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All the United Kingdom England Birkenhead U-534

U-534

After mysteriously refusing to surrender at the end of World War II this sunken submarine was only salvaged in a search for Nazi gold.

Birkenhead, England

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
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U-534   floato on Flickr
U-534   eifion on Flickr
Enigma machine in the exhibition space next to the submarine.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
Mersey Ferry approaching Woodside, best way to get to the exhibit.   David Dixon
  El Pollock
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
  Richard Hoare
  El Pollock
The U-boat has now been cut into sections for display purposes.   Chris Allen
Current display site at Woodside pier, seen from the ferry.   El Pollock
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Only four intact German U-boats remain in the world, but U-534 almost didn't make it into that historic quartet after laying at the bottom of the sea for decades and only being dredged up after its final actions in service led treasure hunters to believe it may have carried Nazi riches.

At the tail end of World War II, the final U-boat to set out from Germany, U-534, was alerted that the war was over and that they should surrender, but for some reason the submarine refused to turn back. Instead the vessel put speed towards Norway along with a duo of faster subs. Unfortunately for the crew, British aircraft quickly caught up with the boats and handily sunk U-534. 44 of the 59 crew members on board the sub were able to escape, with a handful of them even wriggling out via the torpedo tubes like living missiles. Most of the crew survived, but the question of why they did not surrender is still unanswered. 

Theories ranging from a rogue captain to secret experimental weapons were posited as the remains of the ship rusted away at the bottom of the ocean, but no answers were forthcoming. Soon rumors began circulating that the boat was trying to smuggle Nazi treasure out of Germany before it was retaken by Allied forces, and nothing spurs on a project like the promise of gold. In 1993 the U-534 was raised to the surface to the disappointed sighs of treasure hunters who found no such booty, and the excited squeals of historians who discovered countless documents and artifacts from the war, not the least of which being the boat itself.

The boat was eventually split into sections and sent to its current location in Birkenhead where it is the centerpiece of the U-boat Story exhibit. Each section of the vessel can now be viewed and the story of the sub can be explored in depth, although none of the guests to the exhibit have been able to solve the mystery of why the sub just wouldn't say die.      

Related Tags

Submarines Naval History World War Ii Military

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The ferry ticket from Liverpool, day tour ticket includes entry to the exhibit.

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Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

Dr Alan P Newman, rbenn250

  • Dr Alan P Newman
  • rbenn250

Published

September 25, 2014

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  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-534
U-534
U-boat Story
Woodside
Birkenhead, England, CH41 6DU
United Kingdom
53.394127, -3.00926
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