Nazi submarine sunk because of a toilet

Just because of carelessness while going to the toilet, the German captain caused the modern submarine to sink on its first combat patrol.

The Nazi German submarine U-1206. Photo: WarIsboring

During World War II, Nazi Germany's U-boats were known as the fearsome "submarine hunters" of the ocean floor. However, U-1206, a submarine of this type, sank on its first combat patrol, due to a rare accident caused by the captain when using the high-tech toilet incorrectly, according to WarIsboring.

For years, German engineers had been busy developing new submarine technologies, even things as small as toilet systems. While Allied submarines were designed to drain waste into onboard septic tanks, German engineers sought to save valuable space and tonnage on U-boats by dumping waste directly into the sea.

To solve the problem of waste backflow due to excessive pressure in the seabed, leading German engineers have created a modern "deep-sea high-pressure toilet" that discharges the crew's waste directly into the sea.

Because this system is so modern, the toilet's operating mechanism is also very complicated. Waste will pass through a series of chambers with pressurized air valves, then shoot straight out by compressed air, like launching a torpedo from the stern of a ship.

Each submarine has a specialist trained in proper toilet procedure, which involves following the correct sequence of opening and closing valves to ensure the waste system is flushed properly.

On April 14, 1945, 27-year-old Captain Karl-Adolf Schlitt led the crew of the submarine U-1206 through the ship’s first eight-day combat patrol. The U-1206 was cruising at a depth of more than 60 meters below the North Sea floor when the captain decided to go to the toilet.

However, Schlitt was not properly trained in how to use the toilet, so he called an engineer for help, but the engineer turned the wrong valve and accidentally caused the waste and seawater to flow back into the submarine.

The U-1206 submarine before its fateful patrol. Photo: The Scotsman

The situation quickly became dire. Seawater and sewage flooded the toilets and seeped into the batteries located just below the shower inside the giant ship, causing a chemical reaction that produced toxic chlorine gas.

As the toxic gas filled the submarine, Schlitt frantically ordered the submarine to surface for oxygen. The crew detonated ballast tanks and fired torpedoes to increase the surfacing speed of the flooded submarine.

However, bad luck continued to follow the crew when the submarine surfaced, just off the Scottish coast. "As soon as we surfaced, British fighter and patrol planes spotted us," Schlitt wrote. British planes immediately opened fire on the submarine.

Hit by bullets, the U-1206 lost its ability to dive, leaving Schlitt with no choice but to scuttle the ship after ordering the crew to evacuate to rubber boats.

"The crew reached the Scottish coast. In an attempt to climb the steep cliffs in rough seas, three sailors died tragically by falling into the sea, the rest were captured by an English sailing ship," Schlitt recounted.

The wreck of the U-1206 at the bottom of the North Sea. Photo: Netorama

Schlitt survived the war and died in 2009. British Prime Minister Wilston Churchill later admitted that what scared him most during the war were the dangerous German U-boats.

However, after the summer of 1943, the Allies were able to sink German U-boats faster than the Germans could build replacements. 75% of the German U-boat fleet was sunk, killing 30,000 of the 40,000 sailors on board.

Therefore, historians believe that although the U-1206 is the only warship in the history of warfare to be put out of action because of a toilet, it is very possible that this rare incident saved the lives of the crew members on board. Today, the U-1206 submarine still lies at the bottom of the North Sea.

According to VNE