The second book in The Shipwreck Monograph Series. Each book is loaded with spectacular underwater photography and is accompanied by rare, archival, and historical images.
U-1105 is a modified Type VII-C German submarine built at the Nordseewerke Shipyard in Emden, Germany, and was commissioned in the Kriegsmarine. Nicknamed "Black Panther", U-1105 was one of only 13 submarines outfitted with an experimental rubber skin known as Alberich. The skin was designed to evade Allied sonar - an early stealth technology. During U-1105's only war patrol, she torpedoed the British frigate HMS Redmill killing 32 crewmen. U-1105 surrendered at Loch Eriboll, Scotland at the end of World War Two and was a sought after war prize for study of its unique rubber skin. After radar, snorkel, and noise trials by the British Royal Navy, U-1105 was transferred to the US Navy which used U-1105 for explosive testing. A 250-pound depth charge sent U-1105 to the bottom of the Potomac River in 1949 for the sixth and final time. U-1105 remained lost to history until she was re-discovered in 1985 in 91 feet (27.7 meters) of water. U-1105 is the most accessible U-boat off the US East Coast.
U-1105 Black Panther
"In typical Erik Petkovic fashion, another impeccable book about a subject that fascinates military historians and wreck divers – German U-boats. I have been studying these war machines for many years, and yet I still managed to learn some things about them from this book that I did not know. For that very reason, Erik has always been a favorite researcher and writer for Wreck Diving Magazine, because he always manages to find facts and photographs that somehow elude others, and U-1105 Black Panther is no exception.
In this book, Erik covers the U-boats’ famed history and their enormous contribution to the German war effort, the early life of U-1105, and its ultimate place in history. Modern-day wreck divers and war buffs alike will appreciate his first-hand accounts of viewing the wreck up close as she sits on the bottom today."
Joe Porter, Publisher – Wreck Diving Magazine