Want to see inside a U-boat?? Then look here for 42 stunning images!

German submarine U-995 was a German Type VIIC/41 U-boat of the Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 25 November 1942 in Hamburg, Germany, and was commissioned on 16 September 1943 with Oberleutnant Walter Köhntopp being the commanding officer.

469763_orig

At the end of the war on 8 May 1945 she was stricken at Trondheim, Norway and  she was surrendered to the British.

She was then transferred to Norwegian ownership in October 1948. In December 1952 U995 became the Norwegian submarine Kaura until 1965 when she was stricken by the Royal Norwegian Navy. She was then sold for the symbolic price of one Deutsche Mark to Germany where, in October 1971, she became a museum ship at Laboe Naval Memorial

Photo source

6388863_origU-995

7535188_origU-995

8466160_origU-995

9463035_origU-995

4150136_origU-995

4448162_origU-995 the massive diesel engines

5547525_origU-995: Torpedo

1708772_origU-995: Close up of the torpedo loading mechanism

4568339_origU-995

824806_origU-995 Torpedo launch tubes

6921762_origU-995 Torpedo and launch tube

The Type VII was based on earlier German submarine designs going back to the World War I Type UB III and especially the cancelled Type UG, designed through the Dutch dummy company Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw den Haag (I.v.S).

Which was set up by Germany after World War I in order to maintain and develop German submarine technology and to circumvent the limitations set by the Treaty of Versailles, and was built by shipyards around the world.

1321150_origU-995

6743246_origU-995 Bog

7843303_origU-995 Crew Quarters

6041678_origU-995 Door to the bog

9248660_origThere wasn’t much space for the crew!

5230394_origRadio and map room

9620484_origRadios

8535500_origCaptains cabin?

5702729_origLooking toward the radio room

6928403_origLooking toward the radio room

The Finnish Vetehinenclass and Spanish Type E-1 also provided some of the basis for the Type VII design. These designs led to the Type VII along with Type I, the latter being built in AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, Germany.

The production of Type I was cut down only after two boats; the reasons for this are not certain and range from political decisions to faults of the type.

9812050_origNerve center of the U-Boat

8682217_origLooking up in the conning tower

8824486_origPersiscope

4885338_origLot’s of valves

7430798_origSteering the U-Boat

1847850_origI’m pretty sure that is not the coffee machine

9234716_origMap table

801746_origU995 main control area

9317222_origMain control area

5524575_origMain control area

The design of the Type I was further used in the development of the Type VII and Type IX. Type VII submarines were the most widely used U-boats of the war and were the most produced submarine class in history, with 703 built. The type had several modifications.

The Type VII was the most numerous U-boat type to be involved in the Battle of the Atlantic.

1148457_origCrew quarters

2314662_origCrew quarters

3894157_origCrew quarters

2327467_origThe galley

589223_origThe bog, again

766017_origEngine room

5846877_origMassive diesel engine

9329078_origEngine control

3903828_origEngine control

90514_origU-995

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Joris Nieuwint

Joris Nieuwint is a battlefield guide for the Operation Market Garden area. His primary focus is on the Allied operations from September 17th, 1944 onwards. Having lived in the Market Garden area for 25 years, he has been studying the events for nearly as long. He has a deep understanding of the history and a passion for sharing the stories of the men who are no longer with us.

@joris1944 facebook.com/joris.nieuwint