"The wreck is visible briefly every two to three years, depending on the tides and the wind that leads to sand movements, but a good gust of wind and the wreck will disappear again," Bernard Bracq, the mayor of Wissant, told the BBC.

On its final mission, the crew was laying mines on the way to Boulogne-sur-Mer when it ran aground. The 26 members of the crew then surrendered to French authorities.