Baltimore & Cape Clear Island · Ireland · Wreck
U-260
A Type VIIC U-boat hull lying heeled hard over on her port side
U-260 is a Second World War Type VIIC submarine lying about seven kilometres south of Glandore, dived by boat from Baltimore and Union Hall. The hull lies listing 50 to 60 degrees to port, a deep, slack-water dive kept for advanced, experienced divers.
Also known as U260, U260 Sub, Glandore Sub.
Where it is and how deep
51.5000° N, 9.1200° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Depending on the tide, the top of the submarine sits at about 36 m, and the hull lies on the seabed at 42 m, listing 50 to 60 degrees to port. The steel twin-screw boat measures 67.1 m long and 6.2 m across the beam.
The wreck
- Vessel
- U-260
- Type
- Type VIIC submarine
- Length
- 67.1 m (220 ft)
- Built
- 1942
- Sunk
- 1945
- Cause
- Scuttled south of Ireland after sustaining mine damage
- Lies
- On the seabed at 42 m, top at about 36 m, listing 50 to 60 degrees to port
U-260 was commissioned in March 1942, a Type VIIC U-boat built by Bremer Vulkan. On 12 March 1945 she was scuttled south of neutral Ireland after sustaining mine damage, and her crew were interned in Ireland. The wreck was found in 1975 when local fisherman Colin Barnes snagged his nets on it; the cargo ship Counsellor, sunk by a mine in 1917, was presumed to lie there, but his friend Joe Barry dived the position and found the U-boat instead.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Baltimore & Cape Clear Island: No month stands out as the peak; the sea is coldest from January to April, and Atlantic conditions can turn foul quickly.
Know before you go
- Two experienced divers died while exploring the wreck in 2014, after staying down too long on a decompression dive and ascending too quickly.
Sources
- Dive Sites – Aquaventures — Aquaventures
- German submarine U-260 — Wikipedia
More dive sites in Baltimore & Cape Clear Island
Wreck
A collapsed bow on a 294 m ore-bulk-oil carrier wrecked on the Stag Rocks
Similar dives elsewhere
Five wrecks and a scatter of dinghies on one dive
Wreck
Birkenfels
Belgian North Sea · Belgium
A virtually intact ore carrier lying flat on the bottom far off the Belgian coast
A 1918 torpedo loss at 36 to 38 m on clean sand
A wartime wreck at 40 m with boxes of anti-aircraft heads at the bows