Monday, February 27, 2006

A uniquely immersive experience!

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Carnagie Science

USS Requin will open only on Saturdays and Sundays through February 26, 2006. The submarine will resume its daily schedule beginning Wednesday, March 1, 2006.

Thank you for your patience during Requin's yearly winter maintenance period.

Come aboard to learn how 80 men used their expertise, humor and sheer ingenuity to carve out a rough and adventurous life during Requin's lengthy defense and scientific missions, some of which are still classified to this day! State-of-the-art and battle ready when she set out just days before the end of World War II, the USS Requin holds the distinction of being the Navy's first Radar Picket Submarine.

Carnegie Science Center is recreating life aboard Requin in exacting detail in order to better present how the submarine would have looked onboard during her time of service and place her technology in a social and historic context. When you climb down into the Requin, you'll experience...

  1. How the crew ate (they were very partial to a certain brand of peanut butter)
  2. How crewmen dealt with serious business of breathing and generating electriciy
  3. How the ship made drinking water
  4. How technological advances are making submarines larger, faster and more reliable
The USS Requin played a part in the cat-and-mouse games played out in silence well beneath the ocean's surface. While the Nautilus (the first nuclear Submarine) and Sputnik were on the drawing boards, Requin, code name Rocket Wolf, was being deployed on classified scientific missions in the Arctic, Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific. Read on to learn more of her missions...

Please note: USS Requin requires full physical mobility. A virtual tour is available in the main lobby for those visitors unable to navigate the ship. The Requin is moored on the Ohio River at Carnegie Science Center. It may close without notice due to weather or river conditions.


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Thursday, February 23, 2006

Film tells of Soviet crew's heroism

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The Republican
February 23, 2006




Although the personality of his real skipper was quite different from what was portrayed in the 2002 movie "K-19: The Widowmaker," Vladimir Pogorelov believes that Harrison Ford fits the part of Soviet Capt. Alexei Vostrikov perfectly.

"K-19: The Widowmaker" - pretty much the only Hollywood movie asking its audience to root for the Soviets - is based on a true story of the first Russian ballistic missile-equipped nuclear submarine that was badly damaged by a radiation leak during a war game in the Norwegian Sea, some 100 miles away from the NATO base, 45 years ago.

Pogorelov, now a 75-year-old retired captain second rank living in Kiev, Ukraine, was a member of the crew that contained the deadly emergency, which could have caused a nuclear contamination many times worse than the Chernobyl disaster and perhaps triggered a new world war.

"There are many details (in the movie) that are inaccurate or even wrong, and Nikolay Zateyev (the actual K-19 commander, who died in 1998) was a different person (from the movie character), but somehow Ford manages to convince even me," Pogorelov says.

It's clear even over the phone that the subject still evokes a lot of emotions in him.

The audience, critics and the K-19 survivors gave the movie a mixed reception.

Pogorelov, one of those crewmen who met with Harrison Ford, co-star Liam Neeson, and the film's director Kathryn Bigelow to tell their story, was very pleased with the result.

"Despite all the errors, they did a great job. They told our story, which was officially suppressed for decades."

There is no character in the movie named Pogorelov, but there is Gorelov, who "does things that I didn't do," Pogorelov said.

"But still, you can say there is some part of me in this."

Nine of the crewmen who worked in the reactor area facing the lethal radioactive cloud died within days. A dozen more died within a couple of years. The rest suffered varying degrees of radiation-related illness.

Out of the 139-man crew, 56 are still alive.

Pogorelov, then captain-lieutenant, the assistant to the chief engineering officer, remained on board the boat when half of the crew was evacuated. By that moment, he had replaced his chief who had supervised the men but had gone into Compartment 6 on a suicide mission to cool the reactor.

"I abandoned the boat just before the captain."

Most of the men were never honored by their country.

