U-534 at Birkenhead Docks |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-534 |
| Ordered: | 10 April 1941 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 352 |
| Laid down: | 20 February 1942 |
| Launched: | 3 September 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 3 December 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk by aircraft, 6 May 1945 |
| Status: | Salvaged, 1993 Museum ship, February 2009 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) o/a 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) o/a 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 25,620 nmi (47,450 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 48 to 56 |
| Armament: | • 6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) • 22 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes • 1 × Utof 105 mm/45 deck gun (110 rounds) • Twin 3.7 cm Flakzwilling M43U and 20 mm AA guns |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | 4th U-boat Flotilla 2nd U-boat Flotilla 33rd U-boat Flotilla |
| Commanders: | Kptlt. Herbert Nollau |
| Operations: | 1 training patrol, 2 combat patrols. |
| Victories: | No ships sunk. Two British aircraft shot down. |
German submarine U-534 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. She was built in 1942 in Hamburg-Finkenwerder by Deutsche Werft AG. The U-boat is one of only four large German WWII submarines in preserved condition remaining in the world, the only other IXC boat being U-505 in Chicago.[1] She was used mainly for training duties, and during her life sank no other ships. A Royal Air Force bomber sank her on 5 May 1945 some 20 kilometers northeast of the Danish island of Anholt. U-534 was salvaged in 1993 and since February 2009 has been on exhibition in Birkenhead as the U-boat Story.
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After commissioning, U-534 was assigned to the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training purposes and weapon testing, including the new acoustic torpedo Zaunkoenig T-5, until February 1944. Then she was reconfigured (main gun removed, flak added) and in April transferred to 2nd U-boat Flotilla. Her first war patrol was plagued by an oil leak and bad weather in the North Atlantic and all that was accomplished was collecting weather data. On the second patrol, from 25 August 1944 to 24 October 1944, the boat had to escape the Allied blockade of Lorient, and make it back to a friendly port. Again, no ships were sunk, but an attacking Vickers Wellington bomber was shot down. U-534 then was transferred to 33rd U-boat Flotilla and put out of duty until 1 May 1945. On 5 May 1945, she was on her last wartime patrol, when the captain was notified about Admiral Dönitz' order to surrender.[2][3]
On 5 May 1945, for unknown reasons, the captain of U-534 ignored the order to surrender, issued to all U-boats by Admiral Dönitz, and set course for Norway instead. To this day, mystery still surrounds U-534's refusal to surrender; however, numerous theories exist. What seems to be established fact is that U-534 was sailing on the surface of the Kattegat, together with three other U-boats, when British Liberator aircraft attacked. The crew managed to shoot one bomber down, and nine depth charges from the bombing runs missed, but then the boat received a direct hit. U-534 began to take on water as a result of the damage to her aft section by the engine rooms, and sank north-east of Anholt. The shot-down B-24 must have come down nearby, but all crew on board the plane were lost.
U-534 had a crew of 52 men, all of whom escaped and 49 survived. Five were trapped in the torpedo room as she began to sink but escaped through the torpedo loading hatch once the boat had settled on the sea bed. One of these crewmen, 17-year old radio operator Josef Neudorfer, failed to breathe out as he was surfacing from depth and died from damage to his lungs. The other two deaths were caused by exposure.[2][3]
One plausible explanation for U-534's refusal to surrender lies in the discovery of three experimental T11 torpedoes found in the aft section of the vessel.[4] Only 38 of this type were made, and they were unique in that they had acoustic homing systems which were developed as a countermeasure to the British Foxer decoy system. While it's not known why U-534 was carrying such advanced weapons, it does offer a possible explanation for her captain's refusal to surrender.
The vessel's commander, Kapitänleutnant Herbert Nollau, committed suicide in 1968.
U-534 was mounted with the rare Twin 3.7 cm Flakzwilling M43U on the LM42U mount. This was one of the beat AA weapons the used by the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. It was mainly used on the Type IX as it was rather heavy for the Type VII U-boats.
U-534 lay on the sea bed for nearly 41 years until she was found in 1986 by the Danish wreckhunter Aage Jensen, nicknamed "Dynamite-Aage". With the help of the leader of the team The Businessman LARS SUNN PEDERSEN who first presented the idea to former building-magnate AXEL JUHL JØRGENSEN, who after some consideration pulled out in 1992. Shortly after LARS SUNN PEDERSEN presented the idea to Danish media millionaire Karsten Ree who then sponsored the raising of the submarine amid rumours of Nazi gold and intense media coverage. Hopes of gold treasure proved unfounded, however, as the ship contained nothing extraordinary.[5]
Transported to Birkenhead, England, in 1996, the vessel formed part of the Warship Preservation Trust's collection at Birkenhead Docks until the museum closed on 5 February 2006. On 27 June 2007, the Merseytravel transit authority announced that it had acquired the submarine to display at the Woodside Ferry Terminal.[6]
For technical reasons and to facilitate economical transportation to its new site, the vessel was cut into five sections, two of which were subsequently re-joined. It is now displayed in sectioned form to allow visitors better visibility, but not entry into the U-Boat.[7] Merseytravel said that preserving the hull intact would have created prohibitive transport costs.[8] Engineers began a month-long operation to cut up U-534 using a diamond wire cutter on 6 February 2008. Beginning on 10 March 2008, the sections, each weighing up to 240 tonnes, were transported by floating crane over a number of days.
"The U-Boat Story" exhibition opened on 10 February 2009.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:German_submarine_U-534 German submarine U-534] at Wikimedia Commons
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