This past weekend I had the opportunity to take an extended tour of the U-505 submarine at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. This was a guided tour of the submarine before the museum officially opened for the day, question and answer session with former US Navy submariners, and an opportunity to tour the aft torpedo room of the submarine, which is seldom open to the public.
I arrived at the museum at about 7:15 AM, the tour started at 8:00 AM. It had started sleeting earlier that morning, and the walk from the train station to the museum was about three blocks. After some coffee we were separated into three groups, with the Navy guys meeting and greeting the groups before we boarded the vessel for the tour.
I have been on the U-505 many times, sometimes there was a guided tour, sometimes there was no guide. Some of the guides have been better than others. My guide this time was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. In addition to having the submariners available for Q&A afterward, this experience made the aft torpedo room available to visitors; this section of the submarine is usually closed off by a grated port.
