We have finished with Phase I of this report, that of the rude behavior of some personnel and the stories told by the tour guides. I wish to restate that the rude behavior did not come from the guides, but from certain people ‘at the top’ in the Museum. The guides tried to do a good job, but apparently were not given the proper training for their job - not accurate historical information, at any rate. We offered to help the Museum, at no charge, with this historical accuracy, but were refused.

Now we move to Phase II, which is the appalling lack of security for the submarine and/or the artifacts connected with it.

The most historic thing about U-505 is the fact that she is the first enemy Man-O-War captured on the high seas by the US Navy since the War of 1812, when HMS PEACOCK was captured in the Straits of Sunda in 1815. And the most historic artifact from this boat was the sea-strainer cover removed by Engineering Officer Hauser and Engineering Maat Hollenried (not by Göbeler). It isn’t so important who removed the cover to scuttle the boat, but that the sea strainer cover was on display in the boat for all to see.

Where is the cover now?

When you tour the submarine in Chicago, you’ll see a sea strainer cover, dutifully chained in place, and a sign that states that this is the sea strainer cover that was removed by the German crew to sink the submarine - but it isn’t. No, it is not. It is a new and remanufactured cover made to look like the original one - that was stolen from the boat some years ago. That’s right, the original one was stolen from U-505 about, if memory serves me correctly, in the middle or late 1990’s, thereabouts.

Who stole this cover? This was not taken by someone on a tour who might have grabbed a knob or a dial from a radio set or a piece of equipment - this cover was secured in place with a steel chain and a heavy lock. This was not taken by someone at random walking through on a tour. In our opinion, whoever stole this piece of history, had plenty of time to saw through the steel chain - or he (or she) had the key to the lock.

We asked the Museum some years ago if they had any leads, because this submarine does not belong just to the Museum - she belongs to all of history. We asked if they took the most basic first steps in this investigation - that of giving key personnel polygraph (lie detector) tests. They did not reply. Are they hiding something? Are they afraid of what a polygraph might reveal?

If this situation with this priceless piece of history bothers you, write to the mayor and let him know he should get involved:

Mayor Richard M. Daley
City Hall
121 No. LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL 60602

More Info (KTB 158)