Forums Forums Wirral Information Wirral info u534 on the move

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Taken Last night from the East Float.
You will see the Mammoth in waiting with the final piece on its deck.

It looks a right fookin eyesore IMO - I can't see it bringing many visitors to Woodside.

They could have spent the money on something far better to attract more visitors to Woodside.

Does anyone have any figures for how much the move is costing, or the annual upkeep and maintenance of the rust bucket??

Would be interesting to see how much public money is being wasted on it with no gain.

Has a piece gone awol.

just been down to woodside and could only see 4 pieces in position, but they cut it into 5, where the 5th piece?

Bloody Pikey's !!!

Hahahahaha

Lets put a few things straight, it seems that some people on this board are unaware of the facts and yet take the time to post inaccurate statements...

Firstly, the U534 is NOT the boat that was the subject of the Discovery Channel programme. That was U869. That boat was originally reported sunk somewhere off Gibraltar in 44/45 but divers found it off the coast of the US where it was sunk during the German U-boat offensive against the US Eastern Seaboard (operation drumbeat). It was indeed confirmed by a number of items salvaged including a knife belonging to one of the German submariners. Sadly, two (or three?) research divers died while exploring the wreck.

Secondly, the U534 is NOT a war-grave. Had it been so it would not have been raised at all. The fact is that nobody died INSIDE the vessel and so no bodies remained there so it is not a grave. All hands escaped after the attack which sank her (including some who crawled out of torpedo tubes). Three submariners died later from exposure.

I can understand the frustration regarding the Mersey tunnels and Merseytravel but I think the UBoat is an important piece of history and should be preserved. I understand that Merseytravel is (at least part) government funded, and a lottery grant would help for projects such as these, but all these resources are now being ploughed into the horrendous cost of hosting the London Olympics - to the detriment of the rest of the tax-paying country. Do some simple research into the Millennium Dome and the New Wembley to see other cases where the whole country is forced to pay through the nose to the advantage of the big smoke while the cost of these projects double, triple and quadrouple in cost and we, as northerners help to foot the bill to fund something that will be of little advantage to us, meanwhile, other heritage sites and historical facilities fall by the wayside (see Jodrell Bank for the most recent)

Two good reasons why the effort should be made to keep the u-boat on display (either as a whole or in sections)..

1. Engineering legacy: I notice quite few people on here seem to be into cars judging by the avatars. It may therefore interest you that as a piece of engineering the U534 like much of German engineering was outstanding in many areas (are you still reading Audi and BMW owners?) I went aboard when the wreck was at Birkenhead and the light bulbs still worked despite it being under the sea for half a century! The diesel engines were very advanced and could actually run in reverse (which baffled even people in the 90s when she was salvaged). The torpedoes on board were also the most sophisticated ever produced by any side during WW2.

2. Historical legacy. Anything that helps us (and our children) appreciate and understand the great sacrifices made by our countrymen that were made during WW2 can only be a good thing. In this case, Liverpool's involvement in the battle of the Atlantic. Scrapping the Uboat wreck would be pig-ignorant and an insult to all those who lost their lives fighting for us. When I was on board the U534, one of the other people being shown around on the tour was a friend and colleague of Alan Turing and he found the tour very interesting and worthwhile. Turing was the head of the code breakers at Bletchley Park and is largely credited with cracking the German "Enigma" codes which saved many lives of Brits during the conflict, in the process he helped devise and develop the bombe machines which essentially were the world's first computers.

I also disagree with the decision to scrap the HMS Plymouth (which was hit by an Argentine bomb that failed to explode during the Falklands war) and HMS Onyx the British sub.

Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it.

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I got alot of my information from this new clipping.

And this website
Click Me

I don't know if there is an official website with the facts.

People see what they want to see, and think about the costs etc.
So as it stands at this moment.

Its been rusting away.
It been cut up.
And now moved.

And apparently it was sold to the wirral for a £1

Because there is so little written about the Uboat.
It is difficult to get excited about something most people
see as a waste of time an effort. A Huge white elephant.

People may come, people may stare, but they wont understand
the history nor the local objections to it, is my thinking.

Thanks for posting, and sharing your views,
im sure the debate will go on and on..

