral von Hipper's biography, however, the original biography may pre-date this account.  Perhaps "The German version of this mystery" referred to above is von Hipper's original biography? 

Forrest

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