Anatoliy Titarchuk, the former K-19's petty officer 1st class, turbine operator, and now a professor at the Cherkasy State Technological University, Ukraine, said a timepiece received from the commander of the Russian Northern shortly after the accident is the only token of appreciation that he has.

"I don't complain," says Titarchuk.

Pogorelov was among the few recommended for the Order of Lenin, the highest national order of the Soviet Union. He was, however, eventually given the Order of the Red Star, a lesser award.

"The country's leaders just wanted to bury all the information on what had happened there. And somebody said that the Order of Lenin was too much to give for the accident. But they awarded us by the same decree as German Titov," who was the second human in space, Pogorelov said.

Both Pogorelov and Titarchuk are planning to attend a crew reunion in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 4, the anniversary of the accident.

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev proposed earlier this month to nominate the crew of K-19 for a Nobel Peace Prize.

"All those who were on board K-19 that morning and did their job deserve to be regarded by mankind as people who did their utmost to save peace on earth. Awarding a Nobel Peace Prize to the crew of the K-19 submarine would come as a fitting tribute to their exploit, the importance of which only grows with the passage of time ... (and would become) a worthy symbol marking the irreversible end of the Cold War," Gorbachev wrote in his request to the Nobel Committee.


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Tuesday, February 21, 2006

U-505 Facilitator

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1-800-Volunteer.org

Museum of Science and Industry
The newly displayed artifacts from the US captured German submarine U-505 will be brought to life by a volunteer who is interested in World War II naval history. Help our guests understand this historic story through a hands-on experience.

Login to see details. Click here.


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Monday, February 20, 2006

Dutch Submarines Stranded In Lumut To Be Sold As Scraps

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Bernama.com
February 19, 2006



Zwaardvis and Tijgerhaai side by side in Lumut (Malaysia), Dec 2000.
(Photo: © RDM Submarines).

KUALA LUMPUR -- Tijgerhaai and Zwaardis, both Dutch submarines, that was once offered for sale to Malaysia will end up in the scrapyard.

The diesel-powered submarines were stranded in Lumut for the last five years.

PSC Naval Dockyard's Submarine Department Head Muhammad Razalina said the submarines could no longer move unless major repairs are done on the engines.

"A tender to dismantle the submarines will be called by the Dutch government soon. We will get the tender as they are in Lumut," he told Bernama.

The owner of the submarines, Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM), had accumulated debts as it had to pay PSC for the safekeeping service and the rental of the wharf for the last five years, he said.

The debt had been settled by the Dutch government, he said.

Tijgerhaai and Zwaardis came to Lumut five years ago after RDM enlisted PSC as its partner in a bid to sell them to Malaysia for training purpose.

The same tactic was done by German Naval Group (GNG) who collaborated with PSC to win a tender to build 27 patrol vessels. The tactic was successful as the tie-up provided GNG the upperhand over its competitor from Australia.

Many were convinced that RDM would secure the contract as the submarines were already in Malaysia.

Many also thought that the vessels in fact had been purchased by the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Among RDM's competitors in the submarine project were Kockums whose submarines are used by Singapore, DCN International and another German company that offered Type 209 submarines.

DCN International won the bid. It is now building two diesel-powered Scorpene submarines and an Agosta-class submarine for training.

When RDM lost the bid, Tijgerhaai dan Zwaardis were stranded. The bills to safekeep the vessels and to allow them to stay in Lumut have accumulated into millions of American dollars.

According to the Dutch press, the Dutch government was concerned that the submarines could be seized by the Malaysian authorities because RDM owed a big sum to PSC.

They were also worried if their technology used in the submarines were to slip into the hands of a foreign party.

RDM could not do anything because of its weak financial position.

Not only Malaysia that had refused to buy, Egypt and Indonesia also declined the 40-year-old submarines.

Finally, the Dutch government intervened and forked out its own money to pay RDM's debts and the cost of dismantling the submarines that is expected to be carried out in Lumut this year.


