The submarine is coming (part 1)
Loading, demilitarising and clearing the ship
At the beginning of April some of our colleagues made their way north. Because a few weeks later we were finally ready to go: We were bringing our new exhibit to Speyer.
A few arrangements still had to be made for this: After the final contract was signed, U17 was towed to the shipyard in Kiel. That was also the last time the submarine was in the water. At the shipyard in Kiel, a 900-tonne gantry crane lifted U17 out of the water to float it into the dry dock.
This was followed by the final demilitarisation work. Before the transport could finally begin, the metal colossus underwent a thorough cleaning. Algae, mussels and barnacles adorned the belly of the new museum attraction. After all, it has been in the water since it was decommissioned in 2010.
