Why Chicago Has a German U-Boat

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Chapters:
00:34 - The History of German U-Boats
04:05 - The downfall of U-505
05:49 - Why Casablanca-class escort carriers were effective against U-Boats
09:31 - The Hunt for U-505
12:08 - The Capture of U-505
14:58 - Why Chicago wanted a German U-Boat
16:50 - The challenge of bringing a German U-Boat to Chicago
22:21 - The U-Boat Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry
Join us on a captivating journey through the incredible history of German U-Boats in this thrilling KZbin video. Discover the fascinating story of U-505, one of the most notorious submarines of World War II, from its construction to its significant role in naval warfare. Witness the dramatic downfall of U-505 and learn how Casablanca-class escort carriers effectively countered the U-Boat threat. Experience the intense hunt for U-505 and the nail-biting capture that followed. Uncover why Chicago sought to acquire a German U-Boat and explore the challenges faced in bringing it to the city. Marvel at the extraordinary U-Boat exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry, where history truly comes alive. Join us as we delve into the remarkable journey of U-505, from its battles at sea to its ultimate place as a symbol of valor and triumph. Subscribe now and hit the notification bell to stay updated on our historical explorations and fascinating stories. Like and share this video to spread the intriguing history of U-505 and its impact on World War II.
Chapters:
IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Brent Sapp,
Editor - Sebastian Ripoll
Host - Ryan Socash
» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[@langhamp8912]

Nearly every removable part had been stripped from the boat's interior by the time she went to the museum; she was in no condition to serve as an exhibit, so museum director Lohr asked for replacements from the German manufacturers who had supplied the boat's original components and parts. Admiral Gallery reports in his autobiography Eight Bells and All's Well that every company supplied the requested parts without charge. Most included letters to the effect that the manufacturers wanted her to be a credit to German technology.

[@kevinboothby9928]

I have one of those removable parts, a tool box. When U-505 was tied up at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, ME, my maternal Grandfather worked in security at the yard. He was on 2nd shift and his assignment was standing watch over the U-505 and a few other U-boats that were also tied up there. Being of German descent, he decided to help himself to a war souvenier (the tool box). It's made of aluminum, lined with pine, and has a removable tray in the top. I keep all of my block planes and wood chisels in it.

[@bozodeclown67]

@@kevinboothby9928 May I humbly suggest, consider donating that to the Chicago exhibit at some point in the future??? :)

[@xClownz]

@@bozodeclown67 man fuck that let bro enjoy his lil family heirloom

[@larrrevenga49]

Wow very cool

[@charnlangford4298]

​@kevinboothby9928 you should return the stolen toolbox to the museum. While understandable for the time and circumstance your grandfather had a responsibility to protect the submarine and took advantage of his station for personal gain.

[@project_poor_runner]

The Museum of Science and Industry was one of my coolest field trips growing up

[@jefferynelson]

that's a super cool field trip indeed, yay for whomever arranged the trip

[@daniellafferety4025]

Me too.

[@darealest2exist260]

What school did y’all go to? I went to Cary Grove. Most the suburban schools took the field trip

[@daniellafferety4025]

@darealest2exist260 I was living in Park Forest, the park forest south. In Illinois.

[@BADALICE]

Me too.

[@josephgray3738]

My dad was a retired USN Submarine sailor before his passing in 2011. Not only was he alive to see the U505 get brought across Lake Shore Drive (not far from the neighborhood he grew up at), but the boats my dad was on during the Vietnam war were all retired USN subs from WW2 - all of which are now Museum pieces themselves. When I was young we visited the U505 in its old exhibit outside, and my dad told me something interesting that only just recently made it back into the current exhibit: During and after WW2, German periscope optics were far superior to anything that the allies had, so shortly after its capture the U505 was extensively studied and secrets/technology were sent back the USN. One of those "secrets" was the U505's periscope, which had been removed and "replaced" with an old/outfitted USN periscope. This is the periscope that remains on the sub until this very day, and is something that only the keen eyed/or a submariner would catch. For years after the war it was "rumored" that the original German periscope has been dismantled/scrapped/discarded - point being is that it was thought lost. It wasn't until recently after the new enclosure was built, that the intact original periscope was discovered stored and forgotten in a Navy warehouse. It was subsequently donated back to MSI and now has a permanent display case next to the U505 herself.

[@johnschofield9496]

I knew a crewman on the U-505, Hans Goebler, who actually DID open the sea valves, however, not expecting Americans to board the boat, left the caps there. When the Americans boarded, they closed the valves. This he told me personally in Orlando, Florida. Hans was one of the people responsible for saving the 505. He moved to America after the war so he could be an advocate for her. ( He wrote a book called "Steel Boat, Iron Heart", about his time aboard to 505. It's a fascinating read.) Also, I saw a video about the photographer sent over to take pictures ASAP, expecting the boat to sink. He went into the Captains cabin and " pilfered " his Mauser HSC pistol, not telling anyone for over 50 years.

