German U-boat U-534 was sunk in the final days of WW2, and raised 48 years later by an enterprising multimillionaire who thought it might contain Nazi gold and other treasures. But it contained treasure of a whole other kind; history. The low-oxygen environment of the seabed silt preserved the sub incredibly well, with countless artifacts aboard. Sadly, historical artifacts aren’t a widely accepte
d form of currency, so the boat was promptly sold to a warship preservation group in Birkenhead. U-534s rusty hull loomed menacingly over their museum until 2008, when the dock was acquired for development and the museum closed. The only options were to move it, cut it up to make tin cans, or drop it back in the sea. As it’s one of only 4 U-boats left in existence (out of over 1100), the idea of it being scrapped was unthinkable. Fortunately, sense prevailed and a new home was found at Woodside ferry terminal. Less fortunately, the only affordable way to move it there was by slicing it into pieces. Turns out a 700-ton, 250ft submarine simply won't fit in the back of a courier’s Transit van. Not even the really big ones with the lift at the back. So it was carefully sliced into sections, moved piece by piece on a barge and turned into a lovely little museum. The museum closed in 2020...and that’s where we come in. To construct a magnificent heritage attraction that shows off this priceless icon of WW2 in all her glory. But there’s a whole bunch of challenges along the way. If you want to see the day-to-day challenges of restoring a rusty 700-ton behemoth then please subscribe and join us on our odyssey.
