bsalyers
03-26-06, 12:38 PM
I know she's a perennial favorite topic on these boards, but I'm in Chicago for a friend's wedding and made it over to the U-505 yesterday; and since it seems a sort of passage-ritual in our community, I thought I'd share my impressions.
Unfortunately, they no longer allow photography once inside her. That is because the designers of the exhibit have added subtle lighting effects and timed sound cues that, together with the guide's narrative, give some impression of what life on the boat must have been like. There is a phenomenal exhibit leading up to the tour that gives background information on the u-boat war and goes into detail about the 505's tracking and capture. Then you round a corner and there she is. The first thing that struck me was how massive she is; a Type IXC in all her restored glory. I knew those boats were big, but even so, I was awe-struck. Once inside, the other notion that hit me over and over was just how phenomenal the technology on these boats was for their time. They were truly the spacecraft of the day. The high point of the tour for me was sitting in the control room, at the aft plainsman's station, as the guide (who was quite good) told us of her final, desperate lurch to the surface. After the tour, my friend and I browsed the captured memorabilia on display in various cases positioned around the ship.
There were two, wonderful, final surprises in the exhibit: there are several individual, interactive stations that give visitors a "hands-on" feel for some of the operational tasks of manning a u-boat. One such is a re-creation of the plainsmans' stations built on a motion platform. As you sit at one of the two wheels, recorded instructions coming from an overhead screen give you orders to change the depth, attitude and trim of the boat. Not only do you see your work reflected in the animated u-boat on the screen, you feel it as the platform on which you are seated plunges towards the left or right in response to your controls. There are also re-creations of attack and observations periscopes where you can sit and, following recorded instructions, scan the horizon for hazards prior to surfacing, or make observations for the TDC to plot an attack. I tried the attack periscope and, while the simulation was no SHIII, it wasn't bad!
;)
Finally, I was treated to a brief film, made in 1964, in which former task force commander Daniel Gallery and U-505 Kapitan Harald Lange spoke about the incident together for the first time since their fateful battle on June 4th, 1944. It was fascinating watching these two old warriors relive that tense, dangerous event.
I took many pictures of her exterior and tried to get details, such as the ragged holes, still plainly visible, that were punched into her by fifty-caliber machine guns. I'll post them on line if anyone's interested.
I can't recommend this exhibit enough. If I had time, I'd go again before I have to leave.
Best to all.
b.
Unfortunately, they no longer allow photography once inside her. That is because the designers of the exhibit have added subtle lighting effects and timed sound cues that, together with the guide's narrative, give some impression of what life on the boat must have been like. There is a phenomenal exhibit leading up to the tour that gives background information on the u-boat war and goes into detail about the 505's tracking and capture. Then you round a corner and there she is. The first thing that struck me was how massive she is; a Type IXC in all her restored glory. I knew those boats were big, but even so, I was awe-struck. Once inside, the other notion that hit me over and over was just how phenomenal the technology on these boats was for their time. They were truly the spacecraft of the day. The high point of the tour for me was sitting in the control room, at the aft plainsman's station, as the guide (who was quite good) told us of her final, desperate lurch to the surface. After the tour, my friend and I browsed the captured memorabilia on display in various cases positioned around the ship.
There were two, wonderful, final surprises in the exhibit: there are several individual, interactive stations that give visitors a "hands-on" feel for some of the operational tasks of manning a u-boat. One such is a re-creation of the plainsmans' stations built on a motion platform. As you sit at one of the two wheels, recorded instructions coming from an overhead screen give you orders to change the depth, attitude and trim of the boat. Not only do you see your work reflected in the animated u-boat on the screen, you feel it as the platform on which you are seated plunges towards the left or right in response to your controls. There are also re-creations of attack and observations periscopes where you can sit and, following recorded instructions, scan the horizon for hazards prior to surfacing, or make observations for the TDC to plot an attack. I tried the attack periscope and, while the simulation was no SHIII, it wasn't bad!
;)
Finally, I was treated to a brief film, made in 1964, in which former task force commander Daniel Gallery and U-505 Kapitan Harald Lange spoke about the incident together for the first time since their fateful battle on June 4th, 1944. It was fascinating watching these two old warriors relive that tense, dangerous event.
I took many pictures of her exterior and tried to get details, such as the ragged holes, still plainly visible, that were punched into her by fifty-caliber machine guns. I'll post them on line if anyone's interested.
I can't recommend this exhibit enough. If I had time, I'd go again before I have to leave.
Best to all.
b.