U-505, Chicago

Neptunus Rex · 07-26-11, 10:22 PM

Toured U-505 this afternoon.

Real neat and very small and tight inside.

Stealhead · 07-26-11, 10:26 PM

Did you take some pictures?IIRC there was a thread posted a while back with several pictures of U-505 on here.Also I think Neal has some pic of 505 on here.You should post some of yours if you took any.

Anthony W. · 07-27-11, 12:18 AM

I went through it a long time ago. I was dismayed that they cut the side...

Woulda been more impressed if they left it all stock.

I read an article somewhere that said when they got it and were restoring it just after the war, they wrote to the companies that made the parts asking for replacements. Most of them replied with a letter that said something like, "We are sorry you have our U-Boat, but, since you do, we at least want it to stand as a testament to German technology."

Woo 600th post

Sailor Steve · 07-27-11, 12:53 AM

I toured U-505 in 1962. I don't remember much about it.

Penguin · 07-27-11, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

Most of them replied with a letter that said something like, "We are sorry you have our U-Boat, but, since you do, we at least want it to stand as a testament to German technology."

It's highly unlikely that a German company would have written this shortly after the war. They would never openly stated that they are sorry that the enemy has captured a boat, especially not during "denazification". Plus they had tons of other problems and did not care much for the stuff they produced during the war.

In John Venzo's chapter in "Steel Boat, Iron Hearts", he also never mentions this, iirc he also writes that the restoration did not start until the 1990s.
Can't check the book out atm - still in a box somewhere.

frau kaleun · 07-27-11, 07:49 AM

Penguin is correct, there was no "restoration" as such done just after the war. The museum didn't physically acquire the boat until 1954; the full restoration was only begun in 1997 when they decided to move it indoors.

From 1944 through 1954 the boat was in the hands of the US Navy. They sent her around the country on a war bonds tour after VE Day and certainly she was thoroughly examined for whatever intelligence and technological insights she might yield, but they wouldn't have been doing anything to restore or preserve her. Just the opposite, they were planning to get her "off the books" by using her for target practice until the buyers in Chicago intervened and saved her from destruction.

AVGWarhawk · 07-27-11, 08:01 AM

Many WW2 items were left mothballed for quite sometime after the war. There is a storage facilty in Suitland MD were many were kept. Flying wings. Enola Gay. Of course the Enola Gay was restored and on display.

The again, U-505 was used quite a bit after capture. Many things could have been altered or changed. Much like the Torsk from her WW2 configuration up to Guppy class Cold War boat.

Quote:

The U-Boat that had been captured by the USA was U-505, which had been forced to the surface on 4 June 1944 by a US Navy escort carrier task group 150 miles off the west coast of Africa. U-505 was then towed to the Port Royal Bay US Navy Base in Bermuda for technical examination. U-505 was kept in Bermuda for the remainder of the war and, because of the security imperative to maintain the illusion that she had been sunk rather than captured, it was temporarily renamed as USS Nemo. After the war, U-505 was moved to the US Navy Yard at Portsmouth, NH for use in gunnery and torpedo target practice. However this proposed fate came to the attention of Admiral Gallery (who had commanded the carrier USS Guadalcanal when U-505 was captured), and through his initiative the U-Boat was eventually donated by the US Government to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, being dedicated as a permanent exhibit and war memorial on 25 September 1955 - where it remains on display.

Jimbuna · 07-27-11, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

I went through it a long time ago. I was dismayed that they cut the side...

Woulda been more impressed if they left it all stock.

I'd be grateful it didn't receive the same treatment as U-534...sliced into four sections.

http://www.irishseashipping.com/viewpoint/u534/u534.htm

Apologies for the background music.

Anthony W. · 07-27-11, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbuna

I'd be grateful it didn't receive the same treatment as U-534...sliced into four sections.

Not quite that, about a 12x12 hole cut in the side, tho. I was dismayed. I'd much rather have climbed down the hatch. I looked at the lady like, "Listen, I probably know more about how this boat operated than you ever will or will care to (thanks to reading all the posts here). I wanna go down the damn hatch!"

AVGWarhawk · 07-27-11, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

Not quite that, about a 12x12 hole cut in the side, tho. I was dismayed. I'd much rather have climbed down the hatch.

