This submarine was built from 1966 to 1968 at the Howaldtswerke in Kiel and was part of the 1st U-boat Squadron until 1998. It was then transferred to Eckernförde. During the Cold War, the boat was used as a purely coastal submarine until the mid-1980s to protect sea routes and to defend against attacks on the coasts of its own territory.
From 1987 to 1988 it was converted into a double-hulled boat, i.e. it was given a second hull in the area of the pressure hull to protect it from possible torpedo hits. After this conversion, the German Navy was able to use U11 as a training target in national and international maneuvers. This made it the only underwater target boat for submarines, surface ships and aircraft within NATO.
During the entire 35 years, U-11 covered around 177,900 nautical miles in 2,140 days at sea.
Technical data
Year of construction: 1966-68
Shipyard: Kieler Howaldtswerke
Conversion to a double-hulled boat: 1987 to 1988
Conversion to a museum: 2005
Length: 43.50 meters
Width: 4.60 meters
Total height: 9.80 meters
Total weight: 420 tons (after conversion: 520 tons)
