quarta-feira, 31 de agosto de 2011

Haunebu´s Hoax Photos Debunked

This picture shows a “Haunebu-II” next to a house, demonstrating the dimensions of the flight disc


An enlargement of the red bordered area shows clearly that the lower edge of the right lower cupola (arrows) does not match the remainder of the picture.
Even without enlargement, this dividing line is easily recognizable. Even the most untrained layman without special photo-technical knowledge can see an unambiguous “photo-shop” montage!




The same applies also to this picture. While the flight disc is a relatively sharp image, the whole background is a blur. However, the area at the same distance of the claimed flying object would have to be also sharp! The complete contrast of the disc with the remainder of the picture is recognizable without difficulty!


quarta-feira, 17 de agosto de 2011

The 'Bellonzo-Schriever-Miethe Disc'



The retractable undercarriage legs terminated in inflatable rubber cushions. The craft was designed to carry a crew of three The "Schriever-Habermohl" flying disc developed between 1943 and 1945 consisted of a stable dome-shaped cabin surrounded by a flat, rotating rim. Toward the end of the war, all the models and prototypes were reported destroyed before they could be found by the Soviets. According to postwar U.S. intelligence reports, however, the Russian army succeeded in capturing one prototype. After the war, both Schriever and Miethe, another German scientist involved in the design of flying disks, came to work for the US under ‘Operation Paperclip’. Habermohl was reported, by U.S. Army Military Intelligence, as having been taken to the Soviet Union.
 


The first non-official report on the development of this craft is to be found in Die Deutschen Waffen und Geheimwaffen des 2 Weltkriegs und ihre Weiterentwicklung (Germany's Weapons and Secret Weapons of the Second World War and their Later Development)., J.F. Lehmanns Verlag, Munich, 1956. The author of this detailed and technical work on German wartime weaponry was Major d.R. Rudolf Lusar, an engineer who worked in the German Reichs-Patent Office and had access to many original plans and documents. Lusar devoted a section of the chapter entitled "Special Devices," to Third Reich saucer designs.

Among other things, Lusar declared:
"German scientists and researchers took the first steps toward such flying saucers during the last war, and even built and tested such flying devices, which border on the fantastic. According to information confirmed by experts and collaborators, the first projects involving "flying discs" began in 1941. The blueprints for these projects were furnished by German experts Schriever, Habermohl, Miethe, and the Italian expert Bellonzo."

Habermohl and Schriever chose a flat hoop which spun around a fixed pilot's cabin in the shape of a dome. It consisted of steerable disc wings which enabled, according to the direction of their placement, in horizontal takeoff or flight. Miethe developed a kind of disk 42 meters in diameter, to which steerable nozzles had been attached. Schriever and Habermohl, who had worked together in Prague, took off on 14 February 1945 in the first "flying disc". They attained a height of 12,400 meters in three minutes and a horizontal flight speed of 2000 KMH. It had been expected to reach speeds of up to 4000 KMH. 
 


Massive initial tests and research work were involved prior to undertaking the manufacture of the project. Due to the high rate of speed and the extraordinary heat demands, it was necessary to find particular materials in order to resist the effects of the high temperatures. Project development, which had run into the millions, was practically concluded by the final days of the war. All existing models were destroyed at the end of the conflict, but the factory at Breslau in which Miethe had worked fell into the hands of the Soviets, who seized all the material and technical personnel and shipped them to Siberia, where successful work on "flying saucers" was conducted. 
 


Schriever was able to leave Prague on time, but Habermohl must be in the Soviet Union, since nothing more is known concerning his whereabouts. The aged German builder, Miethe, is in the United States developing, it is said, "flying saucers" for the A.V. Roe Company in the U.S.A. and in Canada..
 

