General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: Elbe bunker in Hamburg
Posted by:
Jeff
()
Date: August 16, 2001 01:59PM
<HTML>Robert,
There are several reasons why the three Type XXI boats in the Elbe II bunker were not salvaged. First of all, when the British first blew up the bunker they figured they were killing two birds with one stone. Collapsing the bunker roof on top of the boats saved them the extra time in pulling them out and scuttling them.
Following the war, the German government was far too poor to worry about salvaging Third Reich history and so the boats were scavanged upon by treasure hunters and left to decay.
As time passed, and with the prevailing \"self loathing\" period experienced in Germany in the post war years, there really was no interest in saving what remained of the boats. That eventually led to the German government paying companies to completely demolish the bunker and the boats inside.
Through the years large parts of the boats have been taken away..the conning towers and the engines to mention only a few. Treasure hunters have stolen everything that wasn\'t welded down and many things that were. What remained of the boats was three very decrepit,old relics that would have cost millions to return to any state even remotely resembling their original design.
If U534, which now resides in Birkenhead, England, would cost millions to repair then just imagine the cost of doing three boats which were in far, far worse condition.
Now with the bunker having been filled in with tons of sand and currently under new plans to level it, the boats unfortunately will be lost to the past. And still, in Germany, there would be little interest today of saving them.</HTML>
There are several reasons why the three Type XXI boats in the Elbe II bunker were not salvaged. First of all, when the British first blew up the bunker they figured they were killing two birds with one stone. Collapsing the bunker roof on top of the boats saved them the extra time in pulling them out and scuttling them.
Following the war, the German government was far too poor to worry about salvaging Third Reich history and so the boats were scavanged upon by treasure hunters and left to decay.
As time passed, and with the prevailing \"self loathing\" period experienced in Germany in the post war years, there really was no interest in saving what remained of the boats. That eventually led to the German government paying companies to completely demolish the bunker and the boats inside.
Through the years large parts of the boats have been taken away..the conning towers and the engines to mention only a few. Treasure hunters have stolen everything that wasn\'t welded down and many things that were. What remained of the boats was three very decrepit,old relics that would have cost millions to return to any state even remotely resembling their original design.
If U534, which now resides in Birkenhead, England, would cost millions to repair then just imagine the cost of doing three boats which were in far, far worse condition.
Now with the bunker having been filled in with tons of sand and currently under new plans to level it, the boats unfortunately will be lost to the past. And still, in Germany, there would be little interest today of saving them.</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Elbe bunker in Hamburg
|
Robert | 08/16/2001 10:28AM |
|
RE: Elbe bunker in Hamburg
|
walter M | 08/16/2001 10:55AM |
|
RE: Elbe bunker in Hamburg
|
Robert | 08/16/2001 12:18PM |
|
RE: Elbe bunker in Hamburg
|
walter M | 08/16/2001 02:49PM |
|
RE: Elbe bunker in Hamburg
|
Jeff | 08/16/2001 01:59PM |
|
RE: Elbe bunker in Hamburg
|
Tom Caramela | 08/16/2001 02:47PM |
|
Elbe bunker land ownership
|
Jeff | 08/19/2001 02:48PM |
|
Summer half-joke
|
walter M | 08/19/2001 06:57PM |