[@nfs19]

I was about to comment the same. In fact, I recall this is confirmed in the museum exhibit when they described the US sailors having to close those off before those resulted in enough water coming in to send the U-boat back down.

[@Tuscarora21]

I met Hans as well. He was out walking into a somewhat dangerous neighborhood after a show had closed I told him not to go that way

[@jamesburns2232]

Some neighborhoods in Chi Raq are dangerous, especially to the uninitiated. 🦍

[@Willysmb44]

He used to hit gun and military shows in Florida. I talked with him a few times

[@gem.dionisio]

The U-505 was one memorable experience for a filipino kid like me (I was 8 back then in 1984). Me and my family saw that sub in an episode of Ripley's believe it or not (tv show in the 1980s) and decided to visit the museum when we flew to visit our relatives in april. So one early morning in may, from Skokie Il, we searched for the sub and museum with only the knowledge we had on that day was the Ripley's episode and word "German Submarine". Good thing people in the 1980s were so kind and told us where the museum is. Thus before lunchtime (no GPS or Uber back then), we found the museum. We saw the film in the theater, and visited the sub (outdoor display back than). So so lucky to peep in the periscope. One memorable experience for the family.

[@1969wayfarer]

The tugboat that towed the U-505 from Portsmouth to Lake Erie was the Pauline Moran. The portion of the tow from Portsmouth to the St Charles River was done for free by the Moran tugboat company. My Grandfather Robert B. Fisk Sr. was first mate on Pauline Moran. It was one of the highlights of his long career at sea starting in the Navy in 1911. He trained to be a bugler on the USS Constellation that was moored at the harbor in Baltimore.

[@larrrevenga49]

Amazing

[@anthonyryan6716]

Portsmouth new Hampshire 🦖 just wondering 🤔

[@kitbaker8521]

When the war ended, the boat was moved from Bermuda to the Portsmouth Navy Yard for disposition and further study. It was from there it was towed ultimately to Chicago after all the examination and study as completed and Chicago made the decision to acquire it.

[@TheRagratus]

I've been on the U-505 in 5 different decades. The exhibit it's in now is spectacular.

[@stephenrocks7004]

My grandfather, who was the president of the Museum of science and industry. He was instrumental in the transportation of the 505 to the museum of science and industr It was my grandfather‘s pride and joy prior to his death, and we were so proud of him

[@0fficialdregs]

Did he help with the model trains layout that's in the building too? that's my all time favorite part of the museum

[@elmex8888]

Many thanks to your grandfather, this has always been my all time favorite exhibit.

[@0fficialdregs]

@@elmex8888 right! first time i saw that, i was like wtf!!! that thing is huge!

[@stephenrocks7004]

@@0fficialdregs no, as far as I remember. But he was instrumental in acquiring and the display of the model train exhibit

[@0fficialdregs]

@@stephenrocks7004 heck yeah :D i love model trains so when i found out the museum had an exhibit i visit it every chance i get

[@psilva2565]

I was born and raised in Chicago and toured this submarine twice in the early 1980's . Great history behind it.

[@jayfrank1913]

I saw it in the Summer of '83. Back when it was outside, not underground.

[@standavid1828]

I am so home sick. Sweet home Chicago.

[@jayfrank1913]

I also remember the tropicalized Stuka captured in North Africa they had inside the museum.

[@robertcuny934]

@@jayfrank1913 I also visited it in the 1980s with friends; one friend reached up and broke off a rusted piece of the hull as a souvenir.

[@JamesPrill-hz1oj]

I remember when it was displayed outside, leaked like a siv when it rained, was so excited to take my daughter to see it once it was brought inside, one of my favorite displays at the museum of science and industry

[@retiredguyadventures6211]

I toured U-505 back when I was attending Radar school in Great Lakes back in 1970 while serving in the Navy. After I went to the fleet I served on two destroyers chasing Soviet subs.

[@Minuteman4Jesus]

I grew up in Gary Indiana, just minutes from Chicago. I have been to the Museum of Science & Industry plenty of times and walked through the U-boat every time I visited. I'm very happy to hear that in the 40 years since last visiting the museum they have moved the *unterboot* into an enclosure that will protect it for many decades to come!

[@mikegoose]

I went there from Gary Indiana too, went there on field trip from Emerson elementary. Been to the planetarium and the field museum where they had the dinosaur exhibits.

[@Rawnervscope]

I just saw a video about Gary Indiana...strange

[@deegan727]

I grew up in Lake Station and Portage. I’ve also got to see the sub several times.

