German submarine U - 1308 U - 1308 was the last Type VII / 41 submarine to be laid down , launched and commissioned by the German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . The " Oberkommando der Marine " or " OKM " , ( the German naval high command ) , had decided near the end of World War II to put all of its resources into building newer types of " Unterseeboot " , such as the types XXI and XXIII . " U - 1308 " was part of a batch of eight U - boats ( U - 1301 to U - 1308 ) ordered on 1 August 1942 to be built at Flensburger Schiffbau - Gesellschaft , Flensburg ( ) . She was laid down on 16 February 1944 and launched on 22 November . The eight boats were commissioned over a 12 - month period between February 1944 and 17 January 1945 . As " U - 1308 " was the last Type VII , the " Kriegsmarine " fitted her out to be one of the most advanced . " U - 1308 " was one of nine Type VIIs that the " Kriegsmarine " fitted with an experimental synthetic rubber skin of anechoic tile s known as " Alberich " , which had been designed to counter the Allies ' asdic / sonar devices . " U - 1308 " was also one of two Type VIIC / 41 s that was equipped with a new design of passive sonar hydrophones , thus increasing detection ranges by approximately 70 % over the older designs . A few days before Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945 , " U - 1308 " was taken approximately north - west of Warnemünde and scuttled on 2 May at approximately . During the final days of Nazi Germany there was a plethora of U - boats which suffered the same fate . In the last week of the war , 28 other boats joined her . Emblem . " U - 1308 " s emblem was an oak leaf , with an anchor and a knife or dagger . She shared this emblem with , , , " U - 747 " and " U - 1274 " . Complement . Commander . Heinrich Besold was born on 18 October 1920 in Nürnberg . He rose through the ranks of " Offiziersanwärter " ( 16 September 1939 ) , " Fähnrich zur See " ( 1 July 1940 ) , " Oberfähnrich zur See " ( 1 July 1941 ) , " Leutnant zur See " ( 1 March 1942 ) and " Oberleutnant zur See " ( 1 October 1943 ) . He also served aboard two other U - boats , between March and May 1944 and between July and November 1944 . He commanded " U - 1308 " during her working - up at the 4th U - boat Flotilla . He was decorated on 29 October 1944 with the Iron Cross 2nd Class and the U - boat War Badge 1939 . Bridge . The bridge was equipped with a UZO ( " Ünderwasserzieloptik " ) pedestal located forward . While making a surface attack , a set of large , heavy binoculars were mounted on top of the pedestal . Information of the bearing to the target was transmitted to the control room , where an electro - mechanical computer calculated the exact angle for firing the torpedoes . Sometime late in World War II , an updated version of the UZO entered service with the Type VIIC boats . " U - 1308 " would have mounted the latest version . " U - 1308 " , like most Type VIIs , IXs and XXIs , was equipped with two periscope s , one for the attack , the second for the purposes of navigation and search . This observation periscope was frequently used during twilight and night attacks , as it let in more light and had better light transmission . The observation periscope had two magnifications - 1 . 5× and 6× . The attack periscope was used exclusively for that purpose . To make it less visible to the enemy and to reduce the wake , the periscope head and neck - size were keep to a minimum . The attack periscope was fitted with a heating system that served to prevent fogging of the lenses . " U - 1308 " ' s Direction Finder Antenna Loop was located on the starboard side of the bridge . It was used to detect and get bearings from the radio signals of Allied surface ships . " U - 1308 " would have been outfitted with a late - war version which look slightly different from the earlier model . Radar . Thetis . Thetis was the name of a floating decoy used by U - Boats to confuse Allied warship radars . The device was stored , dismantled , in the bow compartment , as a pole about long . Assembly usually took place in the conning tower , it could be put together in about four minutes . Later versions could be launched from the standard torpedo tube . When deployed it was extended to a total length of , half of which was submerged . The upper half had a series of radar reflectors that were tuned to Allied anti - submarine radar wavelengths to give the same return signal as a U - boat . " U - 1308 " typically carried between 15 and 20 of these decoys . Propulsion . Electric Motor . " U - 1308 " was powered by two Siemens - Schuckert Type GGUB 720 / 8 electric motors . Each motor weighed , without its fan . Each rotor weighed . The Type GGUB 720 / 8 electric motor could create 1 , 540 A ( 560 kW ) at between 7 . 5 Hz ( 450 RPM ) and 10 . 3 Hz ( 620 RPM ) . " Schnorchel " . " U - 1308 " was the last Type VIIC / 41 to be built and would have been fitted with a " schnorchel " , ( This apparatus enhanced the U - boats ' performance below the surface and made its position more difficult to detect ) . Later model Type VIIC / 41 boats were built with the device from the start . She would have been constructed with the final version of the " schnorchel " . Sonar . Passive sonar . " U - 1308 " was one of four Type VIIC / 41s to be fitted with a " Balkongerät " ( literally ' Balcony apparatus or equipment ' ) . The " Balkongerät " was standard on the Type XXI and the Type XXIII . Nonetheless , it was also fitted to several Type VIICs and Type IXs and one Type X . Anti - sonar coating . " U - 1308 " was one of nine Type VIIs that the " Kriegsmarine " fitted with an experimental synthetic rubber skin of anechoic tiles , designed to counter the Allies ' sonar devices . The code name " Alberich " was given to the coating . The " OKM " named it after the dwarf with the helmet of invisibility in Wagner ' s Ring Cycles . It was the first coating for any submarine .