Original German WWII Framed 1941 Kriegsmarine U-Boat Document Salvaged From The Captain’s Cabin of U-352 Which Sunk of the Coast of North Carolina, USA – With Diver’s Testament Original Items

Original Item: One-Of-A-Kind: Now this is an incredible piece of history! This is a document on “Target Changes” that was recovered from the Captain’s Cabin of German U-Boat, U-352. U-352 was sunk off the coast of North Carolina, 26 miles south of Morehead City, by U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Icarus on May 9, 1942.

German submarine U-352 was a Type VIIC U-boat of NSDAP Germany’s Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 11 March 1940, at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft yard at Flensburg, launched on 7 May 1941, and commissioned on 28 August 1941, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hellmut Rathke. She was part of the 3rd U-boat Flotilla, and was ready for front-line service by 1 January 1942.

Service History
– First Patrol: U-352 left Kiel on 15 January 1942, and arrived at Bergen, in Norway, on 19 January. She left the next day and patrolled south of Iceland, without success, before sailing to her new home port at Saint-Nazaire, in France, by 26 February.

– Second Patrol: U-352 left St. Nazaire, on 7 April 1942, and sailed across the Atlantic to the north-eastern coast of the United States. There on 9 May 1942, she was sunk by depth charges from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Icarus, south of Morehead City, North Carolina, in position 34°13.67′N 76°33.89′W. Icarus machine gunned the German submarine when it surfaced, preventing the German crew from manning the deck guns. One survivor reported in 1999, that Icarus departed and then returned 45 minutes later to pick up survivors. Fifteen of the crew were lost, but 33 survived and spent the remainder of the war as prisoners.

Dive Site
The wreck of U-352 was discovered 26 mi (42 km) south of Morehead City, in 1975, by George Purifoy. She lies in about 115 feet (35 m) of water, and sits at a 45-degree list to starboard. The wreck scatter is within a 100 m (330 ft) radius of location above on a sand bottom. This wreck has become an artificial reef that is heavily populated with Hemanthias vivanus. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. It is a popular scuba diving spot for advanced divers. A replica of the wreck is on display at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.

The document comes in a 12” x 15” black bordered frame with x2 copies of a letter of authenticity from Daniel R. Snyder, the diver who salvaged the documents.

The Document Reads as Follows:

“This letter is to certify that the document below is an Authentic Salvaged Document from the Captain’s Cabin of the U-352 Submarine.

This document is a one of a kind original document I salvaged from the Captain’s cabin of the U-352 submarine on August 22, 1979. The submarine sits in 110 feet of water off the coast of North Carolina where it was sunk on May 9, 1942. The sub lies in the sand and is listing to the port side. In the early years after the subs discovery there was a layer of diesel fuel trapped in the sub. I entered the sub by the rear torpedo loading hatch and after leaving the aft torpedo room I moved forward towards the control room. On the way I passed the captain’s cabin on my right. The documents I have were in a rack in the Captain’s cabin up in the diesel fuel which is what preserved them. After salvaging them they were dried and treated to preserve them. Since then they have sat in my collection. This is one of those documents from my collection.”

The condition is about what you would expect from a document that was under water for almost 40 years. Even with the water damage, almost all of the document is able to be read, making this a wonderful translation and research project.

U-Boat related items are amongst one of the most sought after items by collectors. You do not want to miss your opportunity to add this to your collection!

Comes more than ready for further research, translation and display!