Under German Control
Seal underwent temporary repairs at Frederikshavn to make her seaworthy, and was then towed to Kiel. Admiral Carls believed Seal was a war-winning asset and insisted that she be made operational, despite the probability that three superior new German U-boats could be built for the same cost. The equipment and armour were completely incompatible and it would not be possible to obtain spares. Nevertheless, repair was undertaken and in the spring of 1941 she was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as U B under the command of Fregattenkapitän Bruno Mahn. Mahn, at 52 years old, was the oldest German submarine commander on duty in World War II. She was used as a propaganda exhibit and training boat, but it took until late 1942 for Krupps to fabricate the whole mechanical system. Practice runs revealed so many snags and the financial costs were so unrealistic, that by the middle of 1943 she was paid off, stripped and abandoned in a corner of Kiel dockyard. Later she was hit and sunk in the same Allied air raid that sank the Hipper. The only value derived was the realisation that the British torpedo firing device was of superior design and its introduction into the German navy.
Read more about this topic: HMS Seal (N37)
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