Wilhelm Bauer 1945
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Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | Wilhelm Bauer | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1945 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | U-boat, maritime museum | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Scuttled | Wikidata P828 has cause (on P793 event): scuttling |
| Nationality / flag | West Germany, Nazi Germany | Wikidata P137 operator → P17 country |
| Operator | West German Navy, Kriegsmarine | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | World War II, Operation Regenbogen | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Nearest coast | Germany | Natural Earth (public domain) |
| Position | 53.5414, 8.5778 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
German submarine Wilhelm Bauer (originally designated U-2540) is a Type XXI U-boat of Nazi Germany's navy (Kriegsmarine), completed shortly before the end of World War II. It was scuttled at the end of the war, having never gone on patrol. In 1957, it was raised from the seabed off Flensburg Firth, refurbished, and recommissioned for use by the West-German Bundesmarine in 1960. Finally retired fully in 1983, it is the only floating example of a Type XXI U-boat. It has been modified to appear in wartime configuration and exhibited at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, Germany.
Diving & visiting
In June 1957, after more than 12 years on the floor of the Baltic Sea, U-2540 was raised and overhauled at Howaldtswerke, Kiel. The submarine was commissioned as a research vessel in the Bundesmarine, serving from 1 September 1960 until 28 August 1968 as a test boat (class 241). On relaunch she was renamed Wilhelm Bauer, after the designer of the first German U-boat, Brandtaucher, built in Kiel by August Howaldt in 1850. From May 1970 she again entered service, this time with a civilian crew and served as a testbed for the technical innovations of the Type 206 U-boat.
U-2540 was put on sale by the Ministry of Defence and acquired by the board of trustees of the German Maritime Museum Association and the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven. The boat was restored to its original World War II configuration after its transfer in August 1983 to the Seebeck yard, opening on 27 April 1984 as a museum ship in Bremerhaven, now sponsored by the Wilhelm Bauer Technology Museum association. It has a replica twin 20mm cannon mount and the bridge is not glazed as it was during service with the Bundesmarine.
Location
- Recorded position: 53.5414, 8.5778 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Nearest coast: Germany
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 Wilhelm Bauer (revision 1380203691), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Salvage, refit and new service”, “Conversion to museum ship”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; 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 Germany · Second World War