1940's WWII Navy Darkroom Restoration

[Tin Can]

I recently became aware of this ghost fleet. https://sometimes-interesting.com/20...f-mallows-bay/

Then contrast that to the captured U-505 which is now enshrined about as safe as can be inside a special basement in Chicago. I have toured this boat when it was rotting above ground.

U-505 was a big deal capture. War changing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-505

U-505 is a German Type IXC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was captured by the U.S. Navy on 4 June 1944.

In her uniquely unlucky career with the Kriegsmarine, she had the distinction of being the "most heavily damaged U-boat to successfully return to port" in World War II (on her fourth patrol) and the only submarine in which a commanding officer took his own life in combat conditions (on her tenth patrol, following six botched patrols).[5]

One of six U-boats that were captured by Allied forces during World War II, U-505 was the first warship captured by U.S. forces on the high seas since the War of 1812. She was captured on 4 June 1944 by United States Navy Task Group 22.3 (TG 22.3). All but one of U-505's crew were rescued by the Navy task group. The submarine was towed to Bermuda in secret and her crew was interned at a US prisoner-of-war camp where they were denied access to International Red Cross visits. The Navy classified the capture as top secret and prevented its discovery by the Germans. Her codebooks, Enigma machine, and other secret materials found on board helped the Allied codebreakers.[6]

Perhaps captured is a better keepsake.

Quite a story also. Germany supplied the refit. "When U-505 was donated to the Museum, she had been sitting neglected at the Portsmouth Navy Yard for nearly ten years; just about every removable part had been stripped from her interior. She was in no condition to serve as an exhibit. Admiral Gallery proposed a possible solution. At his suggestion, Lohr contacted the German manufacturers who had supplied U-505's original components and parts, asking for replacements. As the Admiral reported in his autobiography, Eight Bells and All's Well, to his and the museum's surprise, every company supplied the requested parts without charge. Most included letters that said in effect, "We are sorry that you have our U-boat, but since she's going to be there for many years, we want her to be a credit to German technology."[34] quote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-505

Now it may last a while. https://www.msichicago.org/explore/w...on-board-tour/

[Michael_Fuller]

Interesting, Randy...I believe I saw where our guys actually raced aboard the sinking sub and closed the sea-cocks...which the Germans had opened to scuttle her. Brave act!
Someone should do a piece on three German men...Carl Zeiss, Ernst Abbe, and Otto Schott (optical glass). They, Ernst Leitz and others helped build the German camera industry...which excelled ours...for years. I believe I read that Ernst Abbe came up with the f-stop / shutter speed system & also invented several lens designs still used today.

[bloodhoundbob]

I recently became aware of this ghost fleet. https://sometimes-interesting.com/20...f-mallows-bay/

Then contrast that to the captured U-505 which is now enshrined about as safe as can be inside a special basement in Chicago. I have toured this boat when it was rotting above ground.

U-505 was a big deal capture. War changing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-505

U-505 is a German Type IXC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was captured by the U.S. Navy on 4 June 1944.

In her uniquely unlucky career with the Kriegsmarine, she had the distinction of being the "most heavily damaged U-boat to successfully return to port" in World War II (on her fourth patrol) and the only submarine in which a commanding officer took his own life in combat conditions (on her tenth patrol, following six botched patrols).[5]

One of six U-boats that were captured by Allied forces during World War II, U-505 was the first warship captured by U.S. forces on the high seas since the War of 1812. She was captured on 4 June 1944 by United States Navy Task Group 22.3 (TG 22.3). All but one of U-505's crew were rescued by the Navy task group. The submarine was towed to Bermuda in secret and her crew was interned at a US prisoner-of-war camp where they were denied access to International Red Cross visits. The Navy classified the capture as top secret and prevented its discovery by the Germans. Her codebooks, Enigma machine, and other secret materials found on board helped the Allied codebreakers.[6]

Perhaps captured is a better keepsake.

Quite a story also. Germany supplied the refit. "When U-505 was donated to the Museum, she had been sitting neglected at the Portsmouth Navy Yard for nearly ten years; just about every removable part had been stripped from her interior. She was in no condition to serve as an exhibit. Admiral Gallery proposed a possible solution. At his suggestion, Lohr contacted the German manufacturers who had supplied U-505's original components and parts, asking for replacements. As the Admiral reported in his autobiography, Eight Bells and All's Well, to his and the museum's surprise, every company supplied the requested parts without charge. Most included letters that said in effect, "We are sorry that you have our U-boat, but since she's going to be there for many years, we want her to be a credit to German technology."[34] quote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-505

Now it may last a while. https://www.msichicago.org/explore/w...on-board-tour/

Very cool, Randy! My Dad's brother was on one of the ship's involved, and his family has photos of the U-boat and some of the survivors as they were being rescued. Sorry to say, I have never stopped in up there to see the U-boat, but plan to next time up.

[Humantrick]

Hi Michael. I was fortunate enough to tour the USS Alabama, and the somewhat claustrophobic submarine USS Drum, while working as a college student during the Summer of 1976 at Searcy State Hospital in Mount Vernon, Alabama. The tour was a great experience. Parts of the ship were so realistically presented that I actually said "Hello" to the Captain tipping his hat towards the door of his quarters, before realizing he was a mannequin! Your post brings back memories.

I found this forum while researching the Fairchild Aviation Argon Printer I just bought on the Goodwill Auction site. Haven't received it yet, looking forward to its arrival. Any advice as to how to best operate it, and a source for the argon bulbs if any need replacing, would be much appreciated. Congratulations and best wishes on this impressive restoration project.

[Corran]

I missed this thread from almost 2 years ago.

I have been on the USS Alabama a half-dozen times at least, and walked through the park almost every trip just to see the planes. I drive through Mobile one or two times a year if not more.

Last time I toured the ship was clearly before this happened. I remember a tattered Deardorff sitting in the room with some other random stuff - certainly not a "working darkroom."

Now, I will have to take a look at the website and find more info. Sounds like an excellent photography-centric residency opportunity perhaps. There is much around Mobile Bay to photograph.

[goamules]

Been there, done that. I was the ships intel photographer when I was in the Navy. On a Fast Frigate, we had a cleaning closet with a deep sink converted to my darkroom. The compartment was about 6' X 8'. Very cramped, but you did not have to agitate the trays on a tin can. The ship did the rocking for you.

[Tin Can]

Garrett's thread got me looking

Evidently we HAD 100 frigates in 1991 and now none

But new on the horizon, Future Frigate (FFGX)

I hope we can wait until June 2026...when the first is scheduled to become operational

[Bob Salomon]

Garrett's thread got me looking

Evidently we HAD 100 frigates in 1991 and now none

But new on the horizon, Future Frigate (FFGX)

I hope we can wait until June 2026...when the first is scheduled to become operational

What about the Coast Guard?

[goamules]

Nope, the CG has "cutters". I was on a Knox class FF, there were almost 50 of those, most built in the late 60s early 70s. Great ships.

Frigates were the workhorse of the fleet, along with Destroyers. Frigates were originally called Destroyer Escorts in WWII. We had like 300 back then. Strangely today there are just big warships, and a few Littoral Combat Ships. One of my old shipmates became and officer, then rose through the ranks until he commanded (was captain) on the first one of those. He comes to some of our reunions. I still have some of my negatives of Bear D and F Soviet aircraft that flew over our ship in the West Pacific.

Here's a picture I took from my ship, of another ship (Adams Class Destroyer) during underway refueling, back then. The negs were lost for years, I found them last year.

[Michael_Fuller]

I missed this thread from almost 2 years ago.

I have been on the USS Alabama a half-dozen times at least, and walked through the park almost every trip just to see the planes. I drive through Mobile one or two times a year if not more.

Last time I toured the ship was clearly before this happened. I remember a tattered Deardorff sitting in the room with some other random stuff - certainly not a "working darkroom."

Now, I will have to take a look at the website and find more info. Sounds like an excellent photography-centric residency opportunity perhaps. There is much around Mobile Bay to photograph.