Nazi submarine wreck found off Norway

[The Straight Story]

The wreck of a German World War II submarine that was sunk with 48 people on board has been found off Norway's coast during work on an oil pipe, a maritime museum official said on Monday.

The "U-486" was torpedoed and broken in two by a British submarine in April 1945 shortly after leaving the western Norwegian town of Bergen, according to Arild Maroey Hansen of the Bergen maritime museum.

There were no survivors.

Lying at a depth of some 250 metres (820 feet), the wreck was found when Norwegian oil company Statoil was scouting the area as a possible location to lay down an oil pipe.

"The submarine had a special coating on the hull. It was a synthetic rubber coating designed to significantly reduce its radar signal," Maroey Hansen told Norwegian public radio NRK.

http://www.thelocal.no/page/view/nazi-submarine-found-off-norway#.UWGbMDf4KSo

[jerseyjack]

1. I guess the rubber coating didn't work.

[VMA131Marine]

2. poor reporting in evidence again.

The rubber coating would have been to reduce the boat's sonar signature, not it's radar signature. This would have made it harder to detect by surface ships when submerged. Even in 1945, airborne radar sets could detect something as small as the periscope of a sub as it protruded above the water. Most likely, this sub was operating on the surface when it was torpedoed as it had just left port. Unless it was schnorkel equipped a U-boot's speed and range when submerged were very limited.

[petronius]

3. Very interesting! That DTM imagery is amazingly detailed...

The HuffPost article has some long video of the wreck: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/nazi-submarine-found-norway-u-486_n_2963525.html

It's pretty sad to think about crews like this setting sail in early 1945, they must have known it was practically a suicide mission.

The sinking of the SS Leopoldville - by this boat - is a pretty tragic story as well http://www.uboat.net/history/leopoldville.htm

[treestar]

4. Guess this will happen from time to time

Very interesting.