Georg Klein ran the Schriever, Habermohl and Miethe project for the Luftwaffe. When Kammler took over the program and it became an SS program, Klein was retained by Kammler. Klaus-Peter Rothkugel recounts a discussion between Klein and Kammler in which Kammler finally decides upon the Habermohl model for production purposes and tells Klein why. Klein did many newspaper articles, not tabloid articles, in the German press in the 1950's. Klein was a public figure then. In one article, Klein describes seeing a German saucer test flown at Prague airport. Josef Epp worked as a consultant on all three of these programs and took pictures of a test flight in 1944 which were published in his book.

In a 2005 book, the late Heiner Gehring and Karl-Heinz Zunneck discuss the private memoirs of SS man Wilhelm Landig who, among other things, was responsible for SS security at the Prague airport. Landig says that the larger Haunebu-sized craft were real and flew at some point but that the propulsion system was nothing like described by many German writers and as in those alleged blueprints. Landig claims that the last three of these craft are stored, currently, in tunnels in the Andes. He says they no longer fly because of age and lack of spare parts. For years, he claims, a shadow group of technicians exchanged parts and knowlege world-wide to keep these things airborne. Landig calls them Rüstungesoteriker (arms esoterics).

Foo Fighter Word Etymology



When the USAF 415th NFS and British intruder aircraft first encountered the German land-based and launched WNF Feuerball and AEG Kugelwaffen weapons in the skies over occupied France in late 1944 they were simply called "Fire Fighters" due to their intense glow or "burn" in the sky. In the WNF Feuerball this was the chemical burn ring that caused an intense electrostatic field at close proximity to the daylight bombers. With the AEG Kugelwaffen, the glow or burn was considered part of the propulsion system which was suspected of being a mercury-plasma type.

As word spread of these mystery weapons the word Fire got changed several times:

1) Since the "Fire Fighters" appeared over France, the French word for fire was adopted- "Feu Fighter"

2) Too complicated for the Allied airmen, the USAF changed that to "Foo"- a crude reference to the Smokey Stover comic of a bumbling fireman that actually started fires and had a catchphrase of "Where there's foo, there's fire". So, the mystery weapons became known as "Foo Fighters". The RAF simply called them Kraut Meteors instead.

3) To hide the fact that these were German weapons, US Intel designated them in official military documents as "PHOO BOMBS" starting in December 1944. This has foiled FOIA document researchers for decades until a declassifed 1944 document concerning possible German Capabilities in 1945 revealed the code words and matching precise description. Perhaps they labeled them BOMBS as many believed this was a flying flak weapon, or aerial mine... which later proved to be a false assumption.

A Reuters report from December 13, 1944 Bottom: The New York Times, December 14, 1944


This document, fascinating in its own right, serves as a translation. "Foo fighters are "Phoo Bombs" in the government's parlance. No more "no record" name-games from the government


U.S. government's own documents prove they knew of the German origin of foo fighters. This table of contents of a "Intelligence Digest" document, with a February, 1945 date, addresses German military capacities. It lists "Phoo Bombs" as a weapon in the German arsenal (see VI- OtherWeapons) Taken from microfilm negative image.




The Focke Wulf VTOL Project








The Miracle Fighter


The fantastic Focke-Wulf "miracle fighter" is one of the few German secret designs which was developed into publicly acknowledged military airplanes.
Its story begins in 1942. German aeronautical research records for that year include a report by the Aerodynamic Testing Center in Göttingen, entitled "The Flying Wing". In this report, authors E. Von Holst, D. Küchermann and K. Solf examined the possibility of conceiving an aircraft that would combine the propulsion and lifting bodies, based on the flight of dragonflies as a source of inspiration. The original idea called for a powerful, fuselage-mounted propulsion engine to power two wide-diameter, inverse-rotation propellers. The lightweight and simple turboprop engine had not yet been developed.As Carlos Simó correctly points out in the Encyclopedia Más Allá de los Ovnis, such a vertical take-off device could revolutionize German aeronautics.



