Tuesday, 11 February 2025
-- Advertisement --
dive soft ccr liberty

U-2513 - prototype of nuclear submarines

Listen to this article The submarine U-2513 was built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, which was famous for producing equipment for the Kaiserlischemarine, and later the Kriegsmarine. She was launched on 19 July 1944 and can be called the first submarine of the modern type, which was followed by the Allied ships
Published: June 23, 2014 - 10:04
Updated: July 22, 2023 - 08:20
U-2513 – prototype of nuclear submarines
Listen to this article

The submarine U-2513 was built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, which was famous for producing equipment for the Kaiserlischemarine, and later the Kriegsmarine. She was launched on 19 July 1944 and can be called the first submarine of the modern type, which was followed by the Allied ships long after the end of World War II.

-- Advertisement --

In total over 100 ships of this type were produced (only 8 survived the war), boasting an impressive range of 15,500 nautical miles. U-2513 was armed with 2 twin 20mm anti-aircraft guns, 6 bow torpedo launchers and 23 torpedoes. On 8 May 1945, this technical marvel of the time entered service with the 31st U-boat training flotilla.

The ship aroused great hopes of the Third Reich in the perspective of the fights for supremacy in the Atlantic. It is widely believed that this type of vessel was a milestone in the development of submarines and its design solutions were used in the construction of the first nuclear submarines.

A breakthrough was certainly the installation of new generation, extremely light batteries on Type XXI vessels. In combination with very streamlined hull shapes, this ensured unprecedented speeds when submerged.

The first commander of U-2513 was appointed as Kapitänleutnant Hans Bungards, who remained in this position until 26 April 1945. On 1 April 1945, the ship was transferred from the 31st training flotilla to the 11th (front) flotilla, and shortly afterwards, on 27 April, the experienced submariner, Knight-Cross Fregattenkapitän Erich Topp became the ship’s commander.

However, he did not manage to make a single combat patrol on his new unit, because on 8 May Karl Dönitz signed the act of unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. On the same day, U-2513, stationed in Horten, Norway, surrendered to the Allies. First, it was towed to Oslo on 20 May and then to Lisahally in Northern Ireland, where it arrived on 7 June.

[ot-video type=”youtube” url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6UVMzJNJRI”]

Although U-2513 was enlisted in the Krigsmarine on 1 April 1944, she never took an active part in battle or in any combat patrol. His Krigsmarine career lasted only 11 months.

After the American takeover, U-2513 retained its original designation and sailed for a few years under the flag of the US Navy as USS U-2513.

At that time it served mainly as a training ship. On her board there were guests such as the President of the USA – Harry S. Truman, as well as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. After the takeover she remained in the service of the USA until July 1949. The decision to withdraw it was made because of the wear of the German batteries, which could not be replaced by new ones.

After 7 years from launching it was sunk by a rocket launched by the USS Robert A. Owens and turned into a training target near Key West, Florida – position 24.53N, 83.15W. Today, the wreck lies at a depth of 75m and is an attractive object for experienced divers.

63 years after the sinking of U-2513, a dive was carried out on its wreck by two unmanned vessels. The aim of the expedition was to create a video recording to bring this piece of history closer to non-divers. The video recording is below.

How would World War II have turned out if Adolf Hitler had introduced the XXI class ships earlier? Of course, we will never know, but there is still an interesting field for reflection. How do you think Type XXI ships would have turned the tide of the war and saved Germany from ultimate defeat?

Source: vaterland.pl; gastro.ostrowwlkp.pl; facta-nautica.graptolite.net

Other posts
Share:
Facebook
Telegram
LinkedIn
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp

About author

Małgorzata Brykała
-- Advertisement --
freediving dive insurance dan
-- Advertisement --
Level3 Club CCR Divers24
Recent post
Highly respected expert in technical diving Mark Powell – Diving Talks 2023 speakers
Ghost Diving Poland - Protecting the Baltic Sea
Shipwrecks as Artificial Reefs: Ecological Roles and Impacts
SS Ilse - New wreck discovered by Baltictech
Underwater Protection of Turkish Wrecks - buoy project
KFK UJ 301 – amazing digitalisation of the German WWII warship wreck
The National Maritime Museum and Baltictech surveyed the very interesting wreck of a wooden sailing ship from the late 19th Century
You haven't read yet
Meet the Symbios Ecosystem: Your Next-Level Dive Experience
Baltictech 2024 nearly 1000 attendees
DiveXpo 2024: Belgium’s Premier Diving Event for All Levels
Halcyon Dive Systems Announces a Bold New Chapter
Guz Tech Conference 2024 – This Weekend in Plymouth, UK
Introducing Garmin's Descent X50i: A New Era in Tech diving

Search...

The Divers24 portal is currently the largest online medium treating diving in Poland. Since 2010 we have been providing interesting and important information from Poland and around the world on all forms of diving and related activities.

Contact us: info@divers24.com