[@susika2226]

you know any mackeys?

[@susika2226]

know any mackeys?

[@CrazyPetez]

I was able to visit U-505:in spring of 1980. I was attending an AT&T class in nearby Lisle, Ill. One weekend a few of us rented a car and among other famous locations we managed a vivit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Seeing the U-505, which was still outside, was most memorable.

[@the-eye-is-watching]

Growing up near the Museum and knowing the guide of the exhibit I was able to enter restricted areas of the Uboat. In the second grade a fellow student's father who was a member of the German crew was involved in restoring the exhibit to it's operational trim. Thanks for bring back the memories.

[@AndrewJTCooper-ks1ng]

It would be great to see her made sea worthy and sail the great lake.

[@walle200]

Nice to see that defected Nazis had a hand in restoring this boat for all visiting Chicago to explore for future generations

[@Christoph-sd3zi]

​@AndrewJTCooper-ks1ng when the 4th Reich rises that is exactly what will happen

[@greatmartini1]

I grew up a few miles from where you probably lived, Irving Park and Pulaski area off Montrose Ave. I would take a bus down to Lincoln Park as a kid then get a transfer paper and go to the museums. aquarium and of course the beach. Growing up there in the 60s and 70s was an amazing experience. I do miss Chicago but I don't think I could ever move back from the West Coast.

[@the-eye-is-watching]

@@greatmartini1 This site has many great segments about Chicago. Growing up there the same time as you I would take the El trains to the terminus, as well as ride my bike the entire length of the lake shore up to Hollywood st. from Hyde Park. I left Chicago in 1980 now in the Philippines . My brother still lives in the family home and I have no desire to return.

[@stnwrd]

I took a tour through the U505 back when I was just a kid with my Late Great DAD. This was when it was still outside on the eastside of the Museum of Science and Industry. I still have the souvenir book that my DAD bought for me. It was really neat to see inside the U505 and I would recommend that everyone to go see it.

[@CaliforniaFly]

Same here but didn't get the book. My parents took me up there when I was about 8. It was 1967 or so. It was my favorite part of the museum.

[@group9622]

Great story, as a WW2 fan found this informative. Being Colombian myself I liked the angle in its history's. Working now in Chicago area for sure a must visit next month.... good work

[@bruceelliott4433]

My Dad (Cecil Stangle) was part of the task force that captured the U-505. He was on the Pillsbury. He greatly admired Captain/Admiral Gallery! What stories he could tell. ~Allyn Stangle Elliott

[@tompatchak8706]

Respect

[@matthodel946]

Amazing.

[@xkm-thebasetecchannel3823]

@@tompatchak8706 For what?

[@tompatchak8706]

@@xkm-thebasetecchannel3823 oh I thought the original poster was the same that was in the quotes

[@brianearnest1077]

My grandfather was part of the task force too. He was on the USS Guadalcanal. I went 3 or 4 of the reunions back in the early 90s.

[@53Snipe]

My family and I visited the museum and U505 after my completion of basic training at RTC Great Lakes. I still remember helping a little kid get his novelty dogtags squared away, and then showing him mine while we were waiting to board the boat. It was a neat experience with my dad, a retired Senior Chief Petty Officer who spent most of his 26 years in the Brown Water Navy.

[@stephenm8100]

I worked at a grocery store in the greater Chicago area back in the 90s. Tourists from Europe would ask about the U-boat in Chicago. At the time a lot of Europeans thought it was an urban legend.

[@nynone4]

Thanks for this great video! The agency I used to work for here in central illinois provided some of the video work for the U505 exhibit. All these years later, it’s still one of my favorite projects to tell people I played a small part of (I did the animated maps in a couple of the videos). Being even a small part of the revamp of the exhibit was a HUGE honor. Also - when leaving the exhibit, the room that houses the elevator for the exit has a video above the elevator doors honoring those that have served in our military. My grandfather, his brother and sister are in that video (the only pic with three WW2 service people in it together. If I remember correctly, the German sailor actually HAD attempted or scuttle the U505 - but in their haste to escape the sinking vessel and get topside, had left the cover for the scuttle valve close by to where the water was gushing in. A boarding party of several brave US sailors entered the sinking U505 - not knowing if they’d meet resistance or booby traps - managed to find the scuttle valve cover (BENEATH the floor grates of a sinking vessel, mind you) and replace it, thereby saving it further sinking. Heroes. They just don’t make brave dudes like that anymore….

[@rich478]

When I was a child, my family lived in Downer's Grove for 2 years (the winter of 78 or 79 convinced them to move) and I loved it when my mom would pack me up and take me to the museum. I still, 43 years later, remember how cool I thought it was. Any time after that that as a kid growing up I would beg my parents to take me to visit Naval ships. I think my other favorite was the Battleship North Carolina. Thanks for the video Ryan. I always look forward to your content.

