U 995, VIIC/41, Laboe, Kiel, Germany - one of only five German submarines left. GRAPHCS HEAVY!!!

[Adrian]

Great pics and a great thread, thanks for posting Christina.

[Wagriff]

Alas...the only U-boat I've ever gotten to see was the sad remains of the U-505 in Chicago,Illinois. But, as a young man, it was still quite interesting! William

[Little Mermaid]

U 505... I thought she was in good condition?

[Wagriff]

Hello Stinschen, Well, the idiots who display the U-505 -it seems that they don't have all that much funding available, so it's pretty much sat outside on the lawn of the museum for the last several decades out in the elements. Apparently it's hull plates are just about thin enough to shave with now. That, and it was stripped of anything the sailors and souvenir hunters could twist off of it, so by the time it came to Chicago, it had to be almost totally refurbished just to make it displayable. Over the many years, small bits and pieces still continue to trickle back to Chicago to be reunited with the boat they came off of. It's finally been moved and is under shelter today, but how do you repair such ravages of nature? The photos I've seen of it today are shocking. A shame, as it is the only Type IXC U-boot in existence. Here is what the wikipedia has to say about it: In 1989, U-505 was designated a National Historic Landmark. By 2004, the U-boat's exterior had suffered noticeable damage from the weather; so in April 2004, the museum moved the U-boat to a new underground, covered, climate-controlled location. Now protected from the elements, the restored U-505 reopened to the public on 5 June 2005.
A pretty good book about the boat is:" U-505: the final journey By James E. Wise". It is in English, of course, but your English seems to be superb, so it should be no problem for you! William

[Little Mermaid]

Thank you!
Well, on the (only) photo that I´ve seen of her, she seems to be ok - in a good condition... but again, photos often make things look nicer than they really are