We’ve never had a chance to visit the submarine so visiting this place was our top priority that day.
HMS Otus is a British submarine. The ship sailed on the sea from 1962 to 1990. It ended its service in the port of Portsmouth. Later, it was bought by a German businessman who moored it in the port of Sassnitz and opened as a museum.
We visited the ship almost alone! Without a guide! It was a mega experience to be able to explore all the rooms and stuff that are inside. At the checkout we received a leaflet with the plan of the ship, then we crossed a gangway to the hull, through which we could go inside.
Walking was a little mysterious and tried to show this in the film:
We started our visit in the torpedo room. Kris was curious if there will be torpedoes. Next, we went to the sleeping quarters, crew quarters, then we went through the radio room, captain’s bridge, sonars, kitchen, toilet, dining room and even a room with a motor.
It was great that all the equipment in the boat had survived. We could touch most of them. We tried to use the periscope, that the children knew only from the cartoon “The Penguins of Madagascar.” The boat could accommodate 68 people. Walking through the rooms, we could imagine how they sailed to the depths confined in these small spaces for months. During the tour from speakers we could hear sounds from the movie “Das Boot” referring to the heyday of the boat. For example, we could hear an alarm sound being announced. Agatha thought for a moment that the alarm was actually real.
The rooms are separated by distinctive round hatches through which you must pass bending down.
HMS Otus took no active part in combat. The most interesting thing we read was that the crew once attempted a deep escape by reaching a very great depth. Two divers managed to escape from a depth of 183 meters. So far, the record has not been broken.
The submarine is docked at the port, next to a car park and footbridge. Admission is ticketed.
Is it worth it? We liked it so much that we couldn’t leave 🙂
The total tour took us almost two hours.