31 May 13 Laboe Memorial and U-995

[Wreford-Brown]

Despite living in Germany for over two years I'd never made the journey to the Laboe Memorial and U-995 near to Kiel. I've finally managed to visit them and, despite there being a large number of threads on the same topic, can't think of anywhere I'd rather share the photographs.

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99549_zpsd0610bcb.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99549_zpsd0610bcb.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99553_zps438c7c41.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99553_zps438c7c41.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9954_zps2bd5ad05.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9954_zps2bd5ad05.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9953_zps44478ad5.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9953_zps44478ad5.jpg.html)

More to follow...

[Sailor Steve]

Good shots.

Good start. :sunny:

[Onkel Neal]

Very cool

[nikimcbee]

Great photos!:up: Did you take any inside the boat?

[BossMark]

Great photos :salute::salute::up:

[Red October1984]

Awesome shots! I am going to see the USS North Carolina this week, hopefully.

I'll get some shots of that if I go. :D

[Wreford-Brown]

The German Naval Memorial at Leboe was originally erected as a memorial for German sailors killed in WW1 but after WW2 was changed to an internationally accepted peace monument. It was wholly privately funded and build on the site of a disarmed coastal battery.

Admiral Scheer dedicated the monument on 31 May 1936. Adolf Hitler was present but didn't speak as Admiral Raeder spoke in his stead. It was largely undamaged during WW2 and was confiscated by British occupation forces. Unlike other military memorials, it was not destroyed as it was accepted as a memorial which did not glorify war but which was intended to pay tribute to seamen who had died for their country.

In 1954 the memorial was returned to the German Naval Association and during the ceremony Otto Kretschmar (the u-boat commander who sank the most tonnage during WW2) dedicated it to all mariners who had lost their lives in both wars and it has remained an international peace monument ever since.

The Laboe memorial:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/LaboeMemorial_zpsa69bb3f7.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/LaboeMemorial_zpsa69bb3f7.jpg.html)

Part of the memorial wall which depicts the German ships lost during WW1 and 2. This is the WW2 wall and the WW1 wall faces it, giving a stark reminder of the sheer number of ships lost by just one side during the war:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/MemorialWall1_zps147dc14f.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/MemorialWall1_zps147dc14f.jpg.html)

U-boat models:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/XXIandVII_zpsf98de042.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/XXIandVII_zpsf98de042.jpg.html)

Bismarck model:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/Bismarck_zps02479be6.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/Bismarck_zps02479be6.jpg.html)

Wilhelm Gusloff model. The greatest loss of life in a single incident when it was sunk by a Russian submarine (estimated loss of over 9000 lives):
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/WilhelmGustloff_zpseac862d1.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/WilhelmGustloff_zpseac862d1.jpg.html)

[Wreford-Brown]

Memorial to the US submarine crews who died during WW2. I've recently read 'Clear the Bridge!' by the commander of the USS Tang which was sunk by a malfunctioning torpedo, so it was particularly poignant for me:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/Memorials_zpscdd724f0.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/Memorials_zpscdd724f0.jpg.html)

Memorial to those who died in the encounter between the German Auxiliary Cruiser Kormoran and HMAS Sydney. The wrecks of these ships were found in 2008:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/Memorials1_zps168a99a4.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/Memorials1_zps168a99a4.jpg.html)

Propeller from the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and a model of the ship:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/PrinzEugenpropeller_zpsc4194116.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/PrinzEugenpropeller_zpsc4194116.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/PrinzEugen_zpsbbf2b1dc.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/PrinzEugen_zpsbbf2b1dc.jpg.html)

Salvaged bell from the Admiral Hipper:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/AdmiralHipperbell_zps11cadd12.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/AdmiralHipperbell_zps11cadd12.jpg.html)

[Wreford-Brown]

Great photos!:up: Did you take any inside the boat?

Getting there...

[Wreford-Brown]

Starboard propeller and rudder:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9957_zpsfcca8ad1.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9957_zpsfcca8ad1.jpg.html)

Port propeller and rudder:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99546_zpsda162a8d.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99546_zpsda162a8d.jpg.html)

Stern torpedo tube:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99547_zpse7da02e3.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99547_zpse7da02e3.jpg.html)

Aft torpedo room:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9958_zps844a8719.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9958_zps844a8719.jpg.html)

[Wreford-Brown]

Port electric engine. I never realised that the electric engines were in the aft torpedo room and that the first rear bulkhead was between the electric engines and the diesels (visible in the second photo):
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9959_zps021a043c.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-9959_zps021a043c.jpg.html)

Starboard electric engine:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99510_zpsadd0fbe1.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99510_zpsadd0fbe1.jpg.html)

Port diesel:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99511_zpsff942e6d.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99511_zpsff942e6d.jpg.html)

Top end of port diesel:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99513_zps5c76e64c.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99513_zps5c76e64c.jpg.html)

Starboard diesel:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99512_zpsd54794fa.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99512_zpsd54794fa.jpg.html)

Top end of starboard diesel:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99514_zps92925121.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99514_zps92925121.jpg.html)

[Wreford-Brown]

Looks familiar...

