In May 1945, five crewmen swam up 67 meters after their u-boat submarine (U-534) had sunk to the bottom of the sea. They escaped through the torpedo hatch.
In May 1945, five crewmen swam up 67 meters after their u-boat submarine (U-534) had sunk to the bottom of the sea. They escaped through the torpedo hatch.
That’s one hell of a way to survive, usually if a sub goes down there ain’t no escape!! Lucky!!
Cadet-Cryyx on
Oof. Decompression not an issue?
GraugussConnaisseur on
Honestly – how hard is it to do that?
douggold11 on
I once swam down like 20 feet and it hurt.
Spicy_Ninja7 on
How many meters….?
DisciplineAggressive on
67 meters and through torpedo hatch? That’s not an escape, that’s a miracle.
Tradqw on
67 meters through a torpedo hatch is absolutely insane.
[deleted] on
[deleted]
Archon-Toten on
DatMFRulez on
Isn’t there a sub for this? /s
waldleben on
“U-boat submarine”?
Nervous-Bullfrog-884 on
What sub is that
DogeAteMyHomework on
The difficulty of this was remarkably well captured in [this outstanding late-1990s PBS documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxZalLorpiw) about the discovery and identification of a previously unknown German sub off the coast of New Jersey at a deep-for-divers depth of 230 feet. The scuba diving aspects of this identification are simply harrowing and tragic. There is also an excellent book on this called *Shadow Divers*. Both are highly recommended.Â
ARLibertarian on
100 psi.
Enema…OF DEATH!
fffffffffffffuuu on
Wait how do you get the torpedo hatch door open when there’s all that pressure on it pushing in? And wouldn’t water just come rushing in if you got it open?
I have a feeling this has to do with torpedo hatches being a completely different thing than hatches people go through
AdTop5424 on
Wolfpack is a great read for those interested in WWII era U-boat operations. This and many other incidents are discussed.
IceCoughy on
Surprised they didn’t get the bends
lostinadream66 on
TrevCat666 on
Honestly being on a u-boat sucked so much this was likely a relief. Haha
thespillover on
223 feet is approximately 15 to 22 stories tall.
silentbob1301 on
uh, did they survive the bends afterwards????
xHomicide24x on
That’d be kind of a stressful swim
Slosher99 on
I’m guessing the torpedo hatch is like an airlock so it can be loaded and then fired without letting water in. Just open would be too much water pressure to go through it.
So who pressed fire for the last guy in the hatch?
steelmanfallacy on
They 5 crew used a [**Dräger Tauchretter**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_breathing_apparatus)**.** It’s basically an escape breathing apparatus. All 5 trapped crew made it to the surface, however one died shortly after because he did not follow procedure and exhale during the entire ascent results in a lung embolism.
julezdafool on
There’s no way I would be able to do this. I’d rather just stay on the sub and slowly suffocate/pass out than drown in the crushing dark ocean
Jumpy_Currency6963 on
How many meters?…
JimBeam823 on
May 1945. Hitler was already dead. What a pointless engagement.
copnonymous on
Believe it or not, they train for this. There’s less risk than people assume.
Sea-Effective-5463 on
Thats an amazing feat. Must of been guys that tried and died?
30 Comments
That’s one hell of a way to survive, usually if a sub goes down there ain’t no escape!! Lucky!!
Oof. Decompression not an issue?
Honestly – how hard is it to do that?
I once swam down like 20 feet and it hurt.
How many meters….?
67 meters and through torpedo hatch? That’s not an escape, that’s a miracle.
67 meters through a torpedo hatch is absolutely insane.
[deleted]
Isn’t there a sub for this? /s
“U-boat submarine”?
What sub is that
The difficulty of this was remarkably well captured in [this outstanding late-1990s PBS documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxZalLorpiw) about the discovery and identification of a previously unknown German sub off the coast of New Jersey at a deep-for-divers depth of 230 feet. The scuba diving aspects of this identification are simply harrowing and tragic. There is also an excellent book on this called *Shadow Divers*. Both are highly recommended.Â
100 psi.
Enema…OF DEATH!
Wait how do you get the torpedo hatch door open when there’s all that pressure on it pushing in? And wouldn’t water just come rushing in if you got it open?
I have a feeling this has to do with torpedo hatches being a completely different thing than hatches people go through
Wolfpack is a great read for those interested in WWII era U-boat operations. This and many other incidents are discussed.
Surprised they didn’t get the bends
Honestly being on a u-boat sucked so much this was likely a relief. Haha
223 feet is approximately 15 to 22 stories tall.
uh, did they survive the bends afterwards????
That’d be kind of a stressful swim
I’m guessing the torpedo hatch is like an airlock so it can be loaded and then fired without letting water in. Just open would be too much water pressure to go through it.
So who pressed fire for the last guy in the hatch?
They 5 crew used a [**Dräger Tauchretter**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_breathing_apparatus)**.** It’s basically an escape breathing apparatus. All 5 trapped crew made it to the surface, however one died shortly after because he did not follow procedure and exhale during the entire ascent results in a lung embolism.
There’s no way I would be able to do this. I’d rather just stay on the sub and slowly suffocate/pass out than drown in the crushing dark ocean
How many meters?…
May 1945. Hitler was already dead. What a pointless engagement.
Believe it or not, they train for this. There’s less risk than people assume.
Thats an amazing feat. Must of been guys that tried and died?
Aal im Wasser with a completely new meaning