Gramophone records hidden inside a Nazi U-boat sunk by the RAF have been played for the first time... after spending 48 years beneath the waves.
The ‘shipwreckords’ were part of a horde of historic material discovered inside German submarine U-534, which was sunk by bombers on May 5, 1945.
Sailors on the stealth craft refused to surrender before it was destroyed with depth charges in the Kattegat Sea, off Denmark, just prior to Victory in Europe Day.
Rumours swirled around the sub’s possible covert mission, leading teams to raise the remains of the vessel from its watery grave 200ft below the waves in 1993.
Now the gramophone records, which were remarkably well preserved, have been played out loud in a possible world first for vinyl discs retrieved from a shipwreck.
Kyle May, from social enterprise Big Heritage, said it was bizarre to hear the tunes echo through Western Approaches, Liverpool, a bunker used to hunt U-boats, which is now a museum.
He said: “It was an eerie experience. I was fussing about setting up the cameras, audio gear etc but when the music started, all of that just melted away and we stood there transfixed.
“In that same room 80 years ago, U-boats were just little markers on the map to be snuffed out, but here we were decades later listening to the enemy’s records.
“It really hits you how they were just young lads, homesick and missing their loved ones, using music to distract themselves; no different to the Allied veterans we meet, really.”
Remarkably, listeners were able to hear the sound of Bach’s Air on the G-String, Schubert’s Winterreise and Strauss’ Kunstlerleben on a vintage gramophone record player.
And the collection also included popular German singers like Zarah Leander and Gerhard Husch.
Two vinyl experts, Chris Hough and Richie Clark, who consulted on the project have now digitised the tracks with modern equipment.
It’s hoped this music will form part of the new exhibition.
Dean Paton, managing director of Big Heritage, said: “This is an incredible discovery that brings the history of U-534 to life in a way that we never thought possible.
“U-534 is renowned for being one of the most technically advanced submarines in the world when it was in service.
“But we’re more interested in the human element of the crew, all young men who would mostly have been no older than 15 when war broke out.”
The entire 52-man crew escaped from the U-534, though three later died in the water.
All U-boats had been ordered to surrender but U-534 left Kiel harbour hours before with some believing it was carrying Nazi gold, top ranking Nazis, or even cutting edge weaponry to continue the war from Japan.
However, no gold or paintings were recovered on the ship when it was recovered on August 23, 1993, before being moved to Birkenhead in 1996 and put on display.
