German submarine ''U-2511'' was a

Type XXI submarine Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric '' Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only two w ...

of Nazi Germany's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The ''

Elektroboot An Elektroboot ("electric boat" in German) was a submarine designed to operate entirely submerged, rather than as submersibles that could submerge as a temporary means to escape detection or launch an attack. History Even before the Second W ...

'' submarine was laid down on 7 July 1944 at the

Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...

yard at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, launched on 2 September 1944, and commissioned on 29 September 1944 under the command of ''

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

'' Adalbert Schnee.

Design

Like all

s, ''U-2511'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of ( o/a), a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two

MAN SE MAN SE (abbreviation of ''Maschinenfabrik Augsburg- Nürnberg'', ) was a manufacturing and engineering company based in Munich, Germany. Its primary output was commercial vehicles and diesel engines through its MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin ...

supercharged six-cylinder M6V40/46KBB diesel engines each providing , two

Siemens-Schuckert Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...

GU365/30 double-acting electric motors each providing , and two Siemens-Schuckert

silent running ''Silent Running'' is a 1972 American ecological-themed science fiction film. It is the directorial debut of Douglas Trumbull, and stars Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, and Jesse Vint. Plot In the future, all forests on Earth have b ...

GV232/28 electric motors each providing . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When running on silent motors the boat could operate at a speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate at for ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-2511'' was fitted with six

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s in the bow and four C/30

anti-aircraft guns Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

. She could carry 23

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es or 17 torpedoes and 12

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

. The

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

was five officers and 52 men.

Service history

After training with

31st U-boat Flotilla ''31st U-boat Flotilla'' ("31. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("''Ausbildungsflottille''") of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was formed in Hamburg in September 1943 under the command of '' Kap ...

, ''U-2511'' was transferred to

11th U-boat Flotilla The 11th U-boat Flotilla (German ''11. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed on 15 May 1942 in Bergen, Norway. The flotilla operated mainly in the North Sea and against the Russian convoys (JW, PQ, QP and RA series) in the Arctic Sea. The flotill ...

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, Norway, for front-line service on 15 March 1945. ''U-2511'' conducted one patrol. On the evening of 30 April 1945 (coincidentally the date of Hitler's death), ''U-2511'' set out from Bergen, Norway for the Caribbean, but on 4 May Schnee received the end-of-the-war cease-fire order. The commander of ''U-2511'' claimed the U-boat had a British cruiser in her sights on 4 May when news of the German cease-fire was received. He further claimed she made a practice attack before leaving the scene undetected.

Fate

On 17 June 1945, ''U-2511'' was transferred from Bergen, and arrived at

Londonderry Port Londonderry Port, now operating as Foyle Port, is a port located on Lough Foyle in Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port and an important northerly port on the island of Ireland. The current port is at Lisahally, Co ...

on 21 June for Operation Deadlight. The U-boat was sunk on 7 January 1946 at 7:40 pm in position . She was sunk by gunfire after her towing cable parted. The wreck lies at a depth . She had been visited by divers at least three times, in 1999 and 2001, and circa 2012 for 'Dig WW2 with Dan Snow', revealing she is largely intact except for a large blast hole caused by the shellfire that sank her.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

*
Researched scale model representation of ''U-2511''
{{DEFAULTSORT:U2511 World War II submarines of Germany Type XXI submarines U-boats commissioned in 1944 U-boats scuttled in 1946 Operation Deadlight 1944 ships Ships built in Hamburg Maritime incidents in 1946