Two german submarines in Mar del Plata, Argentina - U-530 and U-977
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U-530 was a
Type IXC/40 U-boat. She was
laid down at the Deutsche Werft in
Hamburg on 8 December 1941 as yard number 345,
launched on 28 July 1942 and
commissioned on 14 October 1942 with
Kapitänleutnant Kurt Lange in command, who led her in six patrols. Lange was replaced in January 1945 by
Oberleutnant zur See Otto Wermuth, who led her escape to Argentina after Germany's surrender. The submarine's voyage to Argentina led to
legends,
apocryphal stories and
conspiracy theories that it and
U-977, which surrendered on 17 August, had transported escaping Nazi leaders (such as
Adolf Hitler) and/or Nazi gold to South America, that it had made a secret voyage to
Antarctica, and even that it sank the
Brazilian cruiser Bahia as the last act of the
Battle of the Atlantic. Later investigations led by the U.S. and Brazilian Navies proved that the cruiser was sunk in an accident with depth charges during exercises.
U-977 was a World War II
Type VIIC U-boat which escaped to Argentina after Germany's surrender. The submarine's voyage to Argentina led to
legends,
apocryphal stories and
conspiracy theories that it and
U-530 had transported escaping Nazi leaders (such as
Adolf Hitler) and/or Nazi gold to South America, that it had made a secret voyage to
Antarctica, and even that it sank the
Brazilian cruiser Bahia as the last act of the
Battle of the Atlantic.
After surrendering to the Argentine authorities, as had happened to the crew of
U-530, they were extradited to the US where they responded to the charge of having torpedoed the cruiser
Bahia, and then to the UK, where they faced accusations that they had landed Nazi leaders in Argentina before surrendering. Schäffer was released in 1947.
U-977 like
U-530 was seized by the US Navy, and sunk during naval firing exercises, in its case in 1946, when it was used as a target. U-977 was a training boat and made no war patrols