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99516_zps28d2aa22.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99516_zps28d2aa22.jpg.html)
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99515_zpsc35baee3.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99515_zpsc35baee3.jpg.html)

[Herr-Berbunch]

Thanks for sharing, there can never be too many threads on this subject. Great pics.

[Red October1984]

I love it! Keep 'em coming! PLEASE! :D

I can't wait to see the USS North Carolina this week. I'm incredibly excited...I have to conquer the 14 hour drive tomorrow first... :hmmm:

[Wreford-Brown]

I love it! Keep 'em coming! PLEASE! :D

I can't wait to see the USS North Carolina this week. I'm incredibly excited...I have to conquer the 14 hour drive tomorrow first... :hmmm:

14 hours to see a ship is definitely devotion! :salute:

[Wreford-Brown]

Imagine cooking for nearly 50 people on an electric stove!
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99517_zps8f154072.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99517_zps8f154072.jpg.html)

NCOs accommodation:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99518_zps7c5b9297.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99518_zps7c5b9297.jpg.html)

Control room:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99520_zps4cc044ec.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99520_zps4cc044ec.jpg.html)

Some more familiar sights:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99521_zpsd96af22f.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99521_zpsd96af22f.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99524_zpsc6917504.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99524_zpsc6917504.jpg.html)

[Wreford-Brown]

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99525_zps26909016.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99525_zps26909016.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99526_zps30860801.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99526_zps30860801.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99527_zps89e1b8f2.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99527_zps89e1b8f2.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99528_zps8ce22eb7.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99528_zps8ce22eb7.jpg.html)

Periscope depth:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99529_zpsaa220b62.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99529_zpsaa220b62.jpg.html)

[Wreford-Brown]

Radio room:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99533_zps2393b79f.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99533_zps2393b79f.jpg.html)

Captains bunk:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99534_zps05a251d1.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99534_zps05a251d1.jpg.html)

Officers' Mess:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99535_zpsec6b978a.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99535_zpsec6b978a.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99536_zps5867b56f.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99536_zps5867b56f.jpg.html)

[Wreford-Brown]

Starboard side of the forward torpedo room:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99538_zps79ba26fe.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99538_zps79ba26fe.jpg.html)

Port side:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99537_zps7ca6b8ff.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99537_zps7ca6b8ff.jpg.html)

The business end:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99539_zpsd85fc87a.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99539_zpsd85fc87a.jpg.html)

[mookiemookie]

They sure went crazy with the multi-colored paint in there, didn't they?

[Wreford-Brown]

Back outside:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99541_zps51ad8d8c.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99541_zps51ad8d8c.jpg.html)

Bow:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99540_zps14f309ac.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99540_zps14f309ac.jpg.html)

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99554_zps5bcc3fcc.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99554_zps5bcc3fcc.jpg.html)

Diving planes:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99545_zps216c6266.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99545_zps216c6266.jpg.html)

Port side:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99544_zpsac453b8f.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99544_zpsac453b8f.jpg.html)

[Wreford-Brown]

I think the thing that struck me most was the tiny size of the VII, especially when you consider that there was little to no allowance for comfort. The round bulkheads were incredibly tight and I was only able to get through them by adopting a 'Das Boot' approach and swinging myself through, much to the amusement of the little WBs.

Thousands of submariners from all nations entered these war machines knowing that there was a good likelihood that they would never see daylight again and, particularly in the later stages of the war, knowing that death was more likely than not.

I have new found respect for those who crewed these and other boats and ships. Regardless of which side they fought on, it took a great deal of nerve to serve their nation in as unforgiving a place as the sea, where even the elements were against them, and even more to deploy on multiple patrols when they knew what they were letting themselves in for.

I guess the German Naval Memorial has served its purpose - a Memorial for all those who died at sea and for peaceful navigation in free waters.

[Cybermat47]

Excellent snaps :sunny:

[Cybermat47]

Some more familiar sights:
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww340/Wreford-Brown/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99521_zpsd96af22f.jpg (http://s733.photobucket.com/user/Wreford-Brown/media/20130529%20Laboe%20Memorial%20and%20U-995/U-99521_zpsd96af22f.jpg.html)


What is that thing? It's always been a complete mystery to me!

[mookiemookie]

What is that thing? It's always been a complete mystery to me!

Depth finder.

[Cybermat47]

Depth finder.


Thank you! :salute:

[Mork_417]

Awesome pictures. :up:

[TarJak]

Great shots WB. You've made me very jealous.:salute:

[Wreford-Brown]

The next trip will be to the Wilhelm Bauer:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/U_boat_wilhelm_bauer.JPG

http://www.bremerhaven.de/meer-erleben/sehenswertes/museumsschiffe/u-boot-wilhelm-bauer.12176.html (http://www.bremerhaven.de/meer-erleben/sehenswertes/museumsschiffe/u-boot-wilhelm-bauer.12176.html)

Having created the XXI 1939 mod it's about time I saw one!

[Jimbuna]

Fantastic shots D http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[Red October1984]

I wish I was there...and at the Wilhem Bauer. :wah: