Three BAREG members spent six days traveling across northern Germany and western Denmark to visit two U-boats, maritime museums, the famous U-boat Archive, and a massive Atlantic Wall bunker.
The U-boats visited were the Wilhem Bauer (updated image in gallery), a Type XXI berthed on the Weser River in Bremerhaven, and the U-995, a Type VII-C that is on display ashore in Laboe. The trip was led by Aaron H. and through his contacts we had special access to U-boats and at the U-boat Archive and Museum in Cuxhaven.
The BAREG team took measurements on the U-995 and these will be used to inform ongoing work on the U-1105. A side trip to Sea War Museum in Thyborøn, Denmark, and the HMS St George shipwreck museum in Thorsminde were surprise-filled bonuses. For example, the Sea War Museum has the conning tower of the U-20, the U-boat that sank the RMS Lusitania. The museum also had a display on underwater archaeology with a focus on the Battle of Jutland, or the Skagerrakschlacht as it’s known in Germany.
U-995 bow and stern planes control stations
The U-995's bow and stern planes control stations located in the U-boat's Zentral compartment (control room). BBC stands for Brown, Boveri & Company (not the other BBC), an engineering company that supplied components for U-boats. Two watchstanders manned these controls when the U-boat dove and ran submerged. On the surface the watchstanders served as lookouts on the bridge.
WBA
