Museum of Science and Industry "Launches" U-505 Submarine on Final Voyage Story Number: NNS040409-03 Release Date: 4/9/2004 8:34:00 AM From Navy Office of Information Midwest Public Affairs CHICAGO (NNS) -- In an unconventional christening ceremony April 8, two Museum of Science and Industry benefactors smashed a champagne bottle against a German U-Boat's bow and launched the vessel on its final voyage--to a state-of-the-art exhibit hall. After 50 years of braving the Chicago elements, the U-505 is moving from an outdoor courtyard to an underground, climate-controlled space that will help preserve this unique World War II artifact. The new $35-million exhibit will immerse visitors in USS Guadalcanal (CVE 60) Task Force 22.3's dramatic search for, and capture of, the enemy submarine. Four members of the USS Pillsbury (DE 133) boarding party, who kept the U-505 from sinking after the German crew tried to scuttle it, were present to celebrate the event. Also on hand to witness the beginning of the submarine's remarkable journey were Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley; Cmdr. Craig Selbrede, commanding officer of USS Chicago (SSN 721); and Museum President David Mosena. "It is important to preserve artifacts like the U-505 so children will understand the great peril World War II service members experienced," Daley said. "It is important for all of us to discuss history with our children today, and it is important to reflect on the men and women who serve today to protect our freedoms." Selbrede told guests that the Navy gleaned important information from the U-505, the first enemy vessel captured by the Navy on the high seas since the War of 1812, such as intelligence that allowed the Navy to break German codes and to develop anti-torpedo countermeasures. "Many of the engineering principles we learned are still used in today's submarine force," he added, before thanking the City of Chicago for preserving this piece of Navy history. To prepare for the move, NORSAR Services Inc. of Everett, Wash., a company that specializes in lifting massive industrial and marine objects, cut away 50-year old concrete supports and replaced them with 18 remote-controlled dollies. The dollies will help the submarine roll approximately 1,000 feet over several days toward the new exhibit space. April 21 and 22, the 700-ton submarine will be lowered 42 feet into its new space with the help of a complex skid system. The U-505 exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry is one of Chicago's treasures, and one of only five U-boats remaining worldwide. The submarine was nearly destroyed after the war, but supporters, including Task Force 22.3 Commander and Chicago native Rear Adm. Daniel Gallery, embarked on a fundraising campaign to bring the boat to the Midwest. After traveling through the St. Lawrence Seaway and through the Great Lakes, the U-505 rolled across Lake Shore Drive and into its current parking spot in 1954. Nearly 24 million visitors have toured it. The new underground exhibit will open in mid-2005. Museum of Science & Industry: Photo Gallery - Moving the U-505 Museum of Science & Industry: Photo Gallery - U-505 Ceremony Museum of Science & Industry: U-505 Restoration Oak Park Journal: The U505 Makes Another Journey, this one to a Safer Harbor in the Museum of Science and Industry, protected from the Harsh Elements of the Seasonal Changes in Chicago 030205-N-0000X-001 Washington Navy Yard (Feb. 5, 2002) -- A boarding party from the USS Pillsbury (DE 133) works to secure a tow line to the newly captured German U-boat U-505 on Jun 4, 1944. Note the large U.S. flag flying from the periscope. While the U-505 has been on exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago since 1954, this periscope has been missing from the submarine since the Navy removed it for testing after World War II. The two were recently reunited when the periscope was discovered during the demolition of the Navy's old Artic Submarine Laboratory in Point Loma, Calif., and it was sent to the museum. It will be reinstalled during the U-boat's current extensive restoration. U.S. Navy photo. Hi Res Version [ 21. April 2004, 02:03 AM: Message edited by: Deep Web Diver ]
This first link shows pictures of the U-505 when she was being moved to her new exhibition space. http://www.hydepark.org/parks/jpac/submove2.htm This second link is for the U-505's own website, which in the first exhibit section has a picture when the boat was being brought to the museum via Lake Michigan. http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/U505/index.html
I bring to all you my Bookmarks about U-505, articles, photos, forums, PDFs...... 72057594080013054 Amazon.com U-505 The Final Journey Books James E. Wise Jr. CAPTURE OF THE U-505 Capture of U 505 Capture%20of%20the%20U-505 Castlemaine-Boy photos U-Boat Gallery- powered by SmugMug Defense Technical Information Center Search East Side Industry Welcome Flickr Fotos etiquetadas con u505 Foro Segunda Guerra Mundial Ver tema - Captura del U 505 Galerias - Traslado a un museo de un submarino alemán hundido en la II Guerra Mun Guide to Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry from Chicago Traveler Historic Naval Ships Visitors Guide - German U-505 Hunting New England Shipwrecks Links MSI - New U-505 Experience The Iona Group, Inc. National Park Service World War II Warships in the Pacific Periscope Reunited with WWII German U-boat Presentación de goatopolis en Flickr Real Chicago Chicago-Sun Times Photo Essay TheHistoryNet World War II German Submarine U-505 Crewmember Hans Goebeler Recalls Being Captured During World War II U 505 Submarine Move U-505 Sinking u-505 sitehistory.navy.mil - Buscar con Google U-505 Submarine at the Museum of Science and Industry U-505 Submarine Exhibit - Goettsch Partners, Inc. U-505, Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry - Yahoo! Video U-Historia Ver tema - Sobre musica de peliculas escuchadas en el U 505 U-Historia -- Ver tema - El caso de los periscopios del U-505 U505 Captured German WWII Submarine Photo Gallery by larryrz at pbase.com u505 uboat.net - The Galleries Unterseeboot 505 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Up periscope and down building in Chicago Tech Architectural Record USS Gaudalcanal Story World War II German U-Boat Documents, Manuals, Diaries
A half day drive up the west lake Michigan shore is the US sub Cobia of the same era. Preserved adjacent to the shipyard that built it in Manitowoc Wisconsn. Looking over the two on the same trip doubles the fun. The drive up the lakeshore is nice as well.
