Have any of the ships/boats found/recovered had sealed compartments?

[SteminDemon13]

Something I have always wondered..has any Sub or ship that has been found/recovered had compartments that were sealed still from when they sunk? Many of those gaskets used last forever, so I know it is possible but haven't seen anything about it.

[Ducimus]

I highly doubt it. Salt water is very corrosive, espeically over a long period of time. Your question reminds me of an old episode of the Twilight zone, good stuff. But nah, i really doubt it. Boats that have reamined on the surface, in care of musems and such are arguably too old now, and could dive sure, but probably woudlnt make it back to the surface.

At best, all youd find is maybe a small pocket of trapped air in the ceiling of a compartment, but thats about it.

[AVGWarhawk]

If it was a warship or sub they do not raise them. It is a war memorial. As far as the gaskets. No way would the last. Heck, the USS Torsk is sitting in the water in Baltimore and if she were to dive, she would be making here last dive. The rubber does not last that long. I suspect the Russian (Kursk?)sub had compartments that were still intact once it was raised but it did not stay under long.

[SteamWake]

Water is the ultimate solvent, pretty dam slippery too.

Look at the grand canyon for what water can do given enough time.

One thing Ive always wondered is why corpeses or remains are seemingly never found.

As an example the Hunly, they found objects of personal effects (coins etc.) but no remains.

[seafarer]

Not to mention that if you leave anything down long enough, you will find some form of marine growth that readily breaks it down - wood, leather, rubber, paint, glass - some animal, plant, or bacterial film will either erode it, decay it, eat it, or break it. The deeper it is, the slower that might go, but it will happen eventually. And like sand in the desert, no matter how well sealed you might think something is, ultimately, it's not.

[mookiemookie]

Water is the ultimate solvent, pretty dam slippery too.

Look at the grand canyon for what water can do given enough time.

One thing Ive always wondered is why corpeses or remains are seemingly never found.

As an example the Hunly, they found objects of personal effects (coins etc.) but no remains.
Oh they certainly do find remains. I read a book called Shadow Divers that was about the discovery of the wreck of the U-869 off the coast of New Jersey. They go into great detail about finding bones on the U-boat and not filming them or touching them as a sign of respect.

I saw a show on Military Channel a while back about diving the wrecks of the Japanese merchant ships sunk in Truk lagoon. They showed some of the remains on the boats. Here's a picture of a gasmask and two leg bones on the Shinkoku Maru in Truk lagoon: http://www.pbase.com/benkao/image/5133565.

[SteminDemon13]

<starts singing> The leg bones connected to the...........gas mask:o ?

[Hartmann]

If it was a warship or sub they do not raise them. It is a war memorial. As far as the gaskets. No way would the last. Heck, the USS Torsk is sitting in the water in Baltimore and if she were to dive, she would be making here last dive. The rubber does not last that long. I suspect the Russian (Kursk?)sub had compartments that were still intact once it was raised but it did not stay under long.

Kursk was filled with water in the first days despite that some rear compartments were intact.
when divers opened the scape hatch the scaping air show that there isn´t a lot of air inside :dead: perhaps only a small pocket.
After some body recover operations they closed again the hatch until the raising of the boat.

A sunk submarine after 40 years must be completly filled with water and very rusty with the corrosion effects.

[woodstock74]

Water is the ultimate solvent, pretty dam slippery too.

Look at the grand canyon for what water can do given enough time.

One thing Ive always wondered is why corpeses or remains are seemingly never found.

As an example the Hunly, they found objects of personal effects (coins etc.) but no remains.

No remains on the Hunley? They most certainly did find the bones of the crew and buried them in Magnolia Cemetary in April of 2004.

[AVGWarhawk]

Water is the ultimate solvent, pretty dam slippery too.

Look at the grand canyon for what water can do given enough time.

One thing Ive always wondered is why corpeses or remains are seemingly never found.

As an example the Hunly, they found objects of personal effects (coins etc.) but no remains.

No remains on the Hunley? They most certainly did find the bones of the crew and buried them in Magnolia Cemetary in April of 2004.

Bones, yes! You will find these. I believe the OP was wondering if a compartment could be sealed containing air and the people in whatever state their bodies my be in while contained in the sealed compartment over that period of time.

[SteminDemon13]

Yes, that what I was wondering warhawk. One of these posts were flying around here about a sub that was found. It said something about the torp door being open and when they inspected in they said the gasket was in good condition and all. They had even wondered if there were any sealed compartments. Does anyone know of what thickness the pressure hull was and what type of steel was used? I feel that maybe if the sub say couldn't surface but the pressure hull was in good condition that there could be such a possibility.