Unterseeboot 534

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U-534 at the Nautilus Museum, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England

U-534 at Birkenhead Docks

Part of the hull and conning tower of U-534

An artist's impression of how U-534 will look in the visitor centre at Woodside when it opens in 2008

Unterseeboot 534 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the Kriegsmarine and was built in 1942 in Hamburg-Finkenwerder by Deutsche Werft AG. The U-boat is one of only four remaining in the world.^[1]

She was sunk on 5 May 1945 by 10 depth charges launched from a British Liberator aircraft. She sank in the waters of Kattegat north-west of Elsinore, in position 56°39′N 11°48′E / 56.65, 11.8 (U-534). In 1993 Danish media millionaire, Karsten Ree, sponsored the raising of the submarine amid rumours of Nazi gold and intense media coverage. Hopes of gold treasure were disappointed, however, as the ship contained nothing but what was to be expected.

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.^[2]

For technical reasons and to facilitate economical transportation to its new site, the vessel was cut into four sections. It will be displayed in this form to allow visitors better access and visibility.^[3] Merseytravel said that preserving the hull intact would have created prohibitive transport costs.^[4] Engineers began a month-long operation to break up U-534 using a diamond wire cutter on 6 February 2008. Beginning on 10 March 2008, the sections, each weighing up to 240 tonnes, were transported by floating crane over a number of days. The modified attraction and visitor centre is expected to open at the end of September 2008.^[5]