Hey thanks Carl W! I was planning on going to see the U505 this coming week but I did not know about thr USS Cobia! It's about 180 miles from Chicago, so not oo bad! Thanks again!!
I found a matter some interesting: The mise in marche of the starboard motor 50 years later In this page Photos exist this text: U-Historia :: Ver tema - Aun funcionaban... Jan.
uboat.net - u-505 on exhibit post capture Re: u-505 on exhibit post capture From Keith Gill Posted by: Forum Moderator () Date: May 24, 2008 05:23PM Dear Jan, You are correct. On the occassion of the 50th anniversary of the capture of the U-505 I led a team of volunteers from the GM Electromotive division and a former U-boat crewmember to carefully restore the stb diesel engine to operation. It took us nearly 5 months of effort. Of interest is the fact that the first time the engines were started in the 1950s the museum also had a team of volunteers from the GM electromitive division. In fact one of those men was present in 1994. MAN was consulted but their interest was not very high as their resources were limited. I was offered technical advice, they did send some useful drawings, but for the most part we did it all on our own. We chose the Stb engine because it was in the best shape. All of the valves, injectors, pumps, etc were removed and carefully inspected and rebuilt as needed. All systems were good, we devised a pre-lube pump for oil, and were able to bar it over by hand. The pistons as you can imagine are enormous and are dished on the top. We had injected liberal amounts of penetrating oil to get piston rings to loosen up to hold pressure. OUr last test was to make sure the compressed air starter worked and we hoped to roll the engine on a short burst of air from a temp rigged air bottle. When we pulled the starting handle it started and ran about 30 seconds on the penetrating oil that was sitting on top of the pistons!! We also found that the pressure relief valves that we had rebuilt and checked also worked perfectly because they let excess pressure go with a very loud bang! We immediately ran out and got several cases of the best German beer we could lay hands on and I'm not shy of saying that was one of the drunkest nights I have ever had. Lots of 12-18 hour days on that project. We earned it. With that green light we assembled everything, rigged a 1 gal fuel tank, and got ready to run. It ran perfectly on the next night with fuel. Needless to say we were very proud of the achievement but aware of the dangers and risk at all times. We had very qualified engineers on hand throughout the process and there were many levels of check before we proceeded. We video taped our efforts and made sound recordings of the engine running. When you walk through the boat you can hear the actual engine sounds. Unforgettable. ON the occasion of the actual 50th anniversary on June 4, 1994 we had a large gathering of the US Task Force Veterans that captured the boat and some Germans. At the appropriate moment in the ceremony as I stood on the conning tower I signlaed down the hatch to light up the engine, and she did. Great fanfare and lots of applause. What a great moment. I highly doubt it will run again now that it is indoors. Perhaps another 50 years from now a new energetic curator will be able to show the powers that be that these mechanical monsters need to be regulalry lubricated to maintain properaly. Who knows, it MAY run again. I'd like to be there if and when it does. For now I have realized I may be the last person to have run and been in charge of running a u-boat diesel. One thing I learned was to appreciate the experience of those who lived with them for 90-120 days at a time. It forever after influenced the tours I gave and injected a dose of real experience to what I had to say. And this appreciation is not limited to uboat vets, it is for all submariners whatever navy they were in. Re: the Enigma machines. I was able to track down one of the two machines captuerd from U-505. It is owned by the NSA crytographic Museum at Ft George G. Meade, MD. They VERY KINDLY loaned the machine to the museum where it is now on display next to the boat. We have also on display a rotor partially disassembled to expose the internal wiring. Our Enigma display is neat, maybe not the best, but remarkable for having one of the actual machines on display WITH the boat it was captured from. It is a four rotor model with printing device. I hope I answered your questions. Regards Keith Gill
