# Type XXI U-Boat U-2540



## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Mar 5, 2009)

Last weekend while I was up at the North Sea, I made a stop in Bremerhaven, Germany to check out the Type XXI U-2540. It is now a museum ship, but unfortunately by the time I got up there, it was already closed. 

Here is a bit of history on this U-Boat.

_Type:_ Type XXI

_Displacement:_ 1,621 tonnes standard
2,100 tonnes full load

_Length:_ 76.7 m (251 ft 8 in)

_Beam:_ 8 m (26 ft 3 in)

_Draught:_ 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)

_Propulsion:_ Diesel/Electric
2× MAN M6V40/46KBB supercharged 6-cylinder diesel engines, 4,000 PS (2.9 MW)
2× SSW GU365/30 double acting electric motors, 5,000 PS (3.7 MW)
2× SSW GV232/28 silent running electric motors, 226 PS (0.166 MW)

_Speed:_ Surfaced:
15.6 kn (28.9 km/h) (diesel)
17.9 kn (33.2 km/h) (electric)
Submerged:
17.2 kn (31.9 km/h) (electric)
6.1 kn (11.3 km/h) (silent running motors)

_Range:_ Surfaced:
15,500 nmi (28,700 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)
Submerged:
340 nmi (630 km) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h)

_Complement:_ 57 officers and men

_Armament:_ 6 × torpedo tubes
4 x 20 mm cannon

Construction of U-2540 began on 28 October 1944. She was launched on 13 January 1945 and commissioned on 24 February 1945 as part of U-Flotille 31 for training purposes. In April 1945 the boat went to the front after training at Rønne on Bornholm.

On 4 May 1945 she was scuttled near Flensburg, Germany.

In June of 1957, U-2540 was raised and rebuilt and overhauled. She was recommissioned as the _Wilhelm Bauer_ into the new German Bundesmarine 1 Sept 1960. She was used as a research vessel until 28 August 1968.

In 1970 she again entered service a test bed to test equipment out for the new Type 206 U-Boats. After a collision with the Destroyer Z 3 on 6 May 1980, she was put out of service.

In 1984 she was turned into a Museum ship by the German Maritime Museum. It has been completely restored to its WW2 configuration.

Here are some pictures that I took.


----------



## Hesekiel (Mar 5, 2009)

Too bad that it was closed. I visited it a few times.. (i live app. 40 km from Bremerhaven).. The boat is in a perfect restored condition. Somewhere i have some photos. If i find this little album i will show the pics here 

The gun-turrets are dummy´s...


----------



## Erich (Mar 5, 2009)

curious what is the charge to get in the Boot ? do they sell a brochure/booklet on this U-Boot ? thanks Chris for the pics, looked like a typical northern grey day and yes Hesekiel if you find the pics please add them on this thread.

E ~


----------



## Amsel (Mar 5, 2009)

Great photos. What a career that vessel had!


----------



## Hesekiel (Mar 5, 2009)

The charge for the museum and all museum ships is € 6,-- or if you want to visit only the ships it will cost € 1,-- You see.. it´s very cheap 
Here you can see a little bit of the U-2540..
Category:Museum U-Boot Wilhelm Bauer â€“ Wikimedia Commons

Sunday the 15.03. i will make a little trip to Berlin and visit the Air Force Museum at Gatow and maybe the "Technikmuseum" too...

I made a mistake with the charge.. The U-2540 will be € 3,-- for visiting.. Sorry for that


----------



## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Mar 5, 2009)

When I go back to Wilhemshaven to visit my wife in a few weeks (unless we meet up in Hamburg) I will go and visit the ship and take some pics inside.

I love the Technikmuseum in Berlin. I have been to it once.


----------



## Hesekiel (Mar 5, 2009)

If you visit the boat than greetings to the captain... You will find him behind glass, wearing his white cap 

Will see to make some nice pictures at Berlin and post them here....


Here is another site with nice pics from U-2540...
U-Wilhelm Bauer (Y880) / ex U-2540 ==> Typ XXI


----------



## RabidAlien (Mar 6, 2009)

That is one huge, sleek WW2 boat! Looks very streamlined for its time.


----------



## Hesekiel (Mar 6, 2009)

Yes.. The "Typ XXI" Boats are the "mother" of all following submarines..
As a sample.. The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was in fact a Typ XXI Boat what was expanded at one section for the reactor. Some more modifications were done, but at all it was a XXI....

You can find a lot of very interesting informations here:
German Type XXI submarine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## Bill G. (Mar 6, 2009)

Revell made a 1/144 scale model of the Wilhelm Bauer. It is kit number 05072. The model is how she looked while doing testing for the German Navy.

I have the kit, and someday, someday, I will get around to building it.

Bill G.


----------



## Henk (Mar 7, 2009)

I love the design of the Type XXI, it looks so sleek and cool.


