350-ton submarine tipped in the museum
In a spectacular manoeuvre on the grounds of the Technik Museum in Speyer (Palatinate), experts have laid a 350-tonne submarine on its side as a test. Next year, the decommissioned steel colossus is to be transported on a pontoon across the Neckar to the partner museum in Sinsheim (Baden).
As some Neckar bridges are too low, the approximately nine-meter-high vehicle has to be tilted by more than 70 degrees before crossing. This was achieved on Wednesday. A first attempt on the site was canceled at the end of September for technical reasons.
Austrian extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from the stratosphere in 2012, pressed the start button on Wednesday. "I've known museum director Hermann Layher for more than 20 years," he told the German Press Agency. As a trained machine fitter and car mechanic, he helped to find the right technology. A steel load distribution strip was welded to the colossus - as a protector between the rollers and the boat. This prevents deformation.
U17 had been in service since 1973 and, together with U26, was once the first German submarine in US waters after the Second World War. After it was decommissioned in Kiel in 2010, the museum in Speyer received a tip from the German Submariners' Association in 2023 that U17 could be loaned out by the Federal Ministry of Defense. Thousands of onlookers stood on the banks of the Rhine in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia in May and followed the transport of the almost 50-metre-long vintage vessel to Speyer.
The decommissioned submarine, U17, is currently housed in the Technik Museum in Speyer due to its loan from the Federal Ministry of Defense. In preparation for its transportation to Sinsheim's partner museum next year, the submarine will undergo modifications, including being tilted to clear low Neckar bridges.
The Historical Shipping section of both museums will undoubtedly benefit from the addition of U17, as it tells a significant story of German naval defense history, having been the first German submarine to enter US waters post-World War II.
Source: www.dpa.com