[@adamemmrich283]

I am a native of North Carolina and went to see the USS North Carolina at about age 6 or 7. It had a big impact on me and got me interested in machinery of all types.

[@ryanjedrzejas]

Another great article. As a Chicagoan, she’s been a part of all of our visits to MSI. I always tell people to take time and watch the pre show video and read the story of the capture. Makes the story of her and the capture of the enigma machine as major importance to the change of the war. It helped get the necessary equipment and men across to Europe to finish off the axis.

[@MegaBait1616]

Ya didn't get shot at ?? Why do the people put up with these gang shootings ?? Be Well n Safe..

[@jordankonkol1242]

Chicago isn't all gangs and shootings.. this is coming from a wisconsinite. Spent the last few weeks in Chicago and unless you are 30+ min out of the city you really don't have to worry about being robbed or anything silly like that. The media truly portrays Chicago very poorly. It's a beautiful city with so many attractions and things to do. Chicago is very underrated.

[@tholtan]

My grandfather brought me to see the Museum of Science and Industry when I was 10 in the late '70s. I was blown away. It was the coolest thing to have happened to me until that time.

[@TurtleDude05]

I've toured that sub a couple times in my life, and it has never failed to amaze me. What a great piece of history.

[@1HotZ28Ohio]

If you're up to traveling, in Cleveland Ohio we have the USS Cod submarine from WW2 docked near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that's open for tours of the sub and there's also a great lakes ore boat open for tours also!

[@TurtleDude05]

@@1HotZ28Ohio Oh nice! I'll be in Ohio in September. So that may well be worth the stop. Thanks. 👍

[@johnfritz1164]

I visited the sub several times in the 70s as part of school field trips. You could look out the periscope towards the parking lot, LSD, and the lake. It was outside in a fenced in area along with a number of the train engines. The steam train engines were fun to climb on because they had a good number of handholds unless it was a sunny day and the metal started getting too hot to touch.

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

Yeah, I recall going through it as a kid in the early 70s. The coolest thing was looking through that periscope and seeing a school bus. That always stuck with me.

[@videomaniac108]

I was born in Chicago in 1951 and was taken to tour the boat by my dad when I was a young boy. It made a lifelong impression on me, where I strove to learn everything I could about submarines.

[@Idahoguy10157]

In Admiral Daniel Gallery’s biography he appeared at post war U-boat officers veterans reunion. Shaming them to admit the commander of the U-505 into their group. The former U-boat commander had been refused membership for allowing the U-505’s capture. I recall visiting the 505 once in 1976

[@alanzaleski7160]

This was very interesting for me. I had built a plastic model of this u-boat when I was a child. Now thanks to you I now know the rest of the story. Thanks.

[@laserbeam1620]

It was always so cool this was outside the museum. Now that it's inside the building it's mind blowing! Walk down a hall and into a room with THIS in it!

[@DAOzz83]

I grew up visiting this boat regularly. It was an interesting change in perspective as I got older… and bigger! When you’re a little kid, the interior doesn’t seem so cramped, but then as a teen, you start to understand what all the fuss is about!

[@nathanmeece9794]

Her equipment may be antiquated by today's standards,but when she was built it was considered state of the art

[@solomongainey838]

Moved from Illinois to N.C. in 1982 but have been to the Museum of Science and Industry quite a few times since, most recently was after they made the U505 exhibit indoors. I went as a kid, a teen and young adult. Now I've taken my children, the exhibit does not disappoint, the guided tour is awesome. The museum as a whole is awesome!

[@jvsmith7888]

I have been lucky enough to have visited the U-505 twice. The first time was as part of a school field trip when I was 14 and the sub was still outside. The next time was 33 years later when I took my family to visit Chicago as tourists. I was not aware that the sub had been moved inside. I was very impressed with the new facility and pleased that the U-505 was now being better preserved. It was a great experience both times.

[@Backroad_Junkie]

I remember walking around the U-505 and the Zephyr (I think it was the Zephyr... the train they show next to the sub when it was outside) all the time when I was a kid. Been through the sub a bunch of times. The surrounding exhibits to the sub were all hands on (it was the Museum of Science and Industry, after all), and amazing for the time. Haven't been there since they enclosed the sub...

[@paulbeck6410]

The train is the Zephyr Tom Sawyer, Engine Joe, Becky Thatcher, etc. It went to Mt Pleasant, IA for a while. I believe its in northern Wisconsin, undergoing a restoration.

[@DAOzz83]

The train is actually the Pioneer Zephyr, as it appeared when it retired (modified headlight, extra coach car, plus smaller details). It was restored to its original condition and placed in its own underground home a few years before the U-505 was.

[@MaketoMake815]

@paulbeck6410 As the other stated, that was the pioneer Zephyr at MSI. Still there today. It was moved indoors around the same time 505 was and had a full external restoration. Just last year, they completed a full interior restoration and you now have access to the whole train inside and out. The one in wisconsin is the Mark Twain Zephyr. They are just putting the finishing touches on it now after a full cosmetic and mechanical restoration. You will be able to ride it sometime this fall I think.

[@BALOYBEACHBUM]

I was stationed at RTC Great Lakes and got to tour the 505, at that time '90's they gave you a radio and ear phones so you could listen in on certain stations on the tour. I Salute you for this OUTSTANDING video!

[@kissfanbilly]

I went and saw this behemoth a couple years ago on a day trip. It was jaw dropping in person to see how well preserved it was. The tour was very detailed and very immersive. This lights to simulate battle, to the smell of the 40s. Beautiful history from a horrible time in our world.

[@vespurrs]

Not from Chicago, but my brother was in grad school there in the late 80s and when my family went to visit him we toured the museum and I got to see and go through the U 505. It was really cool, but I wish now I appreciated the history more. Thanks for filling it in for me!

[@typxxilps]

Rare type IX submarine in still quite a remarkable good condition. In germany is 1 of the type VIIc boats in Laboe near Kiel, a war memorial for those 30000 killed - out of 40.000 submariners in total. It is an iconic war memorial which consists out of the submarine on the shore next to the baltic sea and a huge building that has the shape of a conning tower , but dozen times taller that you can see it from the distance. Every sailor is mentioned in the round memorial in front of the huge building. Finally that type of boat was the boat described in the famous novel DAS BOOT with JOHANN , an austrian machinist, called the GHOST , who was taking care for the DIESEL engine and who had famous scenes most can remember till today. The book was written by a war correspondent who later became a succsessfull writer and entrepreneur who finally founded his own museum for his collection of art which later also covered the war time story and the boat - it is a very nice museum but in the south of germany in Bavaria on a lake called Lothar Günther Buchheim Museum, of cause worth a visit if you are ever in Munich or close to it cause you can reach it even with public transportation from Munich.

[@bobofthedeep]

I have had the great honor of waking through the U-505 and dove one of its sister ships the U-853 in 130' of water to the east of Block Island, RI, a war grave. I have been inside of U-853 on many occasions from end to end....Ryan, I think you should do a video on the U-853!

[@terrallputnam7979]

When I walked through the German U Boat in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, I was a teenager and it was outside in the back yard of the museum. We lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but my older brother was graduating from Great Lakes Naval Training Center Boot Camp. That was over 40 years ago and I still remember walking through it. I couldn't imagine being cooped up in that little tin can with ~70 other poor sailors.

[@jamescherney5874]

Take your children to this museum. Not only does it have the U-505 it has a Stuka dive bomber that was captured in tact. The sub and the related display are the greatest attraction at the museum now.

[@b43xoit]

in ................ tact. What is tact?

[@jamescherney5874]

@@b43xoit sorry I meant intact. Not damaged.

[@GusVIII]

Visited the U-boat for the first time when I was in college. In 2018 I visited the US Navy sub that's on display at Pearl Harbor. US sailors had significantly more room to work with in comparison. The U-505 felt tiny in comparison.

[@3rdFloorblog]

I too visited the museum in the mid-80s during Jr high. The 505 was a special exhibit in my eye. It gave a sense of achievement and hardships of the crew. I remember everything being smaller than imagined.

[@soldieron9965]

I am a fellow Chicagoan, I’ve been inside this U boat , I didn’t know the history of this U boat, I thought the 505 was the sub that was captured in Lake Michigan, thanks for the awesome video!

[@jamesburns2232]

Had the U-505 been captured in Lake Michigan, the logistics of getting it to the Museum of Science and Industry would have been a snap.

[@chucksutphen1031]

I grew up in the city, and the Museum of Science and Industry was one of my favorite places to visit, ever since I can remember. I went in the sub a couple of times. I was also impressed (in the 50s) by how cramped and antiquated everything looked. The last time, I went through there with my younger cousin, and when the guide was finishing the tour lecture, he asked if there were any questions, and my cousing piped up and said, "Yeah! How do you get out of here??"

[@mikepennington8088]

If you can find a copy, I highly recommend the book U 505 which is Dan Gallery's own account of the capture of the boat and the events leading up to it.

[@Dennis-uc2gm]

I made a visit to this sub back in the 90's and hope to see it at least one more time since the upgrade. It's nice to see something this rare being preserved for history so future generations can see something like this for real and not just a picture or video.

[@Carspotter682]

I actually went to the MSI several times with my family and on a field trip when I was a young boy and I actually saw it in person and I actually went inside the German U-boat with my family. I learned a lot about the history of the vessel and throughout WW2. I'll never forget my experience at that submarine at the MSI in Chicago, Illinois.

[@phil4826]

You actually did that?

[@Carspotter682]

@@phil4826 That's correct Phil. I literally did that with my family when I was a young boy.

[@tundramanq]

I visited this sub in the mid 70's while attending my Navy A-schools at GLAKES. The whole display was impressive even thought it was still outside.

[@bobscholp5521]

I remember going to visit this sub in 1978 or 79, anyway it inspired me to join the Navy and go for submarine duty when I graduated in 1985! It sure was a fun visit and I even got lucky in getting to be on one of the last diesel subs in the navy!!

[@RobertHollander]

The Museum of Science and Industry. I lived in the Chicago area when I was a kid and that museum was one of my favorite places to go. I've been on the tour through this submarine many times. It's amazing as to how small, how tight, everything is inside of a submarine. Not only does this great museum feature this U-Boat, it even has a realistic coal mine dug beneath the museum that you can tour. Great place.

[@RoseannJackowiak-zr1fj]

I have wonderful memories of visiting MSI many times over the years with my family. I have seen the U-505 outside the museum. My Dad, brother, nephew, and I went when it became the inside exhibit and have our picture under it..the Boeing 707 is another great experience

[@tryingnot]

I saw this In 1986 I remember how small the Inside was. And watching the movie that showed the history before they would let is tour. There is also a tour that take you into an old mine there.

[@terryfowler6090]

My father, lt jg clifford fowler was in charge of the overhaul of u-505 when they brought her in to new London. He was impressed with her engineering but not the crew accommodations. 10:46

[@nerdgirlelena]

I use to work this exhibit at MSI and it always fascinated me how this was acaccomplished 😊

[@quinnzelreign8775]

MSI has always been my favorite museum and the U-505 my favorite exhibit. I've gone to the museum every year for the past 2 decades. Its such an impressive sight to see with such devastating history. The energy you feel in the exhibit is like nothing else. I highly recommend going to MSI not only to see the U-Boat but all the other exhibits like the Apollo 8, the transportation gallery which has a Stuka divebomber and a boeing 727, and Yesterday's Main Street (recreation of 1910s Chicago).

[@msau9747]

Was just in Chicago on Wednesday. You bet I made a special trip to see the 505 at the Museum of Science and Industry! And the Spitfire, and the Stuka as well.

[@IO-zz2xy]

Thank you for this amazing story. I had the increadable fortune to visit and walk through U505 on my first visit to Chicago in '91. An absolutely awesome experience and amazing museum. Regards from South Africa

[@frankmenchaca9993]

As a 13 year old kid, my friends and I would swim around the U boat while she awaited her trip across Lake Shore Dr. Our efforts to climb aboard and gain entry into the U-505 never materialized. What a story that would been. I'm sure all entry points were welded, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[@e-man8806]

My father and I toured the U505 when I got out of Great Lakes boot camp. It was amazing! It was definitely a history lesson. Three days later I would report to Groton,CT for sub school. Great museum for submarine enthusiasts.

[@MoonDogMoonGod]

I have a direct connection with this story. My grandfather August Bonow was on the U.S.S Jinx during the capture of the U-505. It's been a fixture of conversation in our family since as long as I've been alive. Did an interview essay with him when I was in school. He was also a Chicago Fire Fighter on duty when the trolly fire happened and 70 people lost there life. I have a bunch of pictures of and letters he wrote when he was in the war. Thank you for doing this story. Cheers! A Friend in Chicago MoonDog

[@TheProletariat.]

Such a great display at the museum. I could spend all day just in this area! Have been making the trip from lacrosse area each year over passed few years largely just for this display.

[@johnnicpon5783]

As part of moving the U505 indoors the museum did a refurbishment of it. They found that there was still sea water in the bilge tanks.

[@seanmalloy7249]

Museums don't always go over exhibits with a fine-tooth comb. When the Smithsonian sent the surviving Do335 back to Dornier for restoration, the workmen at the Oberpfaffenhausen facility found that the ejection system still had live explosive bolts.

[@jeffkoldoff1155]

As a kid growing up in the Chicago area back in the 60's and early 70's I can remember many school field trips to the museums downtown and at the Museum of Science and Industry the U-505 was always one of the highlights, that was back when it sat outside.

[@droningharry]

I remember seeing the Sub outside and watching the movie . It was very cool, my first trip to the museum and when we were inner late 20's we took our 3 kids to see the refurbished ship in its new home. It was really amazing to share that with our kids and I was shocked at how cramped the boat actually was. When you're 6 you have no sense of scale, it busted looked big. As an Adult well, noway could O have ever lasted in that thing. They were foolish and crazy for serving on that thing tiny boat. They've taken great care of it all these years and I hope they continue to as well.

[@wetcanoedogs]

i have a half chain link from the 505.bought it at the museum gift shop in the early 1980's the shop lady said all the full links were sold out and mine may have been the last one. being a half it stands up on a book shelf next to my chair.i was younger and hung back on the tour to look at stuff in detail.

[@old-moose]

I remember reading Adm. Gallery's book on the capture of U505 as a teenager 60 years ago.

[@ggnforsakenwolfgaming3521]

This was an awesome place to go! I loved the whole experience. Now learning a little more how it was brought and moved. If you haven't been there.. this is one of the only reasons I would ever go to Chicago.

[@garneauweld1100]

I'm from St. Louis, but first saw this boat as a kid with my grandparents at the museum. (Where I locked my first watch, a Mickey mouse watch, in a locker for safekeeping and then lost the key. It might still be in lost and found after 55 years? I'm going to call and find out.) The ship looks great after years of vandalism. To this day, she is an important study. I thank all those who made the acquisition and preservation possible.

[@Limeysack]

Dude, I've watched just 3 of your videos and already you've become my favorite history channel. I LOVE this 'obscure' but extremely important history that gets neglected from history books and sadly forgotten by the masses. Until now:)

[@robthebank11]

just got to the Chicagoland area for work, and thanks to you being one of the more interesting history youtubers I just found what I'm doing on my next day off

[@StrokerStevens]

I remember traveling up to Chicago in the late 70s as a school boy to visit the Chicago Museum of science and industry. One thing that always stood out to me was U505

[@rooh5825]

I went to this with a friend of mine about 5 years ago, and it was amazing. I was drawn into WWII history during junior high by the Time Life WWII history books, the ones with the photo wraparound on the front, spine, and back. The first one I read was the submarine warfare, I think there were two about the submarines, one was about the atlantic, if I remember correctly that was about the Germans mainly. I also think there was one about the Pacific and that was Americans. My father hates books, but for some reason he was really drawn in by the submarine books. I read every one of the WWII books, they were incredible and started a life long affinity for WW2 history with me. The thoughts ran though my head in Chicago as we walked through the boat... that this was an actually UBoat, that it has been under the water, in combat. It gave me goosebumps.

[@brianciuffini4582]

Thank you for sharing this informative video. My dad and his friend work at this exhibit as a volunteer and have always been a fan of its historical impact and amazing journey. Next time you’re in town, go and visit them and ask him for a tour!

[@mabus42]

I too grew up in the Chicago area and loved going to MOSI with my parents occasionally... The U-505 was always the highlight of that visit.

[@DavidMartin-tp2in]

Visited the museum a few years ago and took the guided tour of the U Boat it was a great learning experience. I truly enjoyed the experience.

[@francisschweitzer8431]

Not a Chicagoian… but I have been aboard that boat… it was 17 years ago this fall. It was the first submarine of any type that I had been on… I was blown away by how small it was in there. This video falls to mention that Hollywood came and took detailed photos and tech notes of that boat for a movie they were making ( all outlines on story boards around the exhibit)

[@michaelfluno]

Wonderful video. I visited it in 1982 with my family, when it was still outside. I can actually still recount walking around in it and parts of the movie. I'd really enjoy getting back up there to see it again.

[@richb.4374]

I've had the pleasure to be aboard the U505 several times in the years I lived in Chicago. I was amazed at how advanced the sub was for her time. I can't imagine what it was like for 50 men to live on that thing for months at a time.

[@flyjarrett]

I’ve visited the sub on numerous occasions, starting in the 80s when I was a kid and the sub was outside. I remember being able to look through the periscope at trees in the distance. I also remember the toll the harsh Midwest winters were taking on the sub as a result of its being outside and rust marks everywhere on the hull. I’m glad they moved it inside where it is protected from the elements so that future generations can learn from it.

[@markmanz8897]

Being from Milwaukee, I’ve been inside that sub - multiple times. Not only did I go there on school field trips, we also went as a family. I’ve only been inside it once, since the sub was brought inside. In many pictures, you can see the Burlington Zephyr parked next to it. Now you need to do some videos of the “odd trains” that ran in and out of Chicago.

[@user-fw9gc1jy5p]

As a 10 yr old I was awed and thrilled to go to the museum. The coal mine and U505 were very memorable. You could never get enough of history. We were able to transcend and enter compartments that had benn blocked off on subsequent trips there. Always take advantage of an opportunity to visit historical sites when available. I have visited numerous naval vessls and carriers and subs offer spectacular insight to how the war was carried out. I appreciate the sacrifice and determination to bring this vessel to the great city of Chicago. I was a dirt sailor- US Navy SEABEES.

[@TheMPScout]

I remember going to it as a kid on field trips, it was still out doors and you could look through the periscope in a fixed position and I could remember thinking as a kid how small and crammed it was for me, thinking how did grown men endure that. I watched that capture film and sitting in a room with torpedoes and other items from the war, thought that was the coolest thing ever back then.

[@lancerbiker5263]

I am an East Coast Canadian who toured the boat 15 years ago. Your video should be looped at the site for those wise enough to pause. Many thanks.

[@williamshaffer9216]

I visited UY-505 for the first time in 1958 and then again in the early 1980s. It was still on display outside, next to the "Pioneer Zephyr" back then. I would love to go back and see it in its new location, but because of my health, this will likely never happen. This was an outstanding video presentation.

[@cracker9302000]

One of the most interesting books I've ever read, or listened to on Audiable, is called Steel Boat Iron Hearts by Hans Goebeler. It is the story of that boat all the way through, as he was on every one of the missions it went on. Lots of first hand accounting of what all happened. He moved to Chicago after the war and visited U505 every day til his passing. He was the person responsible for setting up the reunion of the German sailors and the American sailors that happened every year til the last one passed away. You may have run into him if you went in the 80s. He was the old man telling all sorts of history about it to anyone who cared to listen.

[@Jermster_91]

For those who want to know what it was like for one crewmember to serve on U-505, I highly recommend "Steel Boat Iron Hearts : A U-Boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505" by Hans Goebeler. He served on every patrol that she went on and was the last crewmember to leave the U-Boat prior to her being captured. He later moved to the United States where he gave talks on his former boat.

[@litesaber54yi3]

This exhibit is one of the coolest things I have ever been able to experience and I have gone many times. Amazing

[@Budgettechbro]

I’ve visited this ship as a kid many times and have now taken my children to visit this piece of history.

[@howardmeseroll7609]

I got to do a tour of the U505, when I was a young boy with my family on a Christmas vacation to Chicago. It left an unbelievable make on my soul. Needless to say, I joined the US Submarine Force in 1976 on the 200 anniversary of our nation. What an impact it made ony life.

[@mws3779]

Many years ago my family took a weekend trip to Chicago from Milwaukee in the early 80's and I remember going into the sub.

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Saw the U-boat a couple times in the 90s. I'm amazed at how the men were able to do anything in such a cramped environment (not taking into account that I was seeing it somewhat open and with only a few other people as opposed to a full crew and submerged).

[@johnpettit5703]

My Grandfather lived in Chicago. My Dad & Uncle delighted during our childhood with a tale that the two of them carried U550 across Lake Shore Drive. The story lived on and was passed down to our own kids…

[@royellington2956]

I remember touring this sub when I was stationed at Great Lakes in 1972. I was an outdoor exhibit then...

[@naturelvr123]

I remember as a kid watching the U-505 being pulled from Lake Michigan across Lake Shore Drive to the museum. Also, our sailors actually went into the sub & "plugged" the hole that the Germans opened to sink the sub. :)

[@raystanton238]

You were lucky to see that in person. I wish I could the find the video that actually shows the sub being moved from the beach across Lake Shore Drive to the museum.

[@terriellis5145]

In the middle 70's as a teenage girl my class visited this sub in Chicago when it was out side. An interesting guided tour. Now retired from AF 1992 48th TFW USAFE !!!

[@loucatozzi7656]

I visited it way back in the '80's. I seem to remember that it was outside the actual museum building at the time with covered walks linking the sub's entrance and exit that were cut into the sides of the sub.

[@jeffmackovitch9987]

Thanks for this video. I remember visiting the sub when it was outside and thankful that they moved it inside. BTW… you ever see the movie U-571? Loosely based on the U-505

[@SubVet84]

This boat is the reason I joined the Navy and a Sonar Technician on Submarines. During the summers, I would get a pass to spend countless hours there, memorizing every part of it and imagining how great being a submariner would be. Fortunately, I was able to follow my childhood dream, and the reality far exceeded my imagination!!!

[@tedebear108]

Good day to you. I was in Chicago some years back been visited and went on that submarine. Definitely a cool experience. I am glad they save the history of the U-boat. Thank you for sharing

[@sambonarigo7204]

I work down the street. I love to just to sit and look at the u 505!

[@TheShornak]

I've never been to Chicago or seen a U-Boat in person. However back in 86 I was in San Fransisco and at that time they had a WWII American Fleet Sub there and you can tour it. I am not sure if it's still there. But I will tell you I gained tremendous respect for the sailors that worked on those. Every inch of the interior was used for something. The toilet if you sit on it your legs go out in to the main hallway. I was no doubt very impressed indeed.