In the fall of 1944, the "miracle fighter" project had been calculated with great detail, and when compared to other fighters from the same time period, it should have had extraordinary flight performance: 1000 KMH had been calculated as its maximum ground speed, and some 840 KMH at an altitude of 11,000 m.. The initial elevation speed would be 25 meters per second, which would be reduced to 20 meters per second at cruising altitude.


Setbacks in the development of the propellers, according to Sengfelder, and the utter defeat of the Germans, kept this most interesting aircraft from ever making it off the drawing board. The blueprints fell into American hands, who realized in June 1945 that an advanced fighter was about to be born. These documents were stamped SECRET and the ramjet-powered wing was never officially built.
Nonetheless, in spite of the belief that the miracle fighter was never officially developed, the fact is that the U.S.--ultimate destination of the information liberated from the Nazis--built at least two aircraft suspiciously similar to the revolutionary German project.
These were the Lockheed XFV-1 "Tailsitter" and the Convair XFY-1 "Pogo", both equipped with fixed wings. In either case, propulsion was provided by means of a 5,850 HP Allison YT40-A-14 turbine, and two reverse propellers 4.8 meters in diameter. Although test flights could be completed with relatively favorable results, the U.S. Navy was not interested in "tail take-off" and the project was abandoned. This is, at least, the official story.


Triebflugel - The History Of Focke-Wulf's Vertical Take-Off Landing (VTOL) Project











terça-feira, 16 de agosto de 2011

The V3 - The "England-Canon"



Type
Artillery
Place of origin
Nazi Germany
Service history
In service
1944 - 1945
Used by
Nazi Germany
Wars
World War II
Production history
Manufacturer
Krupp
Specifications
Length
130 metres
Shell
140 kg
Caliber
150 mm
Rate of fire
300 shells per hour (projected)
Muzzle velocity
1,500 m/s
Maximum range
165 km




The V-3 (Vergeltungswaffe 3) was a German World War II supergun working on the multi-charge principle whereby secondary propellant charges are fired to add velocity to a projectile.
The weapon was planned to be used to bombard London from two large bunkers in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France, which were rendered unusable by Allied bombing raids before completion. Two similar guns were used to bombard the country of Luxembourg from December 1944 to February 1945.
The basic construction was later taken up in the U.S. and Canada by developments like Project HARP in the 1960s.
The V-3 was also known as the Hochdruckpumpe ("High Pressure Pump", HDP for short), which was a code name intended to hide the real purpose of the project. It was also known as Fleissiges Lieschen ("Busy Lizzie")


Description

The gun used multiple propellant charges placed along the barrel's length and timed to fire as soon as the projectile passed them, to provide an additional boost. Because of their greater suitability and ease of use, solid-fuel rocket boosters were used instead of explosive charges. These were arranged in symmetrical pairs along the length of the barrel, angled to project their thrust against the base of the projectile as it passed. This layout spawned the German codename Tausendfüßler ("millipede"). Unlike conventional rifled weapons of the day, the smoothbore gun fired a fin-stabilized shell, dependent upon aerodynamic rather than gyroscopic forces to prevent tumbling, which resulted in a lower drag coefficient.


