U3

At the Malmö Museer, one of the nine Swedish-designed U-boats is permanently on display. It is open to the public to crawl through and explore. The words Steampunk Heaven come to mind instantly as you are climbing in and out of all the copper pipes and gauges.

These small coastal submarines were constructed and launched during the years 1941-1944, five at Kockums and four at the Naval Shipyard in Karlskrona. U3 was built at the Naval Shipyard in Karlskrona in 1943.

U3  featured a radical Swedish design. Other submarines of this era used a diesel propulsion system on the surface and electrical engines when submerged. This required them to switch propulsion systems when diving. With the new diesel electrical system the only thing they had to do was to stop the diesel engine, reducing the dive time to less than 30 seconds. These were also the first to have a completely welded pressure hull, a construction method developed at the Kockum Shipyard in Malmö (Kockums Mekaniska Verkstad AB).

Length – 49.6 metre
Breadth – 4.7 metre
Displacement – 367 tons
Speed – 14 knots on the surface, 9 knots underwater
Torpedo tubes – 3 x 53 cm tubes
Crew complement – 26