----------



## Lucky13 (Mar 7, 2009)

Imagine if it had come out in time to see more action in WWII...what a havoc it would have created! 
The Allies were lucky!


----------



## RabidAlien (Mar 7, 2009)

Yep...Allies were VERY lucky in that respect. Hitler had some stuff that was light-years ahead of its time, and if they'd've come out two or three years earlier (and if Hitler had quit micromanaging), the world would probably be a much different place now. ME-262 and Henk's Ho229 are two that come to mind at the moment.


----------



## Henk (Mar 7, 2009)

I must say the Germans had great ideas and great minds behind it, but it was used in all the wrong way, but wars do bring out great technology.


----------



## Erich (Mar 7, 2009)

you want more on this big beast of a sub by Ww 2 standards ?

get : Eberhard Rössler's The U-Boat

also Schiffer pubs just might have a nice soft-back on the boot as well

E `


----------



## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Mar 7, 2009)

That is one sexy craft! Thanks for posting Adler, much appreciated.


----------



## Wayne Little (Mar 8, 2009)

Nice shots Chris, look forward to more when you can get closer.....


----------



## Kiwikid (May 21, 2009)

Hesekiel said:


> Yes.. The "Typ XXI" Boats are the "mother" of all following submarines..
> As a sample.. The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was in fact a Typ XXI Boat what was expanded at one section for the reactor. Some more modifications were done, but at all it was a XXI....
> 
> You can find a lot of very interesting informations here:
> German Type XXI submarine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



The Nautilus was merely a copy of Kreigsmarine plans to develop a nuclear powered version of the Type XX1 in a project headed by Admiral Rhein and Admiral Witzell initially at Hamburg and later at Stettin. 

Nothing novel in Nautilus. Russians used it as the basis for their Cold War diesel boats too.


----------



## comiso90 (May 21, 2009)

beautiful boat. i'd love to go inside. i've been inside a few subs but U-2540 would be special... in service to 1970... wow.


----------



## vikingBerserker (May 21, 2009)

I think it says a lot that it was under water for 12 years was raised and used again.

It that an old armed schooner in the background?


----------



## DerAdlerIstGelandet (May 24, 2009)

vikingBerserker said:


> I think it says a lot that it was under water for 12 years was raised and used again.
> 
> It that an old armed schooner in the background?



No the U-Boot is the only "warship" in that area.


----------



## HerrKaleut (May 27, 2009)

Sorry Kameraden but had the XX1s gone into full service they would have been an unmittigated disaster for the following reasons;
1) Poor hull integrity.The 8 major hull sections of the type xx1 were crudely made in 32 different factories with little or no experience of U-boat construction and did not fit very well. Therefore the pressure hull could not stand great depths or close depth charges. The hull failed in tests at much less than standard U-boat depths
2) Underpowered. The diesels could only produce 1200 h.p. instead of the projected 2000 h.p. giving a surface speed of 15.6 knots ,less than any ocean going boat and slightly slower than a corvette. The system was so poorly designed that the superchargers could not be used.
3) Impractical Hydraulic system. The main lines, accumulators,cylinders and pistons of the hydraulics of the main diving planes,rudders,torpedo tube outer doors and A.A. gun turrets were too complex, delicate ,and located OUTSIDE the pressure hull, and was therefore subject to saltwater leakage,corrosion and enemy weaponry and could not be repaired from inside the pressure hull.
4)Poor habitability and sanitation would have affected crew efficiency


----------



## DerAdlerIstGelandet (May 27, 2009)

HerrKaleut said:


> Sorry Kameraden but had the XX1s gone into full service they would have been an unmittigated disaster for the following reasons;
> 1) Poor hull integrity.The 8 major hull sections of the type xx1 were crudely made in 32 different factories with little or no experience of U-boat construction and did not fit very well. Therefore the pressure hull could not stand great depths or close depth charges. The hull failed in tests at much less than standard U-boat depths
> 2) Underpowered. The diesels could only produce 1200 h.p. instead of the projected 2000 h.p. giving a surface speed of 15.6 knots ,less than any ocean going boat and slightly slower than a corvette. The system was so poorly designed that the superchargers could not be used.
> 3) Impractical Hydraulic system. The main lines, accumulators,cylinders and pistons of the hydraulics of the main diving planes,rudders,torpedo tube outer doors and A.A. gun turrets were too complex, delicate ,and located OUTSIDE the pressure hull, and was therefore subject to saltwater leakage,corrosion and enemy weaponry and could not be repaired from inside the pressure hull.
> 4)Poor habitability and sanitation would have affected crew efficiency



I think for most part you just described the conditions on all WW2 Submarines in one way or another.

Fact still remains the Type XXI was still the most advanced design to be built in WW2, no matter what kind of service it saw.


----------



## HerrKaleut (May 28, 2009)

Sory Adler must disagree. To an extent yes on section 4 (habitation) in that,in common with the types V11 and 1X, they did not meet the "minimum" standards of the USN or RN. To quote just one problem, interconnections of washing and drinking water made the sanitation "inadequate and unsafe".

Points 1,2 and 3 however say to me that this was a bad design , advanced in it's conception I'll grant you, but badly designed.



Just out of interest, when u-2540 was first recommissioned on Sept 1st 1960 (Kplt Hans Voss) she was given the name U-Wal (whale) She was later re-named Wilhelm Bauer to commemorate the first german submarine builder back in 1850


----------



## DerAdlerIstGelandet (May 28, 2009)

HerrKaleut said:


> Sory Adler must disagree. To an extent yes on section 4 (habitation) in that,in common with the types V11 and 1X, they did not meet the "minimum" standards of the USN or RN. To quote just one problem, interconnections of washing and drinking water made the sanitation "inadequate and unsafe".
> 
> Points 1,2 and 3 however say to me that this was a bad design , advanced in it's conception I'll grant you, but badly designed.



You take any submarine and rush the design process it is going to have the problems that you describe. Again, the fact remains that the Type XXI was the most advanced design of WW2. If the design process could have taken longer as it should have, I am sure the design would have been better.


----------



## CharlesBronson (May 31, 2009)

Beautiful pictures Adler !

Interestingly the AAA guns turret were specifically designed for thip ship. Thay had a pair of 30 mm Krieghoff maschinenkanone *MK 303*, aimed trough a periscopic and gyroscopic reflex gunsight.

The muzzle velocity excedeed 1000 meters per second, effective ceiling 3000 meters, rate of fire 400 rpm and the case lenght of its cartrigdes 210mm.

Later the weapon/cartrigdes system was further developed in USSR, Czech republic, and still used in the Former Yogoslavia countries.


----------



## ccheese (May 31, 2009)

That's quite a sub, Chris. I'd like to visit that one myself. Thanks for posting....

Charles


----------



## wheelsup_cavu (May 31, 2009)

The only sub I have been on was the U-505 in Chicago when I was 11 or 12.
It seemed small to me then...

Thanks for the pictures since I won't be visiting the U-2540 any time soon.


Wheelsup


----------



## HerrKaleut (May 31, 2009)

Adler, it might be of interest to the readers that as well as the type XX1, two smaller XX111s were also raised and all 3 were refited at HDW,Kiel.
In a break with the past, they were given names, so the first one (ex-u-2365) was called U-Hai(Shark) and was commissioned on 15th August 1957 (Kplt Walter Ehardt), the second (ex-2367) was named U-Hecht (Pike) and commissioned on October 1st of that year(Kplt Hans Hass).Both boats were given the new classification ...class 240.

U-Hecht was scrapped in or around 1968
On the 14th of September 1966, while on exercises in the North Sea, a welded seam gave way and U-Hai was lost with all but one of her crew. The wreck was later raised and scrapped.

I hope this is of interest.


----------



## vikingBerserker (May 31, 2009)

The masted sailing ship in the back ground is actually the Seuta Deern, and is the largest wooden cargo sailing ship still in existence - currently a resteruant. I'd love to hit them both.


----------



## diddyriddick (Jun 1, 2009)

Nice pics! Does look like an old Foxtrot, doesn't it.


----------



## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jun 1, 2009)

HerrKaleut said:


> Adler, it might be of interest to the readers that as well as the type XX1, two smaller XX111s were also raised and all 3 were refited at HDW,Kiel.
> In a break with the past, they were given names, so the first one (ex-u-2365) was called U-Hai(Shark) and was commissioned on 15th August 1957 (Kplt Walter Ehardt), the second (ex-2367) was named U-Hecht (Pike) and commissioned on October 1st of that year(Kplt Hans Hass).Both boats were given the new classification ...class 240.
> 
> U-Hecht was scrapped in or around 1968
> ...



Interesting, I was not aware of that either.



diddyriddick said:


> Nice pics! Does look like an old Foxtrot, doesn't it.



The Foxtrot was directly influenced by the Type XXI, but was derived from the Soviet Zulu class which were heavily influenced by the Type XXI.


----------



## blau (Jun 22, 2022)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> Last weekend while I was up at the North Sea, I made a stop in Bremerhaven, Germany to check out the Type XXI U-2540. It is now a museum ship, but unfortunately by the time I got up there, it was already closed.
> 
> Here is a bit of history on this U-Boat.
> 
> ...


Hi, I know this post is from 2009., but I couldn't resist. 
You know, if visiting this boat you would be in a very prominent group, with one US president doing it, actually two times.. Here is link 1946 Truman - Deutsches U-Boot-Museum
It could find a lot about it on Internet,...

Reactions: Like Like:
2 | Like List reactions


----------

