German submarine U-534


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U-534 at Birkenhead Docks
Career Kriegsmarine Ensign
Name: Unterseeboot U-534
Ordered: 10 April 1941
Builder: Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg
Yard number: 352
Laid down: 20 Feb, 1942
Launched: 3 September 1942
Commissioned: 3 December 1942
Out of service: 5 May 1945
Fate: Sunk by aircraft.
Status: Salvaged museum ship.
Class and type: German Type IXC/40 submarine.
Service record
Part of: Kriegsmarine:
2. Unterseebootsflottille
33. Unterseebootsflottille
Commanders: Oblt. Herbert Nollau
Operations: 1 training patrol, 2 combat patrols.
Victories: No ships sunk. Two British aircraft shot down.


U-534 at the Nautilus Museum, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England
Part of the hull and conning tower of U-534
An artist's impression of how U-534 will look in the visitor centre at Woodside when it opens in 2008

Unterseeboot 534 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the Kriegsmarine and was built in 1942 in Hamburg-Finkenwerder by Deutsche Werft AG. The U-boat is one of only four remaining in the world.[1]

She was sunk on 5 May 1945 by 10 depth charges launched from a British Liberator aircraft. She sank in the waters of Kattegat north-west of Elsinore, in position 56°39′N 11°48′E / 56.65, 11.8 (U-534). In 1993 Danish media millionaire, Karsten Ree, sponsored the raising of the submarine amid rumours of Nazi gold and intense media coverage. Hopes of gold treasure were disappointed, however, as the ship contained nothing but what was to be expected.

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.[2]

For technical reasons and to facilitate economical transportation to its new site, the vessel was cut into four sections. It will be displayed in this form to allow visitors better access and visibility.[3] Merseytravel said that preserving the hull intact would have created prohibitive transport costs.[4] Engineers began a month-long operation to break 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. Merseytravel will annouce details of the opening date in the near future. It is possible to register for U-534 news updates on the Mersey Ferries website.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Engineers breaking-up WWII U-boat", BBC News (6 February 2008). Retrieved on 17 February 2008. 
  2. ^ "Woodside Ferry to be new home for rescued U-boat", Liverpool Daily Post (July 2007). Retrieved on 25 September 2007. 
  3. ^ "About U-534". Mersey Ferries. Retrieved on 9 June, 2008.
  4. ^ "U-boat's future is secured", Liverpool Daily Post (22 October 2007). Retrieved on 22 October 2007. 

External links

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