U-1105
History
U-1105 a modified Type VII-C German submarine, was
built at the Nordseewerke Shipyard, Emden, Germany, and commissioned into
the Kriegsmarine 3 June 1944. It was one of less than ten submarines that
the Germans outfitted with an experimental synthetic rubber skin designed
to counter Allied sonar devices. Codenamed "Alberich," this top-secret
rubber coating process ultimately contributed to the ship's survival under
extreme combat conditions and earned it the name "Black Panther."
For this reason, a black panther sprawled across the top of the globe was
painted on U-1105's conning tower.
In the spring of 1945, the submarine patrolled Allied convoy routes
near Black Rock, Ireland. In April, U-1105 escaped detection by an
Allied destroyer patrol. Days later, the U-boat detected three British destroyers
that were part of the Second Division of the 21st Escort Group. The submarine
fired two acoustic torpedoes and then dove to 100 meters to escape a counterattack.
Fifty seconds passed before the first torpedo struck, with the second hitting
just moments later. Thirty-two crewmen from U-1105's victim, HMS
Redmill, were lost. The Allied search for U-1105 and the search
for Redmill's survivors began immediately. The submarine, unable
to maintain its 330-foot depth, sank to the bottom at 570 feet, remaining
motionless. For the next 31 hours, the Allied squadron searched for the
U-boat without success. U-1105 evaded detection for the remainder
of the war.
On May 4, U-1105 received the last order from Grossadmiral Karl
Donitz: the war is over. Ironically, the submarine surrendered to the 21st
Escort Group, the same escort group it attacked just a few weeks earlier.
Ordered to the surface, the submarine proceeded to the Allied base at Loch
Eriboll, Scotland on 10 May 1945 to surrender. U-1105 sailed under
armed frigate and air escort along with other surrendered U-boats, through
the North Minch to the British naval base at Loch Alsh, then to Lishally,
Northern Ireland, via Londonderry. At Lishally, U-1105 was turned
over to the United States as a war prize for study of its unique synthetic
rubber skin.
In 1946, the U-boat arrived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Naval
Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and MIT's Acoustic Laboratory in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, conducted research on its unique rubber-tiled
skin. After the research was completed, the boat was used for explosives
testing. On 19 September 1949, U-1105 went down one last time in
more than 91-feet of water landing upright, its pressure hull cracked open
by the explosion all the way around to the keel. Little evidence was left
to mark the wreck, so for the next 36 years the submarine was lost to history.
The Wreck
On June 29 1985, the wreck of U-1105 was discovered
by a team of sport divers led by Uwe Lovas, approximately one mile west
of Piney Point, Maryland. In November of 1994, it was designated as Maryland's
first historic shipwreck preserve. The program, the first of its kind in
the state, was designed to promote the preservation of historic shipwreck
sites while making them accessible to the general public.
Between April and December, a blue and white buoy marks the lower gun
deck of the wreck. The conning tower rises to within 68 feet of the surface.
The wood covered main deck fore and aft of the conning tower is occasionally
exposed by the drifting silt beds. The wreck is well preserved, and largely
intact. Seasonally, thick layers of marine growth appear and then disappear
on the site, often covering structural features.
Last update: 1 October 96