That is the biggest load of b*****ks I have ever read on this site .This was obviously written by somebody who doesnt live in the wirral ,you obviously don't have to experience the bus service that we do.I personally don't care what uboat it is or was, it is still a german uboat .My grandfather lost lots of good friends in the battle of the Atlantic as many other people did during the first and second world war.Secondly the people of Wirral suffered anti German riots in 1915 after the sinking of the Lusitania(by a uboat) and now we have one as a monument (sick),this monstrosity is now based directly opposite to where the Lusitania would of docked if it had been allowed to complete its journey.
There are many more things that merseytravel could spend the money on ,for instance a reliable bus service and if there is the need for a tourist attraction at least do something that has a connection to the Wirral .
the people of the wirral don't need a submarine we need reliable transport

Nanook - Its a pile of scrap !

SINK THE SUB SAVE THE TUNNELS

I want to vandalise it when its sorted out.. and i aint threating im promising if i had the bloody balls in me id ruin it 100% and show Merseytravel what we all think of it.. Lets just create a Big blender and ask this guy to see if it blends? [youtube]sIakPZ0DJjg[/youtube]

pmsl, lets make a giant blender and stick it in, or turn the propeller on it around and crank it up, hopefully then it might self blend !

Thanks Smartchild, I appreciate the accolade of writing the "the biggest load of b*****ks" on this site. Actually, it is undeserved though, as the first half of my post was all about outlining the facts and correcting the errors made by people on this thread that others have since commented on. I hope it helped and maybe some people appreciated it. I wasn't trying to be a smart ar5e or cause an argument. The second half of my post was my opinion (which I am entitled to) so I presume this was the "b****ks" part you were referring to. If that is how you react to other people's opinion in a discussion just because it differs from your own then I think you have just claimed the title yourself.

Well done for deducing that I don't live in the Wirral as it's says "Location: Skem" right underneath my name. I cannot comment on Merseytravel and to be honest, I can see where your coming from and if your bus service is cr*p then they definately should sort that out for the people of the Wirral before wasting their money on an exhibit like an sub wreck. Agreed.

The thrust of the second part of my original post was about preserving our history. The people of London do not protest to the fact that there are V1 and V2 flying bombs on display in their Imperial War Museum, despite the London public being terrorised by these "vengeance weapons" in the forties. The Jewish people of Europe do not protest that places like Auschwitz are now museums - it raises awareness and serves to educate otherwise ignorant people. There are WW2 exhibits of both sides on display all around the world thanks to the fact that most people have the brains and desire to remember and appreciate the past and want to preserve it rather than just scrapping it for the promise of a few quid.

I think this situation should make everyone happy...
Merseytravel concentrate their funds on sorting out the local bus service, and the U-Boat goes on display in a different part of the country where it will not offend as many relatives of those directly involved in the battle of the Atlantic. Preferrably a location where the locals don't vow to vandalise it (classy) or sink it (genius) and have the intelligence and grace to realise that it should be preserved as a piece of history and not just destroyed.

I think most people involved directly or indirectly in the battle of the Atlantic (and the Lusitania if they are still alive) would agree with me that the fact the vessel is preserved, regardless of who's side it was on, can only be a good thing as it raises awareness of the great achievements and absolute sacrifice made by the brave people who defended our country from Nazis.

It is a fairly strong debatable topic where there is always
a difference of opinions.

There all welcome, as long as it does not become personal.


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My own view on it is that it just looks like a load of rust.
If they wanted to preserve it why cut it up?
Smaller chunks don't make it easier to swallow.

Personally i think its been a white elephant who ever has
owned it, and i think it will continue to be a white elephant.

It does look interesting to look at for all of 10 mins,
but a working sub would interest me for an hour or more.

Woodside was dying, the ferry wasn't pulling in the tourists
and this is there master plan by the looks of it?

It is debatable the whole thing and i wonder if i will ever
settle with it being a good thing, now its history becomes
clearer...

You see after seeing the plans and seeing it close up
i cant see the real thing looking as good as the plans,
its interesting but thats it.

Its a shame it doesn't have any local ties and then its spot
being worthy in my opinion. But it doesn't except for the
fact were stuck with it now, if we like it or not.