Technical Museum U 995

History of U 995
U 995 was laid down as a type VIIc/41 U-boat on 25th November 1942 at Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and was launched on July, 22nd. Despite damage inflicted by an allied bomb raid, the boat was commissioned on September 16th, 1943 with Oberleutnant (Lieutenant Junior Grade) Walter Köhntopp in command.
From September 16th, 1943, to May 31st, 1944, U 995 belonged to the 5th submarine flotilla (5. U-Boot-Flottille) in Kiel, Germany.
During this time the submarine and it's crew underwent extensive operational training. On May 21st, 1944, U995 was attacked by a Canadian Sunderland aircraft (Sqdn OTU 4/S) with 5 men of the crew being wounded.
After completion of training, U 995 was transferred on June 1st, 1944, as a front boat to the 13th submarine flotilla (13. U-Boot-Flottille) inTrondheim, Norway, to fight the allied convoys, that supplied the Soviet Union with arms, ammunition and other ordnance. On October 10th, 1944 Oberleutnant (Lieutenant Junior Grade) Hans-Georg Hess became new commanding officer (CO) of U995, which was transferred on March 1st, 1945, to the 14th submarine flotilla (14. U-Boot-Flottille) in Narvik, Norway. During her term of service, U995 conducted nine patrols, during which the boat sunk a total of two merchant ships, one Soviet patrol craft, one Soviet auxiliary mine sweeper and one Soviet motorboat.
At the time of the German capitulation on May, 8th, 1945, U995 was
moored at Trondheim, Norway, to be equipped with a snorkel. The boat was not scuttled or destroyed by the crew, but surrendered to the British and eventually transferred into Norwegian ownership in October 1948.
In December 1952 ex-U 995 was recommissioned by the Norwegian Royal Navy under the new name “Kaura” (NATO-identification number S 309). In 1962 the submarine was finally decommissioned. Instead of being broken up, it was decided by the Norwegian government to give back ex-U995 to the Federal Republic of Germany (Western Germany) as a token of regained friendship after the bitter experience of the German occupation from 1940 to 1945.
In 1965 the submarine was transferred to Kiel, where it was re-named
U995 and re-converted to it's war-time appearance and eventually became a museum ship at Laboe in front of the German Naval Memorial in March 1972.