"A submarine on flat land, 600 kilometres away from the sea…"
For May 2023 we at the Technik Museum, together with the support of some of our members, are planning to transport the U17 submarine of the German Navy from Kiel to Speyer.
500 tons have to be moved across the sea, rivers and roads.
With a length of 50 meters and a height of 9 meters, the submarine will then be given a temporary place in front of the Technik Museum Speyer to prepare for onward transport to Sinsheim from there.
If all parameters are correct, the journey to the Kraichgau can be continued.
The crew
The regular crew at a glance
JÜRGEN WEBER
Commander (retired), managing director of German Submariners Association VDU e.V. and member of Auto-Technik-Museum e.V.
He's got salt water in his blood. There is not one person who is yet to be impressed by his expertise in submarines and his anecdotes from life in the navy.
HERMANN LAYHER
Graduateengineer (Dipl.-Ing.),president of Auto-Technik-Museum e.V.
When it comes to technology that can be moved, no one is a patch on him. Without doubt, his heart pumps gasoline.
HEINZ RÖSSLER
Managing director of Spedition Kübler GmbH, member of Auto-Technik-Museum e.V.
He has been moving heavy goods on Europe's roads for 40 years.
WOLFGANG FUCHS
Vice president of Auto-Technik-Museum e.V.
A vice-president who lives the idea of an association like no other.
The route
The daunting challenge: "…what revolving could look like."
In Kiel, the submarine is loaded onto a floating pontoon suitable for sea and river use with a 900-ton crane and then shipped through the Kiel Canal along the North Sea coast to Rotterdam.
From there it goes through Holland on the Waal back to Germany and then over the Rhine past Cologne Cathedral, the Loreley and the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz to Speyer.
In Speyer, the submarine goes ashore in the natural harbor. It drives on a heavy-duty transport at walking speed in the direction of the Technik Museum.
At the Speyer location, our workshop can check all parameters for onward transport to Sinsheim and make the appropriate preparations.
Upon arrival in the historic city on the Neckar, you will see that the submarine and floating pontoon together are too high for the Old Bridge in Heidelberg. This is where we will find out whether our plan works: by means of a special rotation mechanism, the submarine will be rotated on the pontoon just so far that it just fits under one of the bridge's arches. An extraordinary spectacle, against the impressive backdrop of Heidelberg Castle and the historic Old Town.
Once Heidelberg has been successfully passed, it's then on through the beautiful Neckar valley to Haßmersheim. On a low loader, the journey towards a new home will continue.
Along idyllic country roads in the Odenwald, the submarine will roll into the hilly Kraichgau. Those who come to view the transport will be offered equally surreal and impressive views here when a 50-metre-long submarine peeks out over the roofs of houses in small villages or appears to swim through the rolling hills of the Kraichgau.
Only we provide this: a superlative view is also offered on the last few metres in front of the museum, when the submarine will roll on the low loader past the Bundesliga stadium of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. On the other side of the A6 motorway, two supersonic passenger jets, the Concorde and Tupolev TU 144, are already waiting for the new mega-exhibit.
Facts & figures
If you are interested in technology, you will be able to spend hours on the submarine…
The U-17 is a class 206A submarine that is around 48 metres long, with a draught of 4.6 meters, and displaces roughly 500 tonnes when submerged.
Submarines were mainly deployed in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and then, later, after the conversion to the class 206 Alpha, in the Mediterranean as well.
The U-17 had a very special mission and, together with the U-26, was the first German submarine in American waters after the Second World War and the first submarine to enter the port of Baltimore after the last submarine anchored there in 1916 (the merchant submarine U-DEUTSCHLAND).
The Type 206 submarines have served in the German Navy for almost 40 years – more than any other submarine before – and after such a long time it would have weighed on the souls of the generations of crew members if people had not preserved them and made them accessible for posterity. The "submariners association U-17", consisting of former crew members, will later take care of the preservation of the submarine as an exhibit.
In addition to the support of our members, we also depend on your help in carrying out this transport campaign. Your donation will help us enormously in this mammoth project! If desired, all donors (from € 25.00) will be named on this page.
Donate now (PayPal)
