"U-2511" has laid in the position you found here since 7th Jan 1946. She was sunk by gunfire from HMS "Sole Bay" as part of "Operation Deadlight", the disposal of 166 U-boat hulls.

It's a beautiful and melancholic thing... A submarine which has taken its last dive...

Beautiful shot though. I thought it would be kinda dark at 70m depth, so I'm a bit surprised 1/8sec did the trick

Great shots! Thanks for the info on her as well. Never understood scuttling rather than dismantling...

wow.

Details on U-2511

U-2511

Type XXI

Ordered 6 Nov 1943

Laid down 7 Jul 1944 Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk Numb 2511)

Launched 2 Sep 1944

Commissioned 29 Sep 1944
Korvkpt Adalbert Schnee (Knights Cross)

Commanders 29 Sep 1944 - 8 May 1945

KrvKpt Adalbert Schnee (Knights Cross)

Career
1 patrol 29 Sep 1944 - 14 Mar 1945

31 U-Flottille (training)

15 Mar 1945 - 8 May 1945
11 U-Flottille (front boat)

Successes No ships sunk or damaged

Fate Surrendered at Bergen Norway in May 1945.
Transferred from Bergen to Lisahally, Northern Ireland on 14 June 1945 for Operation Deadlight.

On 2 Jan 1946 she was taken to Moville.
From there she was sunk on 7 Jan 1946 at 19.40 hours in position 55.33, 07.38W.

Final fate

U-2511 left Bergen on 14 June 1945 to be transferred to Lisahally, Northern Ireland, which she reached on 21 June.
The boat's career ended on 7 January 1946 at 1940hrs at position 55.33,08N, 07.38,07W, where she was scuttled.

General notes on this boat

30 Jan 1945.
U-2511 had completed the usual training in the Bay of Danzig, as well as many trials with its new equipment.
She left port on 30 January 1945, with her crew and dozens of refugees — of the tens of thousands — who had crowded into Danzig in hopes of safe passage from the Russian Offensive underway at this time.

Several hours into her journey, she surfaced near the Stolpe Banks of the Baltic Sea.
There the crew took on several handfuls of survivors from the wreck of the Wilhelm Gustloff, which had taken three torpedoes amidships from the Russian submarine S-13.

The crew evaded mines, surface ships, and other Allied submarines until they reached the island harbors of Sässnitz/Rügen, where they remanded the civilians to the care of a refugee camp.

30 Apr 1945.
The first of the type XXI's to goes out on a patrol U-2511 left the Bay of Danzig on 30 January 1945, where she completed the usual training as well as many trials with her new equipment.
She headed back to the shipyard so that some remaining work on the boat could be completed.

On 16 March, U-2511 left Kiel as part of a Front-flottilla, the first Type XXI U-boat to make her maiden voyage.
A few days later, she reached the base at Horten in Norway.
There the boat underwent deep diving trials.

On 18 April 1945, U-2511 set out for Bergen, arriving on 21 April 1945.

On the evening of 30 April 1945, coinciding with Hitler's death in Berlin, U-2511 set out from Bergen for her first and last patrol.

The crew served under a group of very experienced U-boat officers like Korvkpt. Adalbert Schnee (Oak Leaves), the former very successful commander of U-201 and afterward for two years one of Dönitz's closest staff members.

On board was also one of those rare LI's (Enginner) who had received the Knights Cross, Korvkpt. (Ing) Gerd Suhren, Teddy Suhren's another famed U-Boat Ace's brother.

The destination for that patrol was to be the Caribbean, where the boat would be tested under all conditions.

On 1 May 1945, U-2511 had her first enemy contact.
Three days later on 4 May 1945, Adalbert Schnee received the cease-fire order.

A few hours later U-2511 made contact with the British cruiser HMS Norfolk among some other British warships.
The boat approached to within 500 meters of the British warship without any ASDIC contact from the enemy destroyers.

Schnee had here the opportunity to make an absolutely deadly attack against the cruiser, but left the scene without attacking and headed back to base.
U-2511 reached Bergen on 5 May 1945.

There the commander spoke with officers of the HMS Norfolk a few days later, and they found it unbelievable that U-2511 was able to get so close without any ASDIC contact.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-2511 did not suffer any casualties until the time of her loss.

Adalbert Schnee

Korvettenkapitän
(Crew 34)

Successes

21 ships sunk for a total of 90 189 GRT

2 auxiliary warships sunk for a total of 5700 GRT

3 ships damaged for a total of 28 820 GRT

Born 31 Dec 1913 Berlin
Died 4 Nov 1982 (Aged 68) Hamburg

Ranks

8 Apr 1934 Offiziersanwärter
26 Sep 1934 Seekadett
1 Jul 1935 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1937 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1937 Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1939 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Mar 1942 Kapitänleutnant
1 Dec 1944 Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

21 Oct 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
27 Nov 1939 U-boat War Badge 1939
15 Aug 1940 Iron Cross 1st Class
30 Aug 1941 Knights Cross
15 Jul 1942 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves

U-boat Commands

U-6 31 Jan 1940 to 10 Jul 1940
1 patrol (16 days)

U-60 19 Jul 1940 to 5 Nov 1940
3 patrols (41 days)

U-121 6 Nov 1940 to 27 Nov 1940
No war patrols

U-201 25 Jan 1941 to 24 Aug 1942
7 patrols (242 days)

U-2511 29 Sep 1944 to 8 May 1945
1 patrol (4 days)

Personal information

Adalbert 'Adi' Schnee joined the Navy in April 1934.
After some months on the light cruiser Leipzig, he began his U-boat career in May 1937.

He spent two pre-war years on board U-23 under the command of future Ace Oberleutnant
zur See Otto Kretschmer.
There he completed his first five patrols before going on to win great success with his own boat, U-201.

On his seventh patrol he sank ships a total of 41 036 tons, and for this achievement was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knights Cross.

In October 1942 he joined the BdU staff.

In his position as the "Geleitzugs-Asto" (A I op), he planned and organized operations against the enemy convoys.

In September 1944 he took over the command of the new "Elektro-boot" U-2511, the first and only Type XXI boat to go on patrol*.
On this patrol in the last days of the war, in the hours immediately after the cease-fire orders on 4 May 1945, Korvettenkapitän Schnee had an excellent opportunity to sink the British cruiser HMS Norfolk.
Simulating an actual attack, he approached the vessel, evaded the destroyer screen, closed to point-blank range, and then simply left the area.

After the surrender he served for six months in a minesweeper unit.
In October 1945 he was called into court to testify in defense of Heinz-Wilhelm Eck and some of his officers, who were being tried for their actions in the Peleus Affair.
On the stand, Schnee was placed in a difficult position by the prosecutor, and faced with a choice of either incriminating himself or condemning Eck's decision.

Backed into a corner, Schnee, who was to have been the star witness for the defense, was forced to admit he would not have done as Eck had.

Later Schnee completed a commercial training course and worked for some years as a commercial representative.
Then he retired from this profession to become the director of a sailing school on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean.

Adalbert Schnee was for a long time the chairman of the "Verband der U-Boots-Fahrer" in Germany.

*Actually Kptlt Manseck on U-3008 also went on patrol but only 2-3 days before the end of the war in Europe.
U-3008 returned to Kiel, Germany in late May 1945 to also surrender.

Impressive !