U-534 1945
Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | U-534 | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1945 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | U-boat, preserved watercraft | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Nazi Germany | Wikidata P137 operator → P17 country |
| Operator | Kriegsmarine | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | Battle of the Atlantic | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | Kattegat | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Sweden | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 38 km from land |
| Position | 56.7500, 11.8700 | Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0) |
About the wreck
German submarine U-534 is a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. She was built in 1942 in Hamburg-Finkenwerder by Deutsche Werft AG as yard number 352. She was launched on 23 September 1942 and commissioned on 23 December with Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Nollau in command.
U-534 is one of only four German World War II submarines in preserved condition remaining in the world, albeit cut into sections unlike the others, these being the IXC boat U-505 in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, the VIIC/41 boat U-995 at the Laboe Naval Memorial near Kiel and the XXI boat U-2540 in Bremerhaven.
U-534 was used mainly for training duties; during her service she sank no ships. A Royal Air Force bomber sank her on 5 May 1945 in the Kattegat 20 kilometres (11 nmi) northeast of the Danish island of Anholt. U-534 was salvaged on 23 August 1993 and was moved to Woodside Ferry, Birkenhead to form the 'U-Boat Story' museum. This attraction opened on 10 February 2009 and closed in 2020.
Diving & visiting
U-534 lay on the sea bed for nearly 41 years, until she was discovered at a depth of 67 metres in 1986 by a Danish wreck hunter, Aage Jensen. Shortly afterwards, the wreck hunters' group contacted Danish media millionaire Karsten Ree, who sponsored raising the submarine, as rumours of Nazi gold caused intense media coverage. However, the boat turned out to contain nothing unusual.
U-534 was raised to the surface on 23 August 1993 by the Dutch salvage company Smit Tak.
Transported to Birkenhead, England, in 1996, the vessel formed part of the Warship Preservation Trust's collection at Birkenhead Docks until the museum closed on 5 February 2006. On 27 June 2007, the Merseytravel transit authority announced that it had acquired the submarine to display at the Woodside Ferry Terminal.
Location
- Recorded position: 56.7500, 11.8700 (Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Kattegat
- Nearest coast: Sweden
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article German submarine U-534 (revision 1380058357), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Salvage”, “Museum ship”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
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Browse more: Europe wrecks · wrecks off Sweden · Kattegat · Second World War