No probs, I appreciate some people may never get over to see it
Dan
No probs, I appreciate some people may never get over to see it
Dan
I live in Cornwall and am unlikely ever to get to see it, so thank you for posting those images.
Whilst I can see that the outer hull has been treated and painted, will not the interior continue to rust away without inhibition?
I am grateful to all who have contributed to this exhibit and hope that it will be preserved.
Gliderman, The internal has been sprayed with anti corrosion treatment. Well, thats what it says in the guide!
Dan
In the end they have made a good interesting educational display.
If you want to see a german U-baot that's in MINT condition just go to the Chicago Museum of Science and industry. It's the U-505 and it's in the same pristine condition it was in the day it was coptured right down to the sheets on the bunks. In fact it's probably in better shape than a boat that had been at sea for a month or so. They tried to scuttle her but a brave navy guy scrambled down the hatch after the crew had bailed and closed the scuttle cocks. Everything including the enigma was saved in perfect condition amd remains in place today. They did cut an access way into her side... but other than that she is pristeen. When I was a kid she was suiiting out in the parking lot... and we would park almost underneath her. A few years ago they moved the whole boat into a building built just for her so het paint and exterior remain perfect... and there she sits.... surrounded by her torpedos. I highly reccomend the visit. Looks and is the real thing... just smells a whole lot better inside!
That is not entirely true . . . it has been restored, but next time you are close - knock on the side of the hull. But be careful - more than 75% of the sheet-steel thickness has rotted away from all of the time it was exposed outside of the museum! Your hand might just break through, and wouldn't that be a sight! The entire ship is, essentially in construction terms, "paper-thin".
They have done a maginificent job restoring what is left, and the displays are second-to-none, but truth be told, it too has suffered the wrath of time . . .
Theres a book about the search for U534, written by the guy who found her. It is in danish and called U534 Nazi ubåden ved Anholt. There is a lot of pictures of her at the bottom of the sea, it was written before she went to the surface again.
John
How authentic is the U Boat in Chicago? I'm assuming there had to have been some sort of restoration work. Im just curious to know whats actually original on her.
Pretty much EVERYTHING on her is original, bunks, china,silverware,torpedoes, deck gun,everything. The Enigma is probably gone as it was sent to Bletchly Park after she was captured... but it's ALL there.
When I was young I remember parking pretty much under the U-505 as it was right out there on blocks in the parking lot with just a cyclone fence around her. She always was kept painted and the exterior was never allowed to rust... the interior bulkheads are another matter... never saw those. As far as 75% gone... hard to (sorry) fathom... if she was that deteriorated she never would have survived the move up into her now enclosed and climate controlled home.
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