Development

In 1943, German engineer August Cönders, of Röchling Stahlwerk AG, proposed an electrically initiated multiple-charge weapon. Thanks to the success of Cönders's other projects, including the "Röchling shell", major figures in the Nazi establishment took notice of him, most importantly Albert Speer, the Minister of Munitions.
Cönders was ordered to produce a prototype of the Hochdruckpumpe ("high-pressure-pump") and duly constructed one in 20 mm calibre, which proved satisfactory. At this point, Adolf Hitler, who had been following the project with interest, took a hand and decided that a battery of 50 full-size guns would be sited in northern France for bombarding London.
Cönders had constructed a full-calibre gun at the Hillersleben proving ground near Magdeburg, but by the end of 1943 he had encountered severe problems both in putting the gun's basic principle into operation and in producing a feasible design for the shells it was to fire. Even when everything worked, the muzzle velocity was just over 1,000 metres per second (3,300 ft/s), which was nowhere near what had been promised. Nonetheless, plans were proposed to build a single full-size gun with a 150-metre (490 ft) barrel at Misdroy on the Baltic island of Wolin, near Peenemünde, while construction at the Mimoyecques site in France (which had already been attacked by the USAAF and the RAF) went ahead. By March 1944, with no good news from Misdroy, the Heereswaffenamt (Weapon Procurement Office) took control of the project, and Cönders became one of the engineers working on the three chief problems: projectile design, obturation, and ignition of the secondary charges.
Six different companies, including Krupp and Skoda, produced satisfactory designs for projectiles. Obturation problems were solved by placing a sealing piston between the projectile and the initial propellant charge, which in turn prevented the flash from the charge from getting ahead of the projectile and solved the problem of controlling the initiation of the secondary charges. By the end of May 1944, there were four designs for the 150-mm finned projectile, one manufactured by Fasterstoff (designed by Füstenberg), and three others by Röchling (Cönders), Bochumer (Verein-Haack), and Witkowitz (Athem).
Trials were held at Misdroy from May 20–24, 1944 with ranges of up to 88 km (55 mi) being attained. On July 4, 1944, the Misdroy gun was test-fired with 8 rounds (one of the 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long shells travelled 93 km (58 mi)). The gun burst during the testing, putting an end to the tests.




Mimoyecques site


Following Hitler's decision that HDP guns be sited in northern France to bombard London, the task of finding a suitable site for the HDP batteries was given to Major Bock of Festung Pioneer-Stab 27, the fortification regiment of LVII Corps, Fifteenth Army, at the time based in the Dieppe area. A study in early 1943 concluded that a hill with a rock core would be most suitable, as the gun tubes could be placed in drifts (inclined tunnels) and support equipment and supplies located in adjacent tunnels. The guns would not be movable, and would be permanently aimed at London.
A suitable site was selected at a limestone hill about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the Hidrequent quarries, near Mimoyecques in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France behind Cap Gris Nez, very close to the French end of the present day Channel tunnel, where V-1 and V-2 launch sites were already under construction. The site was 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the sea and 165 kilometres (103 mi) from London. Codenamed Wiese (meadow) and Bauvorhaben 711 (Construction Project 711), Organisation Todt began construction in September 1943 with the building of railway lines to support the work, and began to excavate the gun shafts in October. The initial layout comprised two parallel facilities approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) apart, each with five drifts which were to hold a stacked cluster of five HDP gun tubes, for a total of 50 guns. Both facilities were served by an underground railway tunnel and underground ammunition storage galleries.



The eastern complex consisted of five drifts angled at 50 degrees reaching 105 metres (344 ft) below the hilltop. The five drifts exited the hilltop through a concrete slab 30 metres (98 ft) wide and 5.5 metres (18 ft) thick. Large steel plates protected the five openings and each drift had a special armoured door. Extensive tunnels and elevator shafts supported the guns, and had the site become operational about 1,000 troops from Artillerie Abteilung 705 and supporting units would have been deployed at Mimoyecques. Artillerie Abteilung 705 had been organised in January 1944 under Oberstleutnant Georg Borttscheller to operate the Wiese gun complex.
The plans were to have the first battery of five gun tubes ready for March 1944, and the full complex of 25 gun tubes by 1 October 1944. Following a failure at the Misdroy proving ground in April 1944 after only 25 rounds had been fired, the project was further cut back, from five drifts to three even though work had begun on some of the other drifts. The site was finally put out of commission on 6 July 1944, when bombers of RAF Bomber Command's 617 Squadron (the famous "Dambusters") attacked using 5,400-kilogram (12,000 lb) "Tallboy" deep-penetration bombs.
V-3 Firing Battery: How a HE-filled B-17 or B-24 was to Dive Into This by Remote Control Seems Difficult and Unlikely to Succeed

plans for the demolition of the complex

 

