Bibliotek i Västmanland

U Boats were the scourge of the seas for Allied shipping during both World Wars – almost bringing Britain to the brink of starvation on several occasions. This book contains unseen photographs taken by German submarine crew and captains during each war.

The World War One selection features a submariner's photos of U-25, an early German U-boat. They belonged to WO Friedrich Pohl who served on U-boats SM-25 and SMU-33.  There are many photos of the U-boat itself, crew on deck and attacks on Norwegian merchant ships with the surface gun. U-25 was launched 12 July 1913, sank a total of 21 ships, 14,126 tons and surrendered to France 23 February 1919. 

The World War Two photos include images from an original WW2 U Boat commander's photo album. It belonged to Kapitan Leutnant Herbert Bruninghaus. As a U Boat navigator, he served on the famous U-38 under ace Heinrich Liebe.  Herbert later went on to command three U Boats of his own - U-6, U-148 and U-1059. There are also original images from a Kriegmarine officer's photo album (unfortunately unnamed).  It includes photos of Commander Prien's U-47 returning to Kiel after attacks at Scapa Flow.