Captured German U-Boats in Portsmouth, New Hampshire – May 1945


Who knew that the US captured a series of German U-Boats during the tail end of WWII?  I had no idea until I picked up a rare collection of 24 photos that belonged to a member of the original prize crew for one of the U-Boats.  The photos are incredibly detailed with crisp focus and in a large 8X10 format.  They show the capturing of U-234 and the subsequent arrival in port in Portsmouth, NH.  Also pictured in the grouping (not all posted here) are Captain Fritz Steinhoff and Luftwaffe General Ulrich Kessler.  Steinhoff actually ended up committing suicide in a Boston jail with the aide of a broken glasses lens. A wartime news article about the suicide can be found here.  Ulrich Kessler was delivering a load of Uranium and a set of German jet planes to an undisclosed South American country when the captain decided to surrender.  An amazing collection for sure.

 

 

Ulrich Kessler

 

 

 

Captain Steinhoff