 

Luxembourg bombardment

The project eventually came under the control of the SS and SS General Hans Kammler ordered the project to be ready for action in late 1944. Assisted by Walter Dornberger, a battery of two shorter guns approximately 50 metres (160 ft) long with 12 sidechambers were constructed and placed in the hands of the army artillery unit Artillerie Abteilung 705 under the command of Hauptmann (Captain) Patzig. These were sited in a wooded ravine of the Ruwer River at Lampaden about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southeast of Trier in Germany.
The two guns were aimed west, resting on 13 steel support structures on solid wooden bases on a 34 degree slope. The city of Luxembourg (which had been liberated in September 1944) was at a range of about 43 kilometres (27 mi) and was designated Target No. 305. Between the two gun tubes concrete blockhouses were constructed as well as ten smaller bunkers to hold projectiles and propellant charges.
The assembly and mounting of the Lampaden guns coincided with the final preparations for the Battle of the Bulge. However, the supply of ammunition became problematic due to the state of the German railway network. As time had become critical, it was decided to use a 150-millimetre (5.9 in) finned projectile with a discarding sabot, weighing 95 kilograms (210 lb) and carrying a 7–9 kg (15–20 lb) explosive charge. The propellant comprised a 5 kg (11 lb) main charge and 24 subsidiary charges for a total of 73 kg (160 lb).
By the time the Ardennes offensive began on 16 December 1944, Kammler received orders from OB West (German Army Command in the West) to begin firing at the end of the month and on 30 December 1944 the first gun tube was ready for action. Two warm up rounds were initially fired, followed by five high-explosive shells which were fired in sequence, attended by Kammler. The muzzle velocity was approximately 935 metres per second (3,070 ft/s).
The second gun tube was brought into operation on 11 January 1945 and in total some 183 rounds were fired until 22 February 1945, with 44 confirmed hits in the urban area. The guns were not particularly effective; of the 142 rounds that impacted Luxembourg, total casualties were 10 dead and 35 wounded. One gun was dismantled on February 15,[ and firing ceased on 22 February, when US Army units had advanced to within 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of the Lampaden site.


Final fate

A second battery of guns began to be deployed in January 1945 at Buhl, aimed at Belfort in support of the Operation Nordwind offensive. One gun was erected before the failure of the Nordwind offensive put the site at risk, and the equipment was removed before firing could begin.
There were other proposals to deploy batteries to bombard Antwerp and other cities but these were not implemented due to the poor state of the German railway network and a lack of ammunition. All four HDP guns were eventually abandoned at the Röchling works in Wetzlar and Artillerie Abteilung 705 was re-equipped with conventional artillery. The disassembled gun tubes, spare parts, and remaining ammunition were later captured by the US Army and shipped to the United States where they were tested and evaluated at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, where they were finally scrapped in 1948.

V-3 Museum

The Mimoyecques museum allows visitors to view the galleries (in various stages of construction and bombing damage), remains of the guns, a small scale V-3 replica, and examples of machinery, rail systems and tools employed. The site also contains memorials to the slave-laborers who were employed by the Nazis to construct it, alongside memorials to the airmen lost in action during the destruction of the base.
The Miedzyzdroje site also has a museum.

See also


Air Recon Photo of the V-3 Site

Daylight USAAF B-17 Bombing of the V-3 Site

Damaged V-3 Site Tunnel

V-3 Booster charges




Type XXI Elektroboat U-Boat



The Type XXI reached the battlefield too late to have a profound effect on the course of the war, but it was one of those weapon systems which had completely revolutionize the face of submarine warfare. Had she been launched two years earlier, it would have caused considerable problems to the Allies in the Battle of the Atlantic.


