German National Maritime Museum Bremerhaven 7 Sep 13

[Wreford-Brown]

After three weeks away from home running a training course in the UK I was hoping for a quiet weekend, but Mrs WB thought it would be a good idea to take the little WBs away for a day trip. She suggested Bremerhaven (a little over 90 mins away) but I had little idea that she was taking me to see the German National Maritime Museum and this:

[Schroeder]

The museum is pretty sweet and the Wilhelm Bauer is definitely worth a visit.

[Wreford-Brown]

Wilhelm Bauer first

She was built during WW2 and commissioned as U-2540 but scuttled near the Flensburg lightship as Allied forces approached.

After 12 years on the bottom it was realised that salvaging the boat (along with two type XXIII) was cheaper than building boats from scratch so she was raised and commissioned as a research boat, initially in the Bundesmarine then as a civilian vessel. After being released from service in 1982 she was bought by the museum and restored to WW2 condition.

As you approach the boat you can see how streamlining would have increased her underwater performance:



You enter through the forward torpedo room which has four of the original torpedo tubes left (the other two were removed during Bundesmarine service).



You then walk through a series of crew accommodation areas and wardrooms:

[Wreford-Brown]

Next is a section where they have cut through the decks so you can see into the battery compartment.

[Jimbuna]

That's a great start D but we need much more fuel/pictures

[Wreford-Brown]

Into the control room:





The conning tower is closed to the public so there's a model to show what it should look like.



The galley was inside the control room which surprised me:

[Wreford-Brown]

Then through to the forward crew areas:









and into the engine rooms:

[Wreford-Brown]

There was also some information about the CO2 scrubbers and how they worked:





The scrubbers in place are from Drager who also produce some of the primary rebreathers used by divers worldwide. I don't know whether they produced the scrubbers during WW2 but as a German firm founded in 1889 I believe they were the original designers.

[Wreford-Brown]

Then down through to the electrical engine controls:

[Herr-Berbunch]

Great pics.

[Wreford-Brown]

Finally the stern of the boat:

[Sailor Steve]

Nice stuff. I've seen some pictures before but not of the placards describing things. Way cool.

[Wreford-Brown]

The rest of the maritime museum is also very good, with an extra surprise that I really wasn't expecting. Before we get to the surprise.

Bremerhaven:



The museum:



The 'water tractor' Steir. She was an original German design in 1954 but led to a flotilla of similar designs that served as tugs and pilot ships worldwide:





Another innovation was this hydroplane:





And a concrete ship - designed when iron and steel became increasingly expensive and concrete seemed to provide a suitable alternative:

[Wreford-Brown]

The museum itself devotes itself to maritime innovation, from early European single-tree canoes through search and rescue to Germany's strong military maritime heritage.

Lifeboat:



Rescue ship:



There's also a large section devoted to Arctic / Antarctic survey missions (from the earliest years to the most recent missions) and another section devoted to whaling which entirely fits with the North Sea aspect of Bremerhaven's location. Whale skeleton:



In the harbour, close to the Wilhelm Bauer, there are a few ships with a rich heritage, including a pre-WW2 salvage ship which was converted to an anti-submarine ship during the war and a deep-sea salvage tug which has been sunk twice:

[fireftr18]

Great pics. Looks like an excellent place to visit. Thanks for sharing.