“DIVE!…..DIVE!…..on Five-O-Five”

This past August 10th & 11th, I wrote a two-part blog about the German U-Boat,  U-505, which was the first enemy "man-o-war" CAPTURED since the War of 1812.

Too lengthy to re-write, it's in the archives if you want to read it (or re-read it).  But I can post photos now........

U.S. Navy file photos of the U-505, as it happened on Sunday, June 4th, 1944, after the submarine had been depth-charged and forced to the surface.  The German crew had abandoned ship and the scuttling valves had been opened, in the attempt to sink it before the Americans could capture it.  The men you see in the photos are the American boarding party.  They were able to shut the valves off in time.

In the upper left photo, the jeep carrier USS Guadalcanal is on its way over to hook up a tow line to the U-Boat.  Once under tow, and they got the sub's propellers rotating, they were able to operate the bilge pumps, and pump out all the sea water, and they towed it straight to Bermuda.......then to the Naval base in Portsmouth, N.H.

The sub was a treasure trove to the U.S.Navy, as they operated it, studied it and learned vital info.  It sat dormant after the war, and when the Navy decided to just tow it out to sea and destroy it, it was saved as an important piece of history by Captain Dan Gallery (the skipper of the Guadalcanal), with the help of a lot of donations.

(left:  the U-505 on Lake Michigan, having just sailed from Portsmouth to Chicago via the Great Lakes.  Photo taken on June 26th, 1954)

(right:  the first shot I took from MY camera on July 7th, 2001)

Attending one of our Khe Sanh Re-unions (THIS year in Chicago), I already knew that the 505 was now the property of the Museum of Science & Industry there, and I HAD to see this thing!  (It has SINCE been moved INSIDE the museum for permanent display).

But in 2001, I was glad the U-Boat was still OUTSIDE, so I could stand BACK  (as far as I COULD anyway) and get a "fair shot" of this 252 ft submarine.

But INSIDE the building, were what our Navy was really after.......a YEARS-AHEAD "accoustical" torpedo that once launched, could "hone-in" on the propeller wake of it's intended target (the NAZI's had some "Gee-Whiz" stuff back then)............but even MORE importantly....the EGNIGMA code machine and charts that every U-Boat carried............and this was a BIGGIE!

But now it was time to BOARD!  This was what I'd waited for!  The entrance to the aft torpedo room, with simulated meat & bread hanging as it did back then.

In the engine room looking at a pair of massive diesels.......(first shot looking forward, second shot looking aft)........it's staggering to believe that FIFTY-NINE sailors lived on this U-Boat!........man----talk about CLOSE QUARTERS!

I'm not sure WHAT that gauge is, but the next photo is a shot of the diving controls.

The galley, where hot meals were cooked.......and two of the "nicer" bunks........(probably belonged to the officers, because the other bunks I saw were pretty crude!)....................

.........like THESE, up in the forward torpedo room.  The photo on the right, is looking UPWARD at the periscope in the conning tower (not open to the public.........in 2001 anyway).

The Radio Room...........which you can BET, was very "state of the art" in 1944, built by the same people who were flying JETS and hitting England with V-1 and V-2 MISSILES, before World War II finally ended in Europe.

If you're ever back in Chicago with a little extra time on your hands, and you happen to be a history buff..........this is an eye-opening exhibit well worth taking the time to see.