The wreck of the Nazi submarine, sunk during World War II has been alerted by Indonesian researchers. The discovery was announced last week after researchers examined the hulking underwater structure, which also contained at least 17 skeletons likely belonging to the vessel's crew. "This is an extraordinary find that will certainly provide useful information about what took place in the Java Sea during World War II," Utomo says.
A group of divers from the Yogyakarta Archeology Center and the Yogyakarta Diving Center first reached the sub on November 9. According to newspaper reports, they have not yet discovered any identifying features on the outside of the vessel. However, they did discover evidence inside the sub that suggests it belonged to German forces.
The National Research Center said it believes the submarine is the "U-168," which was torpedoed in 1944 by a Dutch submarine. The submarine's hull is heavily damaged. "Wolf Pack: The Story of the U-Boat in World War II," author Gordon Williamson points out in his tome that the U-168 was for a time stationed out of Jakarta and was able to sink several ships before being brought down in October of 1944.
Further tests are expected to confirm whether the sub is the U-168. Utomo welcomes any outside help from the international community. "There could be more people in there. We are open to assistance from the German government to research this area of their history," he said. It won't be the first time a German sub was discovered this year. Employees scouting new potential locations for an underwater oil pipeline off the coast of Norway this spring stumbled upon the wreck of U-486, sunk by a British submarine in 1945.

Source : Catholic Online