Kapitan
03-25-18, 01:51 PM
Today marks another chapter closed for me and my goals, many of you know i have traveled around the world because of my love for ships and submarines, well today i completed probably my biggest goal to date.
Most of you are aware that i have been to see the U995 at Laboe, that i have also seen U2540 (Wilhelm Bauer) and last year with the Mrs help U505 in Chicago.
Now these were the main trio of complete and intact submarines of world war two but notably there is one that is absent and today i can finally mark her off my rather long list.
Our Journey begins from London England a trek that will see us drive over 220 miles along the three major motorways of the UK (M25 M1 M6) we are heading to the Northwest and a very famous part of it Birkenhead.
Birkenhead located on the opposite bank of the River Mersey to Liverpool again another important port city is home to Camel Laird, today the area is run down and in desperate need of regeneration it seems only the yard is there on hand for steady employment but even that has cut back.
Birkenhead once a proud industrial port now barely even registers ship traffic, the main employer Camel Laird are currently servicing two RFA AOR's (Fort Victoria being one of them) and thats about the highlight of it all.
That being said its little known the area played a key role along with Liverpool during world war II in the hunt for German U boats, and today we are going to see one of these prisoners of war.
Tantalizingly close to the water front entombed behind brick walls and glass lies the broken prisoner, as if to forever torment he soul she can only but peek at the passing traffic, the traffic she once set out to destroy.
Next to the ferry pier lies the now broken remains of a German World war II U boat, she would never claim an allied ship (except two bombers) in combat but would herself be sunk, her story is one of needless waste untold carnage and a hollow dream.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/810/26139244877_d6128bda14.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FPQsPP)IMG_8155 (https://flic.kr/p/FPQsPP) by B S (https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/), on Flickr
Commissioned in 1942 the submarine was assigned to training duties a rather mundane job for a powerful type IXC/40 and unlike her 85 other sisters she would barely get to stretch her legs, she made just two combat patrols in her life.
Her first duty was plagued by bad weather and a persistent oil leak her task was weather reporting she returned to Bordeaux for repairs.
In 1944 she was the last U boat to leave and escape from Lorient after the advances of the Allies from the Normandy landings.
She would curiously be the last submarines to leave Stettin Poland before it fell to the Russians in 1945.
Moved to Kiel her luck was to run out, on the 5th May 1945 a partial surrender was in force and the Harbor master at Oersund informed U534 of this.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/807/39201010130_f39b464c12.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22J4qz1)IMG_8172 (https://flic.kr/p/22J4qz1) by B S (https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/), on Flickr
Later the same day a flight of Liberators would attack the submarine damaging her fatally, she sank in the Kattergat in 65 meters of water, while most of her crew survived and jumped overboard several were still trapped in side, it wasn't until the boat hit the bottom that they could floor the compartment and make a free assent, sadly on the way up the 17 year old radio operator failed to exhale and died due to the injuries in his lungs, of the 52 men on U534 49 were saved two died of exposure.
3 days later Germany capitulated
The U534 slipped away from memory and also unaccounted for by Danish and German naval records and lay undiscovered, in 1986 she was found by Danish explorer Aage Jensen, unable to penetrate the wreck he sought the help of someone to raise her, that person was Karsten Raee a wealthy media man who funded the recovery of the wreck.
As U534 has no souls on board she is not classified as a war grave and in 1993 the finally decision taken by the Danish MOD gave the go ahead for dutch company Smit Tak (who would later raise Kursk) to complete the salvage.
On the 23rd august 1993 U534 broke the surface for the first time in nearly half a century, on board was numerous ammunition including 3 near perfect T11 Torpedoes the only ones in the world.
It was decided she would be sea fastened to a barge and sent to Liverpool England there she lay broken and twisted as if she was a trophy for the victors.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/814/40116873865_ab0f3b7d2f.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/247ZsX4)IMG_8197 (https://flic.kr/p/247ZsX4) by B S (https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/), on Flickr
In 2007 the warship trust (home to HMS Plymouth & Onyx) went into liquidation her future remained uncertain, she was instead cut up into 5 pieces and put on display near the Ferry Pier.
Her hulk is not accessible to the public only a brief glimpse through the glass is all you can get from this once mighty war machine, she sits battered and broken forever entombed in her final resting place overlooking the sea she once would have hunted in and all her secrets laid bare.
More pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/albums/72157693107212091/with/40116873865/
Most of you are aware that i have been to see the U995 at Laboe, that i have also seen U2540 (Wilhelm Bauer) and last year with the Mrs help U505 in Chicago.
Now these were the main trio of complete and intact submarines of world war two but notably there is one that is absent and today i can finally mark her off my rather long list.
Our Journey begins from London England a trek that will see us drive over 220 miles along the three major motorways of the UK (M25 M1 M6) we are heading to the Northwest and a very famous part of it Birkenhead.
Birkenhead located on the opposite bank of the River Mersey to Liverpool again another important port city is home to Camel Laird, today the area is run down and in desperate need of regeneration it seems only the yard is there on hand for steady employment but even that has cut back.
Birkenhead once a proud industrial port now barely even registers ship traffic, the main employer Camel Laird are currently servicing two RFA AOR's (Fort Victoria being one of them) and thats about the highlight of it all.
That being said its little known the area played a key role along with Liverpool during world war II in the hunt for German U boats, and today we are going to see one of these prisoners of war.
Tantalizingly close to the water front entombed behind brick walls and glass lies the broken prisoner, as if to forever torment he soul she can only but peek at the passing traffic, the traffic she once set out to destroy.
Next to the ferry pier lies the now broken remains of a German World war II U boat, she would never claim an allied ship (except two bombers) in combat but would herself be sunk, her story is one of needless waste untold carnage and a hollow dream.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/810/26139244877_d6128bda14.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FPQsPP)IMG_8155 (https://flic.kr/p/FPQsPP) by B S (https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/), on Flickr
Commissioned in 1942 the submarine was assigned to training duties a rather mundane job for a powerful type IXC/40 and unlike her 85 other sisters she would barely get to stretch her legs, she made just two combat patrols in her life.
Her first duty was plagued by bad weather and a persistent oil leak her task was weather reporting she returned to Bordeaux for repairs.
In 1944 she was the last U boat to leave and escape from Lorient after the advances of the Allies from the Normandy landings.
She would curiously be the last submarines to leave Stettin Poland before it fell to the Russians in 1945.
Moved to Kiel her luck was to run out, on the 5th May 1945 a partial surrender was in force and the Harbor master at Oersund informed U534 of this.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/807/39201010130_f39b464c12.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22J4qz1)IMG_8172 (https://flic.kr/p/22J4qz1) by B S (https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/), on Flickr
Later the same day a flight of Liberators would attack the submarine damaging her fatally, she sank in the Kattergat in 65 meters of water, while most of her crew survived and jumped overboard several were still trapped in side, it wasn't until the boat hit the bottom that they could floor the compartment and make a free assent, sadly on the way up the 17 year old radio operator failed to exhale and died due to the injuries in his lungs, of the 52 men on U534 49 were saved two died of exposure.
3 days later Germany capitulated
The U534 slipped away from memory and also unaccounted for by Danish and German naval records and lay undiscovered, in 1986 she was found by Danish explorer Aage Jensen, unable to penetrate the wreck he sought the help of someone to raise her, that person was Karsten Raee a wealthy media man who funded the recovery of the wreck.
As U534 has no souls on board she is not classified as a war grave and in 1993 the finally decision taken by the Danish MOD gave the go ahead for dutch company Smit Tak (who would later raise Kursk) to complete the salvage.
On the 23rd august 1993 U534 broke the surface for the first time in nearly half a century, on board was numerous ammunition including 3 near perfect T11 Torpedoes the only ones in the world.
It was decided she would be sea fastened to a barge and sent to Liverpool England there she lay broken and twisted as if she was a trophy for the victors.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/814/40116873865_ab0f3b7d2f.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/247ZsX4)IMG_8197 (https://flic.kr/p/247ZsX4) by B S (https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/), on Flickr
In 2007 the warship trust (home to HMS Plymouth & Onyx) went into liquidation her future remained uncertain, she was instead cut up into 5 pieces and put on display near the Ferry Pier.
Her hulk is not accessible to the public only a brief glimpse through the glass is all you can get from this once mighty war machine, she sits battered and broken forever entombed in her final resting place overlooking the sea she once would have hunted in and all her secrets laid bare.
More pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/131313936@N03/albums/72157693107212091/with/40116873865/