Creature record / 1918
North Channel. The night of 29 to 30 April 1918. The German submarine UB-85 lies on the surface, charging its batteries. Then something rises out of the deep and climbs onto the starboard bow. Large eyes. A horny sort of skull. Teeth glistening in the moonlight. It seizes the deck gun and refuses to let go, while the men on watch fire their sidearms at it. That is the story attributed to Kapitänleutnant Günther Krech, whose boat was captured on 30 April. The British interrogation record mentions no creature. The earliest source anyone has traced is a 1977 popular book, and the 2016 discovery of a wreck off Scotland sent the tale around the world again.
UB-85 was a German Type UB III submarine of the First World War. From 24 November 1917 she was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günther Krech. In the spring of 1918 she was in the North Channel, the narrow sea between Scotland and Ireland. There were 34 aboard. Three officers and 31 men.