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Sunday, February 19, 2006

Underwater fascination at arts center

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The daily News Journal
By Cindy Watts
February 16, 2006


This time of year, Murfreesboro CPA Jon D. Jaques is usually up to his neck in W2s.

However, this tax season Jaques made time to dive into one of his favorite pastimes — submarines.

An avid collector of submarine memorabilia, Jaques loaned approximately 50 percent of his massive collection to the Murfreesboro/Rutherford County Center for the Arts in February for its "Dive!Dive!Dive!" exhibit.

"Including photographs, I probably have about 4,000 different things," says Jaques. "I've been collecting submarine memorabilia for 20 years."

Jaques' fascination with submarines started as a child on a trip to Chicago's Science and Industry Museum.

"They had a German U-boat U505 and I didn't even go into the rest of the museum," he recalls. "I just kept taking the same tour of the U-boat."

As an adult, he volunteered for submarine service with the U.S. Navy.

"I spent seven tours on submarine Ohio," he says. "Each tour would be 2 1/2 months, and you would go out and stay submerged until the end of patrol."

Jaques recalls his first deployment in the submarine as terrifying, but says his fear didn't quell his fascination.

"You get into deep water and you start hearing all the metal moan and groan," he recalls. "It's a scary thing. After 30 days you start getting stir crazy. I mean, imagine taking this room and painting all the walls black with no air conditioning. We just recirculated used air and there was all kinds of machinery running, so it created a lot of heat. There was a lot more mental preparation than I was expecting, and after the first month there's no fresh food."

Jaques started his collection while he was still in the Navy, but didn't really start accumulating material until he became a serious student of submarine history after his discharge.

Today, more than 20 years after Jaques was initially submerged, he still wants to share the enchantments of submarines with anyone who has the desire to learn.

"What I want to do eventually is have a small submarine museum," says Jaques. "I want to do that as a retirement project."
"Dive!Dive!Dive!" an exhibit featuring a collection of Jon Jaques submarine memorabilia, is at the Murfreesboro/Rutherford County Center for the Arts, 110 W. College St., through the end of February.
Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 904-2787.


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Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Book explores life beneath the seas

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Navy News




The rich history of Australian Navy submarines has been documented in a new
publication by Jon Davison and Tom Allibone.

The coffee table book, Beneath Southern Seas, was recently launched at HMAS Stirling.

It is the culmination of two years of hard work by the authors in cooperation with the SMFEG.

It documents the history of submarines since the commissioning of AE1 and AE2, up until today’s Collins Class Submarines.

Beneath Southern Seas was the initiative of the then Commander Australian Navy Submarine Group (CANSG), Commodore Michael Deeks, RAN, and Jon Davison who met two years ago and agreed on the plan for the project.

During the last two years, Jon and Tom sea rode onboard HMAS Rankin between Sydney and HMAS Stirling, experiencing the life of a submariner.

Commodore Richard Shalders, CSC, RAN, CANSG, along with SMFEG members and the families joined Jon and Tom onboard HMAS Rankin on December 16.

“Beneath Southern Seas is a unique publication and a rare opportunity to see and read about life aboard RAN submarines,” CDRE Shalders said.

“I am very pleased with the final product, it is a credit to the hard work of Jon Davison and Tom Allibone.”


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Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Bestselling Author Patricia Cornwell to Help Solve Hunley Mystery

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BizYahoo
February 13, 2006


WHEN: Thursday, February 16th at 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: Hunley Lab at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, Charleston, SC

WHAT: The Hunley Project is announcing a new collaboration with #1
best-selling author Patricia Cornwell. With over 20 published
books, Cornwell is a pioneer in forensic crime fiction and is also
the author of the #1 New York Times non-fiction bestseller,
PORTRAIT OF A KILLER: Jack the Ripper -- Case Closed. During a
recent visit to the Hunley lab, the author became fascinated by
the story of the submarine and its mysterious disappearance.

