Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Saturday April 28 2018, @03:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the sinking-feeling dept.

IFLScience reports

The wreck of a Nazi submarine linked to rumors about the secret smuggling of the Nazi elite to South America at the end of WWII has been discovered off the Danish coast.

The submarine, called U-3523, was recently discovered by the Sea War Museum Jutland over 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the coast of Skagerrak, Denmark's most northern town. This class of submarine, a Type XXI U-boat, was one of Germany's most formidable pieces of naval technology during the war. Unlike most submarines at the time, it was able to operate for long periods submerged underwater at speeds of up to 31.9 kilometers (19.8 miles) per hour.

Multibeam imaging scans of the wreck revealed that submarine was laying on the floor of the sea at a depth around 123 meters (400 feet). Unusually, it was resting with its nose pointed diagonally into the seabed, with its stern remaining some 20 meters (65 feet) above the seafloor.

[...] According to the Sea War Museum Jutland, many have argued the U-3523 was the first real submarine that could have sailed all the way across the Atlantic in one stretch at deep depths.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by looorg on Saturday April 28 2018, @04:44PM (4 children)

    by looorg (578) on Saturday April 28 2018, @04:44PM (#673056)

    So any sign of the body of Hitler? Massive amounts of gold and Art? The Amber Room?

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Insightful=1, Interesting=2, Total=3
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 28 2018, @08:50PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 28 2018, @08:50PM (#673121)

    Well, supposedly Hitler killed himself at the end of the war and his body was buried in a prison graveyard with other dead nazis. And filling up a quickly fleeing submarine with gold and crap seems a little nuts. But there very likely could have been some nazi artifacts on board that might today be historically significant.

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Saturday April 28 2018, @09:01PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday April 28 2018, @09:01PM (#673124) Journal

      And filling up a quickly fleeing submarine with gold and crap seems a little nuts.

      Only if that stuff doesn't sell well to protect your ass on the other end of the trip. I believe a common strategy of the time was: 1) grab all the loot you can, 2) sail to South America, and 3) bribe the necessary officials while enjoying your exile in comfort.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Saturday April 28 2018, @11:10PM (1 child)

      by looorg (578) on Saturday April 28 2018, @11:10PM (#673167)

      Interesting. I think the version they teach here is that he shot himself in the bunker, then they dragged his body outside and put it in a crater and poured a few gallons of gasoline over him and bbq:ed his body. Once the Russians arrived they took the body away and destroyed it so there would be no grave to remember him by. Add in thousands and thousands of hours of history channel documentaries and who knows. It's seems awfully convenient somehow; 'oh Hitler? He shot himself and then his body was cremated ...'

      Take this as an example. If the FBI investigated Hitler-sightings in 1947 they can't have been to sure about his apparent suicide.

      ... western Allied forces suspected that Hitler had committed suicide but did not immediately find evidence of his death. At the time, it was feared that Hitler may have escaped in the closing days of the war, and searches were made to determine if he was still alive. FBI Files indicate that the Bureau investigated some of the rumors of Hitler’s survival.

      https://vault.fbi.gov/adolf-hitler [fbi.gov]

      It does seem a bit odd to fill a sub with gold if you are just rushing away in a hurry but if you planned your escape it might make more sense. Still as noted there could be other interesting things on the uboat to.