Type XXI Elektroboat



General characteristics
Class and type: Submarine
Displacement: 1,621 tonnes standard
2,100 tonnes full load
Length: 76.7 m (251 ft 8 in)
Beam: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Draught: 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)
Propulsion: Diesel/Electric
2× MAN M6V40/46KBB supercharged 6-cylinder diesel engines, 4,000 PS (2.9 MW)
2× SSW GU365/30 double acting electric motors, 5,000 PS (3.7 MW)
2× SSW GV232/28 silent running electric motors, 226 PS (0.166 MW)
Speed: Surfaced:
15.6 kn (28.9 km/h) (diesel)
17.9 kn (33.2 km/h) (electric)
Submerged:
17.2 kn (31.9 km/h) (electric)
6.1 kn (11.3 km/h) (silent running motors)
Range: Surfaced:
15,500 nmi (28,700 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)
Submerged:
340 nmi (630 km) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h)
Complement: 57 officers and men
Armament: 6 × torpedo tubes
4 x 20 mm cannon







Before the Type XXI, submarines would have been more accurately termed as submersible boats, as they were surface vessels with the special capability to submerge when threatened. Underwater, they were slow and un-maneuverable and could remain submerged only for limited periods of time. They had to surface to run their diesel engines in order to recharge their batteries and replenish their compressed air supplies.

Type XXI U-boat




The Type XXI however, was designed from the beginning as a true submarine, whose natural habitat was in the depths. Almost everything about the submarine was new and out of all proportions, achieved unconventional underwater performance far beyond the capabilities of any submarine then either in service or under development. She was designed to have a faster speed submerged than when running on the surface. Equipped with air-conditioning, she was designed to spend most of her time underwater and could remain submerged for up to 11 days at a time, briefly surfacing for only 3 to 5 hours to recharge her batteries. For this, the Type XXI had a full streamlined outer hull and complete absence of clutter on the deck. The forward hydroplane retracted when not in use, there were no deck guns, the twin 20mm AA flak were mounted in streamlined housings, and all extending devices such as schnorchel, antenna, and DF loop retracted into the superstructure when not in use. Instead of the traditional open conning tower, there were three small openings at the top of the bridge, one for the watch officer and the other two for lookouts. Internally, the cross section of the pressure hull was a figure of eight, with the upper section being of greater diameter than the lower. The batteries were housed in the lower section. She had three times the battery capacity and with her new creep motor, the Type XXI was very silent when running underwater. By comparison, the Type XXI at 15 knots emitted the same noise as a US Navy Balao class boat at 8 knots. Her pressure hull was fabricated from 1 inch thick steel aluminum alloy, which allowed a maximum crush depth of 280 meters (919 feet); the deepest of any military submarine at that time. The streamlined hull also offered a much smaller sonar signature and with her silent running capability, and high underwater speed, she was a much more difficult boat for enemy ASW vessels to find or detect. Equipped with a sophisticated echo chamber, which could identify, track and target multiple vessels, the Type XXI could fire blind from up a depth of 160 feet. Her firepower was also increased significantly. With a new rapid reloading hydraulic system, the Type XXI could launch three six torpedo salvos or eighteen torpedoes in just under 20 minutes; whereas it took over ten minutes to reload just one tube on the Type VIIC. This meant that the Type XXI could attack more vessels in a single engagement. The increased space also allowed more torpedoes to be carried – 23 instead of 14 on the Type VIIC.




