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WWII U-Boats
U-1406
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Class: XVIIB, Small Coastal Research vessels Built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg. Keel laid: 10/30/1943. Commissioned U-1406, 02/08/1945;
Career: No war patrol. 02/08/1945 - 02/15/1945 8th Flotilla (training) 02/16/1945 - 05/05/1945 5th flotilla (traning).
Fate: "U-1406 surrendered at Cuxhaven, Germany on 5 May 1945, but on the night of 6/7 May, Leutnant Grumpelt, who was not a member of the crew of either U-1406 or its sister U-Boat, U-1407, went on board the two by then unmanned U-Boats and scuttled each of them, an action for which he was subsequently court martialled, found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment. Salvage operations started on 29 June, and the two "Walter" U-Boats were raised with great haste and moved to the Howardwerke shipyard in Kiel at the beginning of July 1945, though not before a fire had started in U-1406 and it had needed to be re-immersed in Cuxhaven harbour. U-1406 was then allocated to the US Navy as a war prize. It was towed from Kiel to Bremerhaven in August 1945, and on 14 September was loaded onto the US freighter SS Shoemaker for transport to the USA as deck cargo, arriving at Portsmouth Navy Yard, NH (PNY) on 11 October 1945. The initial inspection at PNY revealed that the severely damaged U-Boat would be too costly to repair and operate, and the US Navy therefore decided that it would not be placed in service. Thus, whilst the "Walter" turbine was taken for study to Annapolis, the hull was retained unused at PNY. It was authorised for disposal on 27 February 1948 and sold at auction in New York on 26 April to the Interstate Metals Corporation. Finally U-1406 left PNY for the ship-breakers under tow on 18 May 1948, and was later broken-up for scrap".
Text courtesy of Derek Waller
Specifications: Displacement: 312 t (surf.), 337 t (subm.); Length: 136.5 ft ; B. 14.8 ft ; Dr. 14.1 ft ; Speed. 8.8 k. (surf.), 25 k. (subm.); 2 torpedo tubes with a reserve of 4 torp.; Max depth: unknown ; Power: (hp) 230 (sf) 2500 (sm); Range: (miles / knots) 3000/8 (sf) 123/25 (sm)
| Click On Image For Full Size | Size | Image Description | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 62k | U-1406 at her moorings. | Photo submitted by Robert Hurst. | |
 | 107k | "The pictured shows the damaged German "Walter" Type XVIIB U-Boat U-1406 at the administration Building Howaldswerke Kiel, shortly after being raised in early July 1945. U-1406 was allocated to the US Navy as a war prize, but though it was taken to the USA in 1945 it was never repaired or taken into service, being disposed of in 1948. The Royal Navy later conducted trials with her sister ship, U-1407, as HMS Meteorite, to gain experience in hydrogen-peroxide propulsion technologies, but only after it had undergone a very long and expensive refit". | Photo i.d. courtesy of Sascha Hornbach. Text courtesy of Derek Waller Photo originaly appeared in the book "Vom Original Zum Modell - Uboottyp XVII - Walter Uboote" by Rossler and Kohl. Photo credit: Sahlin/Lindberg. Photo via the courtesy of chinfo.navy.mil., and submitted by Antoine Lenormand. | |
 | 151k | U-1406 being lifted out of the water after being raised in Kiel, Germany, May 1945. | Photo i.d. courtesy of Sascha Hornbach. Photo submitted by Robert Hurst. | |
 | 82k | Cut out of the Walter Type XVIIB U-1406. | Photo originaly appeared in the book "Vom Original Zum Modell - Uboottyp XVII - Walter Uboote" by Rossler and Kohl. Photo credit: Sahlin/Lindberg, submitted by Antoine Lenormand. | |
 | 214k | Walter Type XVIIB Schematics. | Photo submitted by Robert Hurst. | |
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