U534

[Kyt]

Approval for U-boat to resurface
Plans for a former tourist attraction to be handed a permanent home on the banks of the Mersey have been given the go-ahead.

Wirral council has approved Merseytravel's proposal to house a German World War II U-boat at the Woodside Ferry Terminal.

The submarine was formerly an attraction at the Historic Warships Museum at Seacombe docks.

Plans include the provision of a visitor exhibition centre at the site.

The submarine was sunk during the war when, on her way to Norway, she was attacked by an RAF Liberator aircraft in 1945.

Forty-nine of the 52 crew members survived, including five who escaped via a torpedo hatch as the submarine lay on the sea bed.

'Good news'

The boat will be cut into three sections to be transported and viewed.

At Woodside huge glass panels installed over the end of each section will allow visitors to see inside the submarine from specially-built viewing platforms.

Neil Scales, chief executive of Merseytravel, said: "It's very good news, not only does it give a home to the U-boat but it also compliments our work along the river with other attractions like Spaceport.

"We'll do a good job with this."

The exhibition in the visitors centre will display some of the four-and-a-half tons of memorabilia that was found on U534.

This includes an Enigma cipher machine, ammunition, uniforms, tools, charts and maps.

Work is expected to cost about £2.5m and will start next month and is to due to finish next year.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/m...de/7055951.stm

[Kitty]

Ooooooooooooooooooh! I like the sound of this! Duxford has an X Craft which they sliced in half just in front of the engine and pulled apart with these glass panels so you can see in. i really want to see it done with a big sub!
Good to see someone saving it. Now for all the other ships

[Kyt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unterseeboot_534

[Adrian Roberts]

Why do they have to cut her into sections?

HMS Alliance at Gosport and HMS Ocelot at Chatham are intact and the public are allowed to go through them; just a question of stepping over some hatch thresholds. The other submarine I've been inside is a Soviet Foxtrot which was briefly at Woolwich and now languishes in the Medway. These are slightly larger than a Type IX U-boat but not all that much so.

This seems more like the Council being terrified of being sued if anyone slips while swinging through hatchways or negotiating ladders.

[Antipodean Andy]

I agree AR. While it's great she's being saved, I don't agree with cutting her into three for viewing. How do you understand the clausterphobic nature of a sub unless you go inside it?

[Kyt]

I get the feeling that anything that the council asks for will be done. Want fluffy pink fur around the conning tower? Sure, no problems. Anything as long as the boat finds a home.

[Antipodean Andy]

True. At least she'll be educational.

[Kyt]

There is now a petition to stop the boat from being cut up:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/...34-u-boat.html

[Kyt]

BBC NEWS | England | Merseyside | Engineers breaking-up WWII U-boat

Engineers have started a month-long operation to break up the only World War II German U-Boat in the UK to turn it into a new tourist attraction.

U-534, which is being moved to Mersey Ferries' Woodside ferry terminal in Birkenhead, will be split into four pieces using a diamond wire cutter.

The sections, each weighing up to 240 tonnes, will each take a day to move.

Visitors will be able to walk through sections of the U-boat when the exhibition opens in July.

The submarine currently stands at Mortar Mill Quay, near Birkenhead, where it formed part of the Historic Warships Museum, which closed last year.

Merseytravel, which owns and operates Mersey Ferries, bought the vessel to turn into a tourist attraction at its terminal.

The first of the four sections to be removed is a 23m (75.4 ft) length of the bow, which will be moved by floating crane across the water.

Neil Scales, chief executive and director general of Merseytravel, said: "There are only four U-Boats left. One here, two in Germany and a sister boat of the U-534 in Chicago.

"It's a really important piece of history which we want to preserve.

"It's the latest in a series of developments we are undertaking to ensure Mersey Ferries maintains and enhances its position as the most popular paid-for attraction in our region.

"More people than ever before will be able to view the sub in its new location."

RAF depth charge

The Imperial War Museum confirmed there are only four full-size WWII German U-Boats in existence, and that U-534 is the only one in the UK.

The submarine, launched on 23 September 1942, was used as a training vessel in the Baltic, according to the museum.

U-534 was sunk on 5 May 1945, in the Kattegat, north-west of Helsingor, Denmark, by depth charges dropped by an RAF Liberator.

The boat was salvaged in 1993 and brought to the UK in May 1996, before becoming a popular tourist attraction in Seacombe.

The warships museum was closed down after nearby warehouses were redeveloped and the land was needed for parking space.

The new exhibition at Woodside, which includes artefacts from the submarine and an enigma machine, is due to open in July.

[spidge]

Has anyone been to see this display?