The Germans had made a quantum leap in submarine design and development, but as with all new technology, teething problems were encountered. Due to the desperate situation at sea, the Type XXI was given the highest priority with orders for all other types cancelled. To speed up production, the submarine was constructed on a modular basis, with different modules built by different shipyards. The prime reason for this was to utilize shipyard resources to the maximum, and to present the strategic Allied bombings with many smaller scattered targets. In order to spur the scarce manpower to greater endeavors, tight deadlines were set with production forecasts set to be deliberately over optimistic. As a result of this, tremendous strain was placed on the production line and so great was the urgency, that in an attempt to meet the schedule, improperly constructed modules were often sent forth, even when they had not been thoroughly fabricated. These modules often did not meet the fine tolerances required to be assembled by the next link in the chain, causing further confusion and delays to the process. Constant allied bombings, logistical headaches and shortages of material and labor added to the problem. On numerous occasions, politics had also influenced the program with the more prominent occasion being that the first Type XXI was to be launched in time for Hitler’s birthday. Although this was achieved, but the ill completed submarine had to be kept afloat by buoyancy bags and immediately towed to the dry dock after the presentation. The outcome of all the pressure and trimming of corners meant that the completed boats had to be returned to dock to be reworked and repaired, resulting in further delays in attaining full service status.
By 1945, the situation grew hopelessly worse for the Type XXI program. Massive allied bombings resulted not only in the destruction of shipyards and construction facilities, but also of completed submarines while fitting out or in some cases while undergoing trials. Seventeen completed Type XXIs were destroyed while in harbor between December 1944 and May 1945.
The reality was that Germany could not afford to undertake such an ambitious project in such a short space of time. Too much was demanded of those involved, that the system ultimately collapsed under its own strain. The reasons were diverse, but in part it was due to the fact that Germany did not have much time left. With every passing day, the U-boat force was being defeated on the Battle of the Atlantic – and something had to be done, anything – to prevent defeat.
Of the 120 submarines built, only two had entered operational status. Given their limited deployment, the new submarines were quite successful, and would have caused the allies serious problems. However it was a case of too late and there were never enough of these new boats to make any real difference. After the war, the design of the Type XXI continued to influence modern submarine development in many countries, including the Soviet Union who based their W-Class on the Type XXI.



Combat Service

Only two war patrols were carried out in the Type XXI.
April 30 1945, the situation at sea was nearly hopeless for most U-boat captains. But for KK (Korvettan Kapitan) Adalbert Schnee, his situation was different. Of the two new operational Type XXIs, he was in command of one of them – U-2511. Schnee was under orders to sail from Bergen, Norway, and to make his way to the Carribbean. His orders were not to attack any ships on his outbound journey, but the boat was detected by an anti-submarine patrol group. Traveling faster underwater than the escorts could on the surface, he easily outran the escorts. He was in command of a new boat, one which would make hunting as easy as it had been during the “Happy Time”. Then on May 3 1945, the unthinkable, but inevitable happened. A message from BdU: Germany had surrendered. All U-boats were ordered to cease hostilities and were to sail to the nearest allied port under a black flag. Nevertheless, U-2511 had the British cruiser HMS Suffolk in its sights. Schnee carefully evaded the heavy escort screen, closed in to 600 meters of the cruiser, and raised the periscope. The torpedoes were primed, and he ordered the tube doors opened. As the British cruiser crossed the targeting crosshair on his periscope - instead of giving the order to fire, he simply cursed, lowered the scope, dived under the target and made off for Norway, unknown to those sailing above him.
The other Type XXI, Kptlt. Helmut Manseck of U-3008 had just sailed from Wilhelmshaven on May 3, 1945. Shortly after departing, the message of Germany’s surrender was received, Manseck spotted a British convoy and carried out a dummy attack. He slipped away undetected and returned to port.


Wartime and post-war service

 The Type XXI design directly influenced the two most advanced post-war submarines, the Guppy class submarine and the Soviet submarine classes known by the NATO reporting names Whiskey and Zulu  

Soviet Whiskey classe submarine


Whiskey classe

Zulu classe submarine

 

 

The only boat that survives intact is the Wilhelm Bauer (U-2540). However, the wrecks of other Type XXI boats are known to exist. In 1985, it was discovered that the partially-scrapped remains of U-2505, U-3004, and U-3506 were still in the partially-demolished "Elbe II" U-boat bunker in Hamburg, Germany. The bunker has since been filled in with gravel for safety reasons and lies beneath a car park, making the wrecks effectively inaccessible.
The U-2513, lies in 213 feet (65 m) of water, 70 miles (110 km) west of Key West, Florida. The boat has been visited by divers, but the depth makes this very difficult and the site is only considered suitable for advanced divers. Four other boats lie off the coast of Northern Ireland, where they were sunk in 1946 as part of Operation Deadlight

.

