WAR BENEATH THE WAVES - U-Boat Flotilla in Flanders 1915-1918

From the moment the Germans came to possess the larger part of the Flanders coast in 1914 they began to construct numerous fortifications, batteries, bunkers, trenches and machine gun nests. This impressive installation had only one objective: to build and protect the biggest U-boat base the world would ever see.

For the durationn of WWI the German U-boats of U-Flotilla Flandern would become a serious threat to the Royal Navy and its fleet. By the end of the war they had managed to sink a total of 2,554 Allied ships totalling 2.5 million tons of shipping.

Underwater archeaologist and naval historian Tomas Termote has visited the wrecks of many of the U-boats and unravelled their secrets. He also writes about life on board the vessels, their importance to the war effort and the heavy losses on both sides. A detailed and unique insight is provided into this history with an account of every U-boat of the fleet. Many pictures, charts and drawings add to the interest and the parallels with the Royal Navy submarine developments are marked.