German submarine U-1105 'Black Panther': The naval archaeology of a U-boat

by Aaron Stephan Hamilton

Overview

A detailed study of history and marine archaeology of an innovative late-World War II U-boat that currently lies as a wreck in the Potomac River.

Now in its final resting place at the bottom of the Potomac River in Maryland, the U-Boat U-1105 is unique among German World War II submarines. Technologically innovative, it was the only U-Boat to conduct a wartime patrol while equipped with the snorkel, GHG Balkon passive sonar and a rubberized coating known as Alberich designed to reduce its acoustic signature and hide from Allied sonar. After the end of World War II, it was the subject of instense testing and evaluation by the Allies, before finally being sunk to the bottom of the Potomac River.

This highly illustrated book uses many new and previously unpublished images to tell the full story of this remarkable U-Boat, evaluating the effectiveness of its late war technologies, document its extensive postwar testing and detail all the features still present on the wreck site today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472835819
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	06/18/2019
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Aaron S. Hamilton is an academically trained historian and keen maritime archaeologist with more than twenty years of experience working with primary source documents related to the last year of World War II. During the past five years he has conducted new archival research into the wartime technical and tactical innovations of German submarines. His previously published military titles include Bloody Streets: The Soviet Assault on Berlin, The Oder Front 1945 series, and Panzergrenadiers to the Front!

Table of Contents

Foreword by Dr Innes McCartney
Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction
Chapter 1 Late-war Technical and Tactical Evolution
Chapter 2 Construction and Training
Chapter 3 First and Last Wartime Patrol
Chapter 4 Postwar Evaluation and Testing by the Royal Navy
Chapter 5 North Atlantic Transit to the USA
Chapter 6 Salvage Training and Depth Charge Testing in the Potomac River
Chapter 7 Forgotten but Never Lost
Chapter 8 Diving the U-1105 Today
Chapter 9 Archeology of a Late War U-boat

Appendix A Technical Specifications
Appendix B The Crew
Appendix C Chronological History of U-1105
Endnotes
Index

Editorial Reviews

All in all, this is a most interesting look at a single U-Boat and the many roles it played in a variety of tasks.” —Sea Classics

“This work is an interesting examination of both the career and wreckage of U-1105, the only remaining late-war German Type VIIC … [Hamilton] enthusiasm for the ship and her survivability is something that can be shared by students of history, naval architecture, and marine archaeology.” —The Northern Mariner

From the Publisher