WHO: Best-selling author, Patricia Cornwell; Maria Jacobsen, Hunley
Senior Archaeologist; and Dr. Jamie Downs, Chief Medical Examiner
for the State of Georgia will be available for interviews.

Friends of the Hunley
On the evening of February 17, 1864, the H. L. Hunley became the world's first successful combat submarine by sinking the USS Housatonic. After signaling to shore that the mission had been accomplished, the submarine and her crew of eight vanished. Lost at sea for over a century, the Hunley was located in 1995 by Clive Cussler's National Underwater Agency (NUMA). The hand-cranked vessel was raised in 2000 and delivered to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, where an international team of scientists are at work conserving the vessel and piecing together clues to solve the mystery of her disappearance. This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service.


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Monday, February 13, 2006

CREW CATCH LIVE TORPEDO

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Daily Record
February 10, 2006


FISHERMEN netted a deadly catch off the Fife coast - a WWII torpedo.

The missile got caught in the net of the unnamed craft as it trawled off Pittenweem on Wednesday.

The crew then had the perilous task of dragging it a few miles to safety before placing it on to the seabed near the Isle of May.

Underwater explosive experts from HM Naval Base Clyde blew it up yesterday morning.


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Sunday, February 12, 2006

Leave U-boat where it is, sailor’s sister says

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The Chronicle Herald
By Chris Lambie
February 12, 2006


Halifax woman who lost her older brother to a U-boat attack wants to sink a proposal to raise a Second World War German submarine lying on the ocean floor off Chebucto Head.

Gloria Brown’s brother, Roy Gillespie, was a 22-year-old sailor on Montrolite, a Canadian Imperial Oil tanker sunk by a German U-boat off Bermuda in 1942 as it was heading north to Halifax with a cargo of diesel fuel from Venezuela.

"He was one of the lucky ones to be picked up," Mrs. Brown said Thursday.

"Unfortunately, that ship was torpedoed, too. So he was lost completely. We never heard another word, just that he was lost at sea."

An Alberta marine archeologist plans to hunt this spring for U-190, a German sub the Canadian navy sank for target practice just off Halifax Harbour in 1947. A local amateur historian wants the sub salvaged and put on display at a Halifax waterfront museum.

"Leave it where it is," said Mrs. Brown, now 82.

"I wouldn’t want that brought up for anything. There’s no reason for it to be brought up, as far as I’m concerned."

Her husband, Walter (Buster) Brown, has reasons of his own for opposing the raising of U-190. He spent most of the war as a sergeant on a troop ship that ferried soldiers from Halifax to the battlefields of Europe.

"I was only hit once," said Mr. Brown, adding his ship struck a mine that had been laid by a U-boat.

"It blew us out of the water and did some damage, but we limped into Scotland and got patched up. I think the Lord was with me that I survived the Battle of the Atlantic. But there were an awful lot of lives lost."

Sailors and soldiers were terrified of U-boats, he said.

"You were on edge all the time. It was an awful feeling."

Mr. Brown, 84, also wants U-190 to remain on the sea floor.

"It’s a nerve-racking thought to me to have something like that raised to the surface. Leave it on the bottom where it belongs," he said.

"Why bring back old memories of something like a U-boat? If they could bring back all those ships the U-boats sank in the Atlantic during the Second World War, it would be nice. But why bring back something like that? Look at the sorrow and heartache it would bring to other people."

New Democrat MLA Bill Estabrooks (Timberlea-Prospect) has fielded lots of complaints about the proposal to raise U-190.

"That sub should be left exactly where it is," Mr. Estabrooks said. "Those sort of U-boats have put enough of our men in their graves down under that water. To even give the recognition to float it is just an insult to those many veterans who lost their lives."

Local U-boat enthusiast Wayne Cookson believes U-190 should be brought to the surface.

"As terrible as that time period was, history is history," Mr. Cookson said.

"If you try to hide and bury history, all of a sudden it will repeat itself."

U-190 is infamous for sinking the last Canadian warship lost in the Second World War. It fired the torpedo that sank HMCS Esquimalt off Halifax. Of the minesweeper’s 70-man crew, 44 sailors died in the frigid water on April 16, 1945.

The sub surrendered to Canadian warships nearly a month later. The navy used it for training for two years before sinking it near Esquimalt’s wreck at the approaches to Halifax Harbour.

Local history enthusiast David Brown has proposed U-190 be raised and displayed at a $200-million project that the Waterfront Development Corp. and the Armour Group want to build on the Halifax waterfront. Queen’s Landing is slated to hold a three-storey naval museum with the corvette HMCS Sackville as its centrepiece.

The idea of raising a U-boat and displaying it at Queen’s Landing alongside its former Canadian foe is "intriguing," said Scott McCrea, president of the Armour Group Ltd.

"I don’t think it takes a great leap to see that there’s a thematic alignment," Mr. McCrea said.

But the price tag on such a project would likely be daunting.

"Really, we’re far from a point of determining whether this could or should be a part of (Queen’s Landing)," Mr. McCrea said.

One scientist argues it would be "foolish" to try raising the sub.

The millions of dollars it would take to get U-190 to the surface "would pale into insignificance compared to the costs of stabilizing the steel after 60 years in sea water," said Trevor Kenchington, a marine biologist based in Musquodoboit Harbour.

The wreck would decay rapidly into rust if it were brought into contact with air, he said.

"The outer casing . . . is made of thin steel and typically does not survive well," Mr. Kenchington said.

"The interior, which would be the major attraction for visitors, was once a mass of piping and wiring, all made of a variety of metals. Immerse those in sea water and electrolytic corrosion would be rapid. Whether anything remains that might be recognizable must be doubtful."


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Friday, February 10, 2006

Submarine in the Desert

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Kbcitv.com
By Paul Fredericks
February 9, 2006

The "Devil Boat" USS Hawkbill (SSN 666).

Arco - Like many little Idaho towns, Arco's hay-day may have come and gone. But, there is something different about that tiny city.

You look on any map, and Arco seems isolated and stuck in the middle of Idaho's high desert.

Well, if you ever set sail for the small community, you can't what's sticking out in the middle of town.

"It's a good drawing card," says Richard Dean. "People stop and they look it over. Inevitably, they'll come up and touch it."

Dean is among a group of locals who helped create something unique in Arco.

"There's a little under 70 tons sitting there," he says. "If I remember right, it's 22 feet up to there."

Yeah, standing tall is a nuclear submarine sticking out a park in town. Well, actually, it's just a sub's sail -- the top part of the vessel -- that's been put on display there.

"And that's where they go in and out when she's out at sea," says Dean.

"We just paid one buck for it, and that was it."

Dean says for one dollar, the group purchased the sail from the Navy.

"It is leased to Arco for a hundred years," he says. "This actually belongs to the Navy yet. And every year we have to send a report in to the Navy on the condition of it."

"Submarine in the desert," says Clay Condit. "Yeah, an oxymoron if you ever had one."

Condit says Arco erected the sail in 2003.

"It was a very successful boat," Condit says. "Had a great history."

The sail came off of a real sub that was called the Hawkbill.

"They mapped the Arctic Ocean with this thing," says Condit.

That's true. The Hawkbill often set sail in the water's underneath the polar ice cap.

"That was during a period when there was still a cold war on, and the Russians were putting a lot of boats in the Arctic."

"And we had teams of scientists up on the surface, and it would ram its way up through (the ice)," says Condit. "17 times they went through the polar ice."

The sub was inactivated by the Navy in 1999.

And what may stick out the most on the sub sail -- is its number.

"Yeah, and this just happened to be the 666th," Condit says. "This was the number that was given."

666 is clearly marked on both sides of the sail. 666 is sort of the sub's serial number. And it led to its nickname.

"It was called 'The Devil Boat."

The Devil Boat -- because 666 is in the Book of Revelations in the Bible. And that's created mixed reaction in conservative Arco.

"Some of them didn't like it," Dean says about some Arco residents. "And some of them still don't like it."

"And we came back one day, and some guy climbed up there and changed that into G-O-D for God," Condit says with a chuckle. "And we had to go re-paint it."

For the most part, the community has come to accept the Devil Boat.

"I think people should stop and see it, and pay respect to the people that manned them," Dean says.

But really, it's dripping with nostalgia in more ways than one. Because it's more than a tribute to its sailors.

"And so, we went to the navy and said 'Hey, we've had a great history back here," says Condit. "So, they contributed the sail of the Hawkbill."

Condit says the sail is really a way to honor all the nuclear research that's been conducted for decades at the nearby Idaho National Laboratory. Among the work there, research and developments of nuclear submarines.

"And they've done some really extraordinary work there," Condit say. "This was some of the most non-weapons related nuclear work that was ever done in the country."

And after all, Arco also was the first city in the world lit by atomic power.

"This is a tribute to that effort," says Condit.

"Ties in with the history that isn't really visible until you think about it."

And he hopes people will take time to stop to think and remember that history.

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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Owner of historic U-boat in vital talks

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icLiverpool
By Kate Mansey
February 06, 2006





REPRESENTATIVES of the owners one of the last surviving German U-boats arrived in Wirral last night to discuss its future as a campaign mounts to keep it in Merseyside.

The fate of U534 remains uncertain along with that of dozens of priceless artifacts, after the Historic Warships exhibition at Birkenhead museum closed to the public yesterday.

The World War II submarine, owned by Danish company Ben Bla Avis, is one of the most prized pieces in the collection, the largest group of preserved 20th Century warships in Europe.

Owners, workers and trustees of the museum have vowed to continue the battle to keep the ships in Merseyside after the Trust which ran it announced it is going into liquidation.

Campaigners are expected to ask councillors if they will agree to mothball exhibits and keep them in storage until an alternative site is found, at a key meeting on Thursday.

The U534 was one of the last U-boats sunk by the Allies in 1945 and was raised from the sea bed 48 years later.

Among the other vessels being fought for by the new group, Save Our Ships, are two Falklands conflict veterans - the frigate HMS Plymouth and submarine HMS Onyx.

However, it is thought that only a wealthy benefactor will be able to rescue the project.

Sir Philip Goodhart, chairman and founder of the museum, yesterday welcomed representatives of the owners of the U534, private collectors from Denmark, to discuss the submarine's future.

He said: "It is a sad day to see Historic Warships close.

"Hundreds of people have turned out to go through our collection and I very much hope that in a new form the collection can be reopened.

"I would like to see the ships stay in Merseyside.

"It is a collection of great national importance and a historic place."

Sir Philip added: "To a considerable extent, the future of the collection depends on what comes out of the discussions this week."

The collection of 20th century ships was closed to the public at 4pm yesterday.

Around 11 members of staff have been made redundant.

Colin Butt, deputy manager of Historic Warships At Birkenhead, said many employees had worked at the museum for the 12 years since it opened. Speaking yesterday, he said: "It is absolutely devastating.

"All the staff here have worked hard for many years. Today we have been inundated with visitors pouring through the door.

"Everyone has been working flat out to make sure as many people as possible can see the ships for one last time."

The collection of warships has been in trouble over plans to move the museum to make way for the conversion of a nearby corn warehouse to be converted into luxury flats.

If the campaign is unsuccessful the collection will be forced into liquidation.


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Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Expert: Raising U-boat pricey

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The Chronicle Herald
By Chris Lambie
February 06, 2006



Phillip Wood, second from right, stands on the German
submarine U-190 after it surrendered in 1945. