Visiting U-boats.

Who on this forum has visited U 505 in Chicago, U 995 in Laboe and U 2540 in Bremerhaven? I would like to hear about it. Ive visited the 2 that are in Germany but not the one in Chicago.

 

I was aboard the U505 (Chicago) in the late '60s (when I was about 12) and again just last year. You are cordoned off from the torpedo rooms and enter just forward of the aft torpedo room via a hole cut in the side of the hull. you proceed forward through the engine room, the control room, "officer's country" (such as it is) and exit just abaft the forward torpedo room, again via a hole cut in the side of the hull. Also, you are not allowed to climb the ladder to the conning tower.

The interior is nicely restored, complete with proper linen, etc. (although it wouldn't have looked nearly as nice after a week at sea). BTW, the U505 is a Type IX boat.

Ed Bohne

 

Dear Ed, thanks. That is what they did with the Wilhelm Bauer in Bremerhaven except that you can go into the engine room. The only areas you couldnt get into were the conning tower, and the crew quarters. I just wonder how they managed to cope with having almost no room! The Wilhelm Bauer AKA U 2540 is a type XXI.

This U-Boat is larger looking on the outside (at least to me it seemed so) than a type VII-C which the last one known is in Laboe which is U 995. U 995 to me seemed to have more room to move around in on the inside than the Wilhelm Bauer.

The U 505 from what I have seen in Documentaries, seems to be fairly wider than the 2540. Also I visited U 10, which is a smaller U-Boat and is in Wilhelmshaven. Its not a WW2 U-Boat but is neat to visit along with a Minesweeper.

I have photos of all these and someday I hope I can send them to Otto and he could post them on this site if he wishes.

Anyone who reads this and has never been to German but have always wanted to go, I suggest go, its completely different than what your used to. To step back in time several hundreds of years, all one has to do is fly to Germany, not await for a time machine to be built.

 

I have not been to any of the U-Boat museums but have lived in Germany for 12yrs. Loved it. You are right, everyone should go at least once

------------------
"They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. But in modern war there is nothing sweet or fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason."

 

You are so lucky, I would give my teeth to live there for at least a few years. am a history buff--all ages of history.

I would spend many-a-weekend going to historical sites. Plus I would have to venture visiting some Castles like: Neuschwanstein, Schloss Adler, etc etc etc. While there, I walked a few castles: Hohentwiel ruins in Singen, Meersburg Schloss in Meersburg just off Lake Konstanz, and Heidelberg Schloss as my last place to visit before coming back here.

For myself, I could'nt begin to imagine not visiting ships museums. If you never went to Wilhelmshaven, bremerhaven and Laboe--you missed some of the best sites to see.

Sory Otto for rambeling on this. I have a suggestion, how about a traveling forum? and I am serious. just a thought.

 

If you are ever near Cleveland, Ohio, be sure to visit the USS Cod, a WW2 US fleet type boat. The Cod is easy to find; its a flaoting museum along the lakeshore, just about two or three blocks east of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There is a relatively modest fee to go aboard (its maintained by a veteran's group). My whole family (all four of us) went aboard several years ago for less than the price of ONE ticket to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and we all enjoyed the Cod more, even my two teenage daughters!!! You enter and exit through the crew hatches, and all areas are available to visit except for going up into the conning tower (as best I recall). It's really worth seeing, especially after you have been aboarda WW2 German boat; the amount of room on the US boat is STAGGERING compared to the cramped, claustrophobic conditions on the German boat.

 

Thanks for the info on the USS Cod. As a Navy fan, I will check into it someday. I remember when I was a kid (many moons ago) I was with my parents and we were at some sort of navy museum where they had a sub on land and was next to some kind of tank, I have no idea where this was at-probably here in Texas somewhere.

I probably would be amazed at the differences of room aboard our and their boats. U 995 seemed to have more space inside than did the U 2540. U 10 was too small a boat to compare to these. I noticed all the ingenious ways that the Germans had for using space. Someday when I can afford to develope all my film cannisters, mayby I can send copies to Otto and see what he can do about posting. I have some neat shots of U 995 in daylight and at dusk (I hope they come out good enough). The 2540 and U 10 were in daylight also. Then I have several rolls taken of crew quarters and other items like torpedo tubes, engines. I have 2 shots in particular that I hope come out good enough, and these are shots through the periscopes on U 10 and U 2540.

 

Hey Evens, I am going to Germany later this year, can you send me any information on where the U-Boats are at and how much it will cost to see them? Anything you can let me knowwill be much appreciated.

 

Will do, just send me your email address at: Laughingsawfish@hotmail.com

 

Carl :

Then you did visit a minesweeper ?.....present day German navy or WW 2 ? love to see those great pics you hve been talking about.

E

 

Yepper, I went on one that was in Wilhelmshaven and was next to Juergen Webers U boat. Juergan Weber was its last skipper and he is the man in charge of the Munich Submarinesr Society.

The Minesweeper isnt ww2 vintage, but I think its 1950 or 1960s vintage, and is rather a small boat in my humbled opinion, but I guesws it did the job.

I have no clue when all my rolls will be developed, hopefully this year. I have rolls from the vets reunion and my visit with Remy and some of my Heidelberg shots and I think some of my rolls that I shot while in Switzerland at the Old Arsenal in Solothurn.

My camera wasnt a very good one so about half of what I took didnt comeout as i wanted. Some were "blurred" becaus eof the heavy humidity and the long distance I tried to shoot. I guess thats what you get when you buy a $90.00 Nikon camera.

After I lay low on militaria for awhile, im going to develop a few more rolls. I too am interested in seeing how my uboat and minesweeper shots came out. Also I want to see my Oberammergau shots and the shots I took as Susanne and I were being charged at by two Platoons of Gebirgsjagers.

 

Kühl ! and I mean cool. windy and cold today.......hey I'd like to see those snaps when developed, sound pretty nice and the ones of Oberammergau, wondering if by chance we visited the same facilities ?.....?

E

 

Actually, Susanne and I were passing through on our way to Forsthaus Graseck to check in. We got temporarily lost, as neither of us had never been to that area. Was a very nice hotel on ze mountain, and I plan to spend Christmas there some year.

I got off as many photos as possible--like a typical tourist but I no longer recall all I shot. I'll try to drop off a few more rolls of film at Wal-Marts tomorrow morning and will see which they are of? I had them all labled but, the ink wiped off the cannisters on many of them so I don't know what will be getting developed.

I'll have to get copies made of the U 181 reunion, and also of my visit with Remy, and some historical shots and of the Uboats, Minesweeper, uboat memorial, and Marine memorials. Also, I will have to get the photos made of the visit to the uboat Arvhiv--lots to develope.

 

Whoa, sounds like a lot of monies to be spent on film developing my friend.

As to the Forsthaus, where was this actually ? Obviously above Oberammergau or on the road to Linderhof past Ettal maybe ?

E

 

whoa is right!! I had about 25 or so rolls of film I took with me in Germany and bought more whilst there. I wanted to record my steps basically. One of these days I will have all developed--exactly when--i have no clue (where Sherlock Holmes when you need his services??)

All I know is that Forsthaus Graseck is very near the Zugspitz where I took a cable car back up the mountain. I don't know hos close it was to Linderhof, but that place sounds familiar. This place was a good distance up in the mountainside and it was about 6:30 pm when we finally arrived and was getting pretty dark, so I couldnt see much. It was pitch black as we went up the steep and narrow partly dirt and partly paved road that would its way up the mountain. If another car happen to be coming down the mountain, someone would have to back up as there was no way to let a person pass. Susanne and I had walked the nature trail all the way down the mountain. I almost slipped on moss in several areas. We got down to ground zero and made our way along a river and through the trail that goes through the caves. All in all, I think the walk down and through the caves was about a mile or so. Ah, that was so good to do a nice hike.

[ 16 January 2002: Message edited by: C.Evans ]</p>

 

Hello, my friends!

In person, I dont trip at any submarine or submersible . Any members of U-Historia do it and share.

Go to http://www.u-historia.com/ > Historia > Turismo > Turismo Uboot

Turismo Uboot ​

U995 (Laboe)
U2540 (Bremerhaven)
Marine Ehrenmal (Laboe)
Uboot Ehrenmal (Möltenort)
Bunker "Hornisse"
Bunker "Valentin"
U-boot Archiv
Museo Western Approaches, museo naval y U534 (Liverpool)
Estudios Bavaria
Cementerio militar alemán de Yuste
Buceando el U352
Buceando el U1105
U1 (Deutsches Museum de Munich)
U505 (Chicago)
Vesikko (Suomenlinna)​

I remind all you that translate on line of the pages are possible and enjoy!.


Jan.

 

Hi Jan, thanks for this and the link. Visiting it was like taking a trip down "memory lane." ;-)) I've been to the first four places you listed as well as the U-boat Archiv in Cuxhaven/Altenbruch.

 

Did he Brits preserve any of their old submarines, or the Italians or anyone else?

In addition to the USN Cod preserved in Ohio there is also the Cobia preserved in Wisconson.

 

The USS Batfish is on display in Muskogee, OK. I am fuzzy on the details, but as I remember, they were wanting to get another famous sub for display in Tulsa. When they went to look at the sub they wanted, it was in lousy shape. But they found the Batfish had a better war record. When they floated it up the river, the water level only allowed them to reach Muskogee. After much thought, they built a cove and rack, took a section of the dike out, floated it in, and rebuilt the dike. After they pumped it out again, they restored the Batfish and built a museum/information center. Almost every part is accessible from a staircase built into the front.

 

And remind, in this page, are a Panoramica 360º of USS Bowfin Submarine -in the bottom-

Jan.