Date visited 16 April 2023
Technikmuseum U-Boot Wilhelm Bauer at Bremerhaven have the ex-U2540, a war-built type XXI submarine that was scuttled towards the end of the war, raised several years later, and then commissioned as a training submarine in the West German Navy. It is co-located in Bremerhaven with a large collection of other historic vessels but appears to operate independently. I had trouble working out where to buy a ticket until I discovered that their ticket office is actually onboard in the bow torpedo compartment.This is the only surviving Type XXI U-boat, and seeing her was the primary reason I dragged my long-suffering wife all the way across Europe when she really just wanted to stay in Italy. The argument can be made that the XXI's were more revolutionary and had a greater influence than the Dreadnought - forcing a re-writing of both submarine design philosophy and anti-submarine warfare practice. This was one vessel I just had to see for myself.The one thing that was a bit challenging on the boat was understanding what was original WW2 U-boat, what were post-raising modifications, and what other changes had been implemented as part of her conversion into a museum ship - clearly there were some re-creations, because as Wilhelm Bauer she carried no guns, but as a museum ship there are two twin turrets (or at least dummy turrets) mounted. Similarly, the boat has only one electric motor, but it's not clear if that was removed in-service, or later.The ship is fitted with bi-lingual signage in each compartment explaining the functions of the various fittings etc. There are also several places where they have replaced sections of structure with Perspex inserts to allow you to see into things that would normally be hidden. It is well-maintained, and like the U-995 I saw the previous day - it had clearly been very well made. They sell several different books on the Wilhelm Bauer onboard - including one that they produce themselves in multiple languages.This visit didn't disappoint and was well worth the effort.
Links and References:
Uboot Wilhelm Bauer - Technikmuseum Bremerhaven
museumships.us - Wilhelm Bauer
Kludas, A, n.d., The U-Boat "Wilhelm Bauer" Technology Museum information summary, Technikmuseum U-Boot Wilhelm Bauer, Bremerhaven.
Mattes, K, 2014, U-Boot Wilhelm Bauer ex U 2540, Technikmuseum U-Boot Wilhelm Bauer, Bremerhaven.