In the morning of 15 April, 1919, the townsfolk of Hastings, in Sussex, on the south coast of England, woke up to an astonishing sight. A huge German U-boat had washed ashore right in front of the popular Queens Hotel. The wreck of the submarine became an overnight sensation, drawing in tourists from all over England, Wales and Scotland.

The submarine SM U-118 was commissioned on 8 May 1918, and put into service in the eastern Atlantic. The SM U-118 scored its first hit on the British steamer Wellington after four months. Early the following month, U-118 sank its second and last ship, the British tanker Arca. With the ending of hostilities on 11 November 1918 came the subsequent surrender of the Imperial German Navy, including SM U-118 to France on 23 February 1919.

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