Germany

Wilhelm Bauer (U-2540)
U-2511 and U-3008 were the only Type XXIs to go on war patrols, and both failed to sink any ships.
In 1957, U-2540, which had been scuttled at the end of the war, was raised to become the research vessel Wilhelm Bauer of the Bundesmarine. She was operated by both military and civilian crews in a research role until 1982. In 1984, she was opened to the public by the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum (German Maritime Museum) in Bremerhaven, Germany.

France

The U-2518 became French submarine Roland Morillot. She saw active service during the Suez Crisis in 1956, and remained in commission until 1967. She was scrapped in 1969.

Soviet Union

Four Type XXI boats were assigned to the Soviet Union by the Potsdam Agreement; these were U-3515, U-2529, U-3035, and U-3041, which were commissioned into the Soviet Navy as B-27, B-28, B-29, and B-30, later B-100 respectively. However, Western intelligence believed the Soviets had acquired several more Type XXI boats; a review by the U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in January 1948 estimated that at the time the Soviet Navy had 15 Type XXIs operational, could complete construction of 6 more within 2 months, and could build another 39 within a year and a half from prefabricated sections, since several factories producing Type XXI components and the assembly yard at Danzig had been captured by the Soviets at the end of World War II. U 3538U 3557 (respectively TS-5TS-19 and TS-32TS-38) remained uncompleted at Danzig and were scrapped or sunk in 1947. The four boats assigned by Potsdam were used in trials and tests until 1955, then scuttled or used for weapon testing between 1958-1973. The Type XXI formed the basis for the Project 614, essentially a copy of the Type XXI, and many of its characteristics were also incorporated into the Project 613 submarine (known in the West as the Whiskey class).



United Kingdom

The U-3017 was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS N41. She was used for tests until being scrapped in November 1949.

United States

The United States Navy took over the U-2513 and U-3008, operating them both in the Atlantic. In November 1946 President Harry S. Truman became the first American President to travel on a submarine when he visited U-2513, the submarine dived to 440 feet (130 m) below the surface with the President onboard. The U-2513 was sunk as a target ship in 1949; the U-3008 was scrapped in 1956.


Scuttled at 0708hrs on 3 May, 1945 at Hamburg. Wreck broken up.





Surrendered at Bergen, Norway in May 1945

Scuttled on 3 May, 1945 at Kiel. Wreck broken up.





3 Type XXI boats in the Elbe II in Hamburg

These boats were virtually missing until 1985 when the boats were discovered through research by Jak P Mallmann-Showell, Wolfgang Hirschfeld and Walter Cloots in the mostly demolished Elbe II U-boat bunker in Hamburg.
The Elbe II bunker is located on the southern bank of the Elbe river at the Vulkanhafen. This area is within the Freeport of Hamburg and to access it you should have to present your passport.



The bow of U-3004 inside the Elbe II bunker. - Photo by Carl



Hatch 5 of U-3506 inside the Elbe II bunker. - Photo by Carl

The boats lying there are U-2505, U-3004 and U-3506. They are lying on the surface at low tide but are not accessible to the casual observer and stationed on a private property. I believe the bunker has been filled with gravel now to prevent injuries as the area is considered dangerous.



Souvenir hunters at work. - Photo by Tim

The boats have been partially scrapped (two are missing conning towers and engine sections) sometime after the war. U-3506 is lying trapped under the heavy roof and is the most intact boat.



The bow of U-3004 inside the Elbe II bunker. - Photo by Tim


The bunker has been filled with gravel as far as I can see and the boats are buried under it, no longer accessible to anyone.