U-434 comes from the Krasnoye Sormowo submarine in Nizhny Novgorod and was built in 1976 in just eight months. It was put into service by the Soviet Northern Fleet and remained in service until April 2002. It has a six centimeter thick rubber coating, which made sonar detection difficult.
After it was decommissioned, investors bought it and had it brought to Hamburg. After all the necessary weapon technology had been removed before the sale, further modifications were made to the submarine. For example, larger holes were cut in the fuselage at the bow and stern in order to implement entrances and exits for visitors. The boat is no longer seaworthy or even submersible.
It received the fictional designation U-434, a length of 92 m, a width of 8.6 m and a crew of 62 men