U-505 repair effort
January 2nd, 2009 From
>Date: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 14:07:13 -0800
>From: Mike Potter
>Organization: Artecon, Inc.
>X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01Gold (WinNT; I)
>To: mahan@microworks.net
>Subject: U-505 repair effort
>Precendence: bulk
>Sender: mahan-owner@microworks.net
>Reply-To: mahan@microworks.net
>
>Submarine rescue: Aging U-boat needs repairs
>
>Chicago Sun-Times, October 30, 1997
>BY DELLA DE LAFUENTE STAFF REPORTER
>
>The Museum of Science and Industry is embarking on a special mission
>today to save one of its prize exhibits, the landmark World War II
>German U-505 submarine.
>
>The submarine, the first enemy fighting ship captured by the U.S. Navy
>since the War of 1812, has physical damage today that it didn’t receive
>as a warship in the Atlantic off French West Africa, museum officials
>say.
>
>On exhibit outdoors at the museum since 1954, the warship is vulnerable
>to dirt, humidity, body heat and occasional mishandling by some of its
>22 million visitors since the 1950s.
>
>”The constant touching and handling of the boat — which we encourage as
>a ‘hands-on’ museum — does have an effect,” said Keith R. Gill, the
>museum’s collections coordinator.
>
>During a restoration four years ago, museum officials collected and
>removed 1,100 pounds of garbage left behind by visitors, including a
>man’s toupee, dentures, discarded film and flashbulbs.
>
>Worn and weather-beaten, the submarine also has suffered some extensive
>damage caused by exposure to Chicago’s temperature extremes.
>
>When it rains, a rust line deepens along the length of the 252-foot boat
>as rainwater collects in the crevices created by the entrance and exit
>ramps that connect the museum’s ground floor to the boat, Gill said.
>
>Tonight, museum officials will host a dinner at the museum to launch an
>$11.5 million fund-raising effort for the submarine’s eventual
>restoration and relocation, which will cost $6 million. An endowment of
>$5.5 million will be established to cover the costs of future
>maintenance.
>
>The main goal of the restoration will be to control the temperature of
>the warship throughout the year, to avoid a buildup of condensation in
>the winter and the subsequent rust and paint cracks in the summer
>months, officials said.
>
>One of the ideas being considered is to construct a “dry dock” building
>for the warship, with its own glass or transparent enclosure. That would
>allow visitors to walk around and above the ship to appreciate the deck,
>Gill said.
>
>Museum officials also hope to get the boat’s second engine, one of two
>9-cylinder, supercharged diesel engines with 2,200 horsepower and 400
>RPMs, running as part of the restoration. The other engine is in working
>order.
>
>The U-505 was primarily a surface boat, but it was capable of diving and
>staying submerged for up to three days. It carried 22 torpedoes.
>
>The boat’s capture in 1944 gave the Allies valuable information about
>German military codes and torpedo technology.
>
>Following an extensive structural survey of the submarine — to
>determine whether the 56-year-old warship can undergo the stress of
>being moved — museum officials hope to move the boat to the park north
>of the museum’s East Pavilion.
>–