u-505 submarine - Museum of Science and industry, Chicago

Some images courtesy of the Museum of Science and Industry

The German U-505 submarine at The Museum of Science and Industry is the only one in the United States. It was located by the Allied forces in 1944, the capture of which helped win World War II.

This project aimed to clean the interior overall to conserve all instruments, cabinetry, and periscopes, as well as to restore strength and access to ladders between decks and three of the historic floors,. The project was carefully planned and executed by a team including several LTC conservators, a carpenter, and a metals engineer.  Research was conducted and decisions were made in conjunction with MSI curators both past and present.

The instruments were conserving by removing overpaint, layer by layer, to reveal the appropriate German Kriegsmarine layer below. Post-war damage was repaired, original paint was stabilised, and where lost, matched and replicated.  The periscope tubes, as one of the key areas in the brief, were cleaned and after which the bronze and steel elements of each tube were conserved and protected prior to the installation of Perspex covers to enable viewing once they are lit. Access between decks was improved by structurally repairing ladders, including replicating one timber ladder installed to the top deck from the forward torpedo room. Structural elements conserved included the steel floors and timber decks located in the galley, aft torpedo room, and the conning tower; this work included building subframes where they had been previously removed. The deck storage was conserved and doors that had been damaged post-war were repaired and rehung.

Ultimately the U-505’s interior was returned to a more accurate and stable representation of life aboard the submarine, allowing this important part of history to be studied and explored.