Wilhelm Bauer (U-boat)

Wilhelm Bauer, panoramic view
History
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-2540
Ordered:	6 November 1943
Builder:	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number:	2540
Laid down:	28 October 1944
Launched:	13 January 1945
Commissioned:	24 February 1945 (as U-2540)
Fate:	Scuttled, 4 May 1945
History
West Germany
Name:	Wilhelm Bauer
Namesake:	Wilhelm Bauer
Recommissioned:	1 September 1960
Decommissioned:	28 August 1968
In service:	May 1970
Out of service:	15 March 1982
Fate:	Raised, June 1957
Status:	Museum ship, 27 April 1984
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type XXI submarine
Displacement:	1,621 t (1,595 long tons) surfaced 2,100 t (2,067 long tons) submerged
Length:	76.70 m (251 ft 8 in) (o/a)
Beam:	8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Height:	11.30 m (37 ft 1 in)
Draught:	6.32 m (20 ft 9 in)
Propulsion:	Diesel/Electric 2 × MAN M6V40/46KBB supercharged 6-cylinder diesel engines, 4,000 PS (2,900 kW; 3,900 shp) 2 × SSW GU365/30 double acting electric motors, 5,000 PS (3,700 kW; 4,900 shp) 2 × SSW GV232/28 silent running electric motors, 226 PS (166 kW; 223 shp)
Speed:	Surfaced: 15.6 knots (28.9 km/h; 18.0 mph) (diesel) 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) (electric) Submerged: 17.2 knots (31.9 km/h; 19.8 mph) (electric) 6.1 knots (11.3 km/h; 7.0 mph) (silent running motors)
Range:	15,500 nmi (28,700 km; 17,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 340 nmi (630 km; 390 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth:	240 m (790 ft)
Complement:	5 officers, 52 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:	Type F432 D2 Radar Transmitter FuMB Ant 3 Bali Radar Detector
Armament:	6 × bow torpedo tubes 23 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes or 17 × torpedoes and 12 × mines 4 × 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 AA guns

Wilhelm Bauer (originally designated U-2540) is a Type XXI U-boat of Nazi Germany's navy (Kriegsmarine), completed shortly before the end of World War II. It was scuttled at the end of the war, having never gone on patrol. In 1957, it was raised from the seabed off Flensburg Firth and recommissioned in the West-German Bundesmarine in 1960. Finally decommissioned in 1980, it is the only floating example of a Type XXI U-boat.

Construction of U-2540 began on 28/29 October 1944 by Blohm & Voss in the Hamburg-Finkenwerder. She was launched on 13 January 1945 and commissioned on 24 February 1945 as part of 31st U-boat Flotilla for training purposes. In April 1945 the boat went to the front after training at Rønne on Bornholm. Due to the ongoing fuel shortages at the end of the war, the boat was relocated to Swinemünde before being scuttled near the Flensburg lightship on 4 May 1945.

Like all Type XXI U-boats, U-2540 had a displacement of 1,621 tonnes (1,595 long tons) when at the surface and 1,819 tonnes (1,790 long tons) while submerged. She had a total length of 76.70 m (251 ft 8 in), a beam length of 8 m (26 ft 3 in), and a draught length of 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN SE supercharged six-cylinder M6V40/46KBB diesel engines each providing 4,000 metric horsepower (2,900 kilowatts; 3,900 shaft horsepower), two Siemens-Schuckert GU365/30 double-acting electric motors each providing 5,000 PS (3,700 kW; 4,900 shp), and two Siemens-Schuckert silent running GV232/28 electric motors each providing 226 PS (166 kW; 223 shp).