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 and eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only tw ...

of Nazi Germany's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 branches, along with the a ...

'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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 ...

'' 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 (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

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

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...

Adalbert Schnee Otto Adalbert Schnee (31 December 1913 – 4 November 1982) was a ''Korvettenkapitän'' (corvette captain) with Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. He commanded the submarines , , , and , sinking twenty-one merchant ships on ...

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 Ame ...

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 & Ha ...

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

silent running ''Silent Running'' is a 1972 American environmental-themed apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic science fiction film. It is the directorial debut of Douglas Trumbull, and stars Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, and Jesse ...

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, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

. 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, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es or 17 torpedoes and 12

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

. The

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...

was five officers and 52 men.

Service history

After training with 31st U-boat Flotilla, ''U-2511'' was transferred to 11th U-boat Flotilla at

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, 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 Operation Deadlight was the code name for the Royal Navy operation of November 1945 – February 1946 to scuttle German U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II. Operation Of the 156 U-boats ...

. 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

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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