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Last of the Grey Wolves

Though the German Kriegsmarine had a force of just 65 U-boats at the outbreak of the Second World War there were more than 1100 U-boats built and commissioned over the course of the conflict. Of these nearly 800 had been destroyed by the Allies by the time the war was over and more than 200 of the remaining boats were scuttled or otherwise destroyed by their crews in the closing days of the war to prevent them falling into enemy hands. This left a total of 156 U-boats that were eventually captured by the Allies and gathered together for disposal. A certain number were divided up as war prizes between the UK, the USA and Russia while the vast majority, some 116 U-boats, were destroyed during Operation Deadlight and sunk in the deep waters around the coast of Northern Ireland. Of the small number of U-boats that had been divided up between the main Allied nations most were destroyed shortly afterwards though a few were given a change of identity and commissioned into their own navies for a time. But in years following the war their numbers steadily dwindled as these boats were superseded, decommissioned and scrapped. Therefore within a couple of decades of the end of the Second World War there were barely any U-boats left in the world. This is the story of U-505 and U-995, two of only four U-boats left in the world and the only two to have survived the war intact. It is the story of how they came into existence and of their service during the war years. It is the story of their crews and their many war patrols, of the ships they attacked and of the attacks they endured themselves. And it is the story of how these U-boats went from being feared and deadly instruments of war to fascinating and admired museum boats that are now visited by thousands of people from all over the world each year.Read more

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