Grandpa and Grandma do not want to climb down the hatch. The boat would lose a lot of visitorship if access was limited. It's all about money when it comes to warship museums. Visitorship brings much needed money.

Hottentot · 07-27-11, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

I looked at the lady like, "Listen, I probably know more about how this boat operated than you ever will or will care to (thanks to reading all the posts here). I wanna go down the damn hatch!"

Ah. Thank you. You just made me remember why working on research and not having to deal with the visitors can be a paradise on Earth compared to the alternatives.

mookiemookie · 07-27-11, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

I looked at the lady like, "Listen, I probably know more about how this boat operated than you ever will or will care to (thanks to reading all the posts here). I wanna go down the damn hatch!"

Stay classy.

Osmium Steele · 07-27-11, 07:57 AM

Here's the thread Mookie started in the museums section.

Some good pics there. Unfortunately, the lighting sux in the pen. Too dim for anything out of flash range.

Next time I go, I'm taking a hand held spotlight with me.

kraznyi_oktjabr · 07-27-11, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osmium Steele

Here's the thread Mookie started in the museums section.

Some good pics there. Unfortunately, the lighting sux in the pen. Too dim for anything out of flash range.

Next time I go, I'm taking a hand held spotlight with me.

Dim lights are propably here preserve the ship. This is atleast case in Vasamuseet (Vasa Museum) where there is very poor lighting inside to prevent further damage to wreckage of Swedish 64-gun warship Vasa.

mookiemookie · 07-27-11, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osmium Steele

Here's the thread Mookie started in the museums section.

Some good pics there. Unfortunately, the lighting sux in the pen. Too dim for anything out of flash range.

Next time I go, I'm taking a hand held spotlight with me.

You're right, the lighting is very dim inside the exhibit hall. I think that's more for atmosphere than any sort of preservation. The boat is painted up good as new, so I don't think it's in any danger of rust or decay due to light.

07-26-11, 10:22 PM	#1
Neptunus Rex Frogman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ohio, USA Posts: 294 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	U-505, Chicago Toured U-505 this afternoon. Real neat and very small and tight inside. __________________ Neptunus Rex sends "In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president." A.C. 11-5-08

07-27-11, 12:18 AM	#3
Anthony W. Grey Wolf Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Central Indiana Posts: 850 Downloads: 130 Uploads: 0	I went through it a long time ago. I was dismayed that they cut the side... Woulda been more impressed if they left it all stock. I read an article somewhere that said when they got it and were restoring it just after the war, they wrote to the companies that made the parts asking for replacements. Most of them replied with a letter that said something like, "We are sorry you have our U-Boat, but, since you do, we at least want it to stand as a testament to German technology." Woo 600th post __________________ Sunken Mustangs Proud Ford Mustang owner "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" - Admiral David Farragut Run silent - run deep - keep the baffles clear - targets front and center. Private pilot and history buff

07-27-11, 12:53 AM	#4
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	I toured U-505 in 1962. I don't remember much about it. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

07-27-11, 07:57 AM	#13
Osmium Steele Ace of the Deep Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Upper midwest USA Posts: 1,101 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	Here's the thread Mookie started in the museums section. Some good pics there. Unfortunately, the lighting sux in the pen. Too dim for anything out of flash range. Next time I go, I'm taking a hand held spotlight with me. __________________ In the month of July of the year 1348, between the feasts of St. Benedict and of St. Swithin, a strange thing came upon England... My U297 build thread

07-26-11, 10:26 PM	#2
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Did you take some pictures?IIRC there was a thread posted a while back with several pictures of U-505 on here.Also I think Neal has some pic of 505 on here.You should post some of yours if you took any.

07-27-11, 07:49 AM	#6
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Penguin is correct, there was no "restoration" as such done just after the war. The museum didn't physically acquire the boat until 1954; the full restoration was only begun in 1997 when they decided to move it indoors. From 1944 through 1954 the boat was in the hands of the US Navy. They sent her around the country on a war bonds tour after VE Day and certainly she was thoroughly examined for whatever intelligence and technological insights she might yield, but they wouldn't have been doing anything to restore or preserve her. Just the opposite, they were planning to get her "off the books" by using her for target practice until the buyers in Chicago intervened and saved her from destruction.