U-647 Carved Wooden Owl Desk Presentation Display Piece

The carved wooden owl is approximately 7 inches tall. The piece shows fine detail, including the use of glass eyes in the owl’s head. The front of the base bears an engraved plaque with the inscription of “Die Eule, die Eule hat am Turm ne’ Beule!” ( “The owl, the owl has a bump on the tower!”. The owl was the emblem of the U-647, with “the tower” in the rhyme undoubtedly referring to the conning tower of the boat). The U-647 made only one war patrol under the command of Kptlt. Willi Hertin, with that patrol lasting from June 1, 1943, until the date of its last contact on July 28, 1943. The boat was designated as missing on August 9, 1943, and was ultimately declared to have been lost with its crew of 48 men. The boat disappeared in the North Atlantic, specifically in the Norwegian Sea north of the Shetland Islands, presumably having hit a mine. The boat was found in 1977 on the seabed in the vicinity of the Frigg gas field, a natural gas field in the North Sea on the boundary between the United Kingdom and Norway. Very good condition.