page_title: Biber (submarine)
section_title: Surviving examples
hierarchical_section_title: Biber (submarine) / Surviving examples
caption_attribution_description: English: A preserved German 'Biber' submarine on display at Potts Park amusement park, Minden, Germany
context_page_description: The Biber was a German midget submarine of the Second World War. Armed with two externally mounted 53-centimetre torpedoes or mines, they were intended to attack coastal shipping. They were the smallest submarines in the Kriegsmarine.
  The Biber was hastily developed to help meet the threat of an Allied invasion of Europe. This resulted in basic technical flaws that, combined with the inadequate training of their operators, meant they never posed a real threat to Allied shipping, despite 324 submarines being delivered. One of the class's few successes was the sinking of the cargo ship Alan A. Dale.
  A number have survived in museums, including one example that has been restored to operational condition.
context_section_description: Biber No.90
  This craft was displayed at the Imperial War Museum, London. Currently displayed at IWM Duxford. It was one of three Bibers launched from the canal at Hellevoetsluis in late December 1944. It  was found sinking 49 miles (79 km) NE of Dover on 29 December 1944, its crewman had failed to properly close the engine exhaust system and died from resultant carbon monoxide poisoning. The minesweeper HMS Ready took it in tow and, even when it sank close to Dover harbour entrance, the Royal Navy still raised it and subjected it to extensive trials. One oddity discovered during the initial search of the boat was:
   a bottle hidden under the seat and inside was a document in English, which, romantic as it read, appeared to have some bearing upon the capture of the submarine, and possibly the explanation of why the pilot met his end.
  That is all that the report says about that finding, any further details appear to have been lost.
  The pilot of the Biber was later identified as Joachim Langsdorff, who was the son of Captain Hans Langsdorf of the Admiral Graf Spee.
  Biber No.105
  This Biber held by the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport. It is in a working condition and believed to be the only fully operational World War 2 submarine in existence. The submarine was restored to working condition by apprentices from Fleet Support Limited on a sandwich course in 2003 under the guidance of Ian Clark. The restoration featured in the third series of Channel 4's television programme, Salvage Squad, during which the craft was successfully test-dived in a flooded dry dock.
  Biber at the Fort aan den Hoek van Holland Hook of Holland
  This example was discovered in 1990 during dredging operations in the Nieuwe Waterweg, in the Netherlands. It has since been restored.
  Three more Bibers can be seen in the Netherlands; one in Vlissingen, at Fort Rammekens, and another at the Overloon War Museum. The third Biber is privately owned and displayed outdoors at Sloten near Amsterdam, it has been painted red and white and serves as an advertising sign.
  Other Bibers are displayed at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, the Technikmuseum Speyer in Speyer and the Rheinmuseum in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany.  Two examples survive in Norway, one at the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum and another at the Haakonsvern naval base.  Other examples are displayed at the Blockhaus d'Éperlecques in Northern France, and at the Potts Park amusement park in Minden, Germany.
caption: A preserved Biber at Potts Park, Minden, Germany.
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