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The
Museum of Science
and Industry is on the
Chicago lakefront |
It
offers a variety of
permanent and
temporary exhibits |
This
is the entrance to
the U-505 exhibit |
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World
War II began in Europe and soon involved the
United States and Canada |
American
and Allied
merchant ships became prime
targets of German U-boats |
Allied
shipping losses
were heavy in the early
days of the war |
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Slowly
at first, America
began to respond to
the U-boat threat |
A
convoy system was
established to transport
war supplies to Europe |
Merchant
ship convoys
provided some protection
against enemy attacks |
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Meanwhile,
the German
U-boat service became a
feared fighting machine |
Subs,
sophisticated for the
era, were produced in
large numbers |
They spread out along
the Atlantic coasts of
Europe and North America |
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In
1944, the U.S. Navy
captured the U-505
off the coast of Africa |
This
Navy photo shows the
captured sub flying
an American flag |
In
1954, the U-505 became
a permanent outdoor exhibit
at the museum |
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Now,
some
50 years later,
it is the centerpiece of an
all-new U-505 exhibit |
Here's
the sub after placement
in it's new "pen" |
The
sub exhibit has
the feeling of a secret
military operation |
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| Its
new home is a large bunker-like structure |
You
can wander around at
your leisure and check out
the sub and other displays |
The lighting effects
are
neat and somewhat eerie |
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This
is the stern with
its rudders, props
and dive plane |
Here's
our author
Dave Clancy exploring
the exhibit |
A
visitor inspects
an engine piston |
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The
anti-aircraft gun was brought down to ground
level for close examination |
Here
are two Enigma cipher machines. They were used
for encrypted messages. |
And
here's a
disassembled code rotor
for an Enigma machine |
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On
entering the sub
you'll see the double-hull
construction |
A cut-away view
of the U-505 |
Tours
of the sub include
the control room |
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| Here's
the
galley |
Here's
one
of the
engine telegraphs |
And
here's the
forward torpedo room |
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| Periscope
Image |
U-Boat
Graphic
(N. J. Courier-Post) |
U-Boat
Service Medal |
The German submarine U-505 (click image at right for larger view) was captured by the U.S. Navy off West Africa in 1944. It was a Type IXC boat. The knowledge gleaned from the sub's capture helped the Allies develop strategies to overcome the dangerous U-boat threat of World War II. After the war, the U-505 languished for some time in the Portsmouth Navy Yard, then was acquired by the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. In 1954, the vessel was towed to Chicago and became a permanent exhibit at the museum. Since that time, millions of people have toured the sub and re-lived a small part of the Battle of the Atlantic. Today the U-505 is the only German U-boat exhibit in North America and is a memorial to all those who served, suffered or died in World War II.
