German submarine U-2551
German submarine "U-2551" was a Type XXI U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. The "Elektroboote" submarine was laid down on 8 December 1944 at the Blohm & Voss yard at Hamburg, launched on 31 March 1945, and commissioned on 24 April 1945 under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Gerhard Schaar. "U-2551" was a brand new, high technology electric boat which could run constantly submerged rather than having to surface to recharge her batteries every day the way submarines until that point had had to do. However, these advanced vessels were introduced to the "Kriegsmarine  only late in 1944, much too late to influence the Battle of the Atlantic, and too late for many of them to serve in an offensive capacity at all. With the end of the war near, training on U-boats had dropped to a minimum due to lack of fuel, falling morale and the effectiveness of allied attacks on U-boat construction and preparation. The exception to this were the new Type XXI boats, which continued to train in the Baltic Sea. Design. Like all Type XXI U-boats, U-2551" had a displacement of when at the surface and while  submerged. She had a total length of (o/a), a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN SE supercharged six-cylinder M6V40/46KBB diesel engines each providing , two Siemens-Schuckert GU365/30 double-acting electric motors each providing , and two Siemens-Schuckert silent running GV232/28 electric motors each providing . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When running on silent motors the boat could operate at a speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate at for ; when surfaced, she could travel at . "U-2551" was fitted with six torpedo tubes  in the bow and four C/30 anti-aircraft guns. She could carry twenty-three torpedoes or seventeen torpedoes and twelve mines. The complement was five officers and fifty-two men. Fate. "U-2551" was deliberately run aground by her crew on 5 May 1945 in a bay named Solitüde of the suburb of Flensburg named Mürwik in N. Germany. Post-war, she was destroyed by the Royal Navy on 23 July 1945, and the wreck broken up.