SUBMARINEMUSEUMS.ORG Forum
Individual Submarine Boards => U-505 (German) => Topic started by: Lance Dean on August 15, 2008, 09:38:44 AM
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This submarine...er U-boat is amazing. It's the only U-boat in the USA and the fact that it's INDOORS! This is a must see for me someday.
Unfortunately, they don't allow cameras inside of the boat. There are some photos out there, but legally I suppose there shouldn't be. I'm attaching an exterior shot in case you've never looked at this amazing thing.
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It IS amazing! I was there within a month of the new exhibit opening and it was fantastic. My son, then 10, loved the hands-on, interactive exhibits that surround it, dealing with everything from using a periscope and codebreaking to buoyancy. And of course, seeing a 252-foot-long submarine indoors.
I gave tours on the U-505 in the late 1970s and early 1980s and thought the changes to the tour to stress the drama of the capture was excellent. It's not just about how the thing works but how the men lived and nearly died.
The U-505 is a must-see for any sub fan.
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Lance,
My uncle took me to see the U-505 back in the day when it was still outside. I loved the look and feel. My uncle, however, found out he was claustrophobic and had to leave. This boat and seeing Run Silent, Run Deep and Operation Petticoat made me want to be a submariner.
Bill
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Why the restriction of pictures inside the boat? Nothing can be top secret now and if they are only trying to preserve the colors - then no flash allowed. With today's digitals you can take pictures anywhere without harming delicate colors.
I got to see this one...
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Only thing I can figure about the no photos inside is that they want more people to visit and not just see it online.
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Pictures never stopped me from going to see myself...duh!
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Only thing I can figure about the no photos inside is that they want more people to visit and not just see it online.
Being there is not the same as looking at photos of the U-505. You get a sense of feeling the energy and "personality" left behind.
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Two general reasons most museums prohibit photography of exhibits like this:
1. They don't want to clog the visitor flow that SOME numbskulls with cameras would create (think some dumbass with a TRIPOD who had to make 200 exposures per compartment... seen it on COD a few times -- only bitched about the tripod, we don't have the numbers U-505 would have).
2. They want to sell DVDs, picture/tour books of the display themselves and don't want some hacker to do a crappy job themselves and publish it later. Can't blame anyone for wanting to protect their "restoration" work.
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Are there any other submarine museums that prohibit photography inside the boat? There were signs saying photography was prohibited aboard Cobia up in Manitowoc, but the tour guide specifically announced that photography was permitted.
-FER
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Are there any other submarine museums that prohibit photography inside the boat? There were signs saying photography was prohibited aboard Cobia up in Manitowoc, but the tour guide specifically announced that photography was permitted.
-FER
I got to visit the USS Dolphin and the Russian boat B-39 in San Diego. You were allowed to take as many pictures as you wanted. One drawback was that there were no mentors available to ask questions and there were minimal signs explaining what you were looking at. The only thing that hampered me with the picture taking was the people behind me wanting to move along.
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I don't know of any others that prohibit photo taking. I found this out when I worked on the museum submarine presentation for the USSVI convention last year. It was hard to get photos of the U-505.
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I found an eight-minute video of a tour aboard U-505 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlf8PbFHYjs).
I am hoping to visit U-505 myself in the next few days. I've never been inside this one though I've seen it up close both in its present indoor setting and years ago when it was outside.
There are loads of good sub videos on youtube.com for example this nifty advertisement for the Scorpene class (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg_PBGrc-DE). Makes me want one... heck, I'll buy two.
-FER
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I don't understand the "no photography" rule. It's not like it's an old, wool civil war uniform that will deteriorate from flashes and bright lights. I think letting people take pictures is good and free PR. Makes others want to see the exhibit themselves. Pictures are never a replacement for actually being there... and working and sleeping on one is even more fun than visiting. :)
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What's really amazing is that we'll spend this much time and money on a German boat we captured (not even ours) to bring it to the standards it is, and barely any on our own. :idiot2:
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Agreed. Our boats and ships are rotting away before our very eyes, yet we cherish one of Hitler's war machines enough to give it its own bunker. Nice. :idiot2:
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Sorry guys, but the reason a former enemy submarine is restored and in its own "bunker" surrounded by awesome interactive exhibits is because the Museum of Science & Industry had the vision and financial wherewithal and elbow grease to raise the $35 million needed to do this.
How many other museum submarines have these skills? Few. How many have endowments? How many have an organization that would attract such donations?
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What's really amazing is that we'll spend this much time and money on a German boat we captured (not even ours) to bring it to the standards it is, and barely any on our own. :idiot2:
It's FAR more rare than our fleetboats on display.
Sometimes, that supply and demand thing bites you in the butt.
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it's not the rarity its the absurdity. Fleet boats are US science and history. Ours rust into oblivion with incorrect parts and fake this and that. The U-boat is completely restored with new parts the Germans donated. It will be encased and preserved and ours will be barnacle or rust encrusted. That's just wrong. They could have put a fleet boat in there.
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Again, a fleet boat museum sub will be barnacle and rust encrusted only as long as its management is satisfied with its condition and not motivated to raise money for its preservation and improvement.
And the reason the U-505 is where it is, is because the Navy Captain to planned its capture is from Chicago and helped raise money to get it there nearly 60 years ago.
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it's not the rarity its the absurdity. Fleet boats are US science and history. Ours rust into oblivion with incorrect parts and fake this and that. The U-boat is completely restored with new parts the Germans donated. It will be encased and preserved and ours will be barnacle or rust encrusted. That's just wrong. They could have put a fleet boat in there.
It is the large number of fleetboats that makes them less valuable. Something that is everybody's responsibility is no one's responsibility. There's one U-505 in one museum and if that one isn't preserved, it's gone. CLAMAGORE is scrapped? No problemmo - plenty more subs like that.
Yes, that's the attitude. I don't agree with it, but it's a natural response.
I live in hope that the sub force museum in Groton will get CUTLASS back from Taiwan.
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I respectfully disagree. The large number of fleet boats doesn't drive away donations and support. How many donations and support a museum sub gets is ENTIRELY dependent on its MANAGEMENT. How well do they run things to make their ship attractive to potential donors? How aggressively do they go out into the community soliciting donations? One fleet boat is hours away from another so its not like any are competing for donations in the same region.
The U-505 is where she is and displayed the way she is because the Museum of Science & Industry is a known, respected quantity in its region if not the country. Its board members are aggressive in generating support, especially among large corporations and foundations. Any fleet sub museum can do the same but it takes time, clean financial books and a lot of handshakes.
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I've toured the U-505 many times years ago before it was moved inside the new facility. I will try to get over there again to see it again and what has changed.