Markus,

Perhaps I am not looking at the photo that you are referring to....but I do not see any that show a metal deck on the U-552.

Don\'t forget that the wood decks were covered (painted) with some form of preservative \'paint\'. I have seen references to creosote-based paints. This has the effect of giving the deck surface a more-or-less uniform look. That\'s why I specifically pointed out what can be seen in photos of battle damaged decks.

-Jeff