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– This is the third submarine found in Tunisia and the only one from the First World War. It’s exciting, like a history book has come to life, says dive leader Selim Baccar.
The wreck was discovered near Cap Bon in Tunisian waters in September, when instructors from a diving club explored new areas to explore with their students. Baccar says they knew there were shipwrecks in the area, but not which ones.
– During the first dive we met the submarine.
It is almost intact the wreck is covered in algae and the hull and periscope now house fish and crustaceans.
After consulting experts, the divers came to the conclusion that it must be the Ariane submarine, which during the war was based in Bizerte, further west of Tunisia.
Ariane was torpedoed while lying on the surface of a German submarine in June 1917 and only 8 of the 29 crew members could be rescued according to AGASM, a French organization for former submarine crews.
– It is not common to find remains of submarines, especially from World War I, because we do not know exactly where they sank, says Admiral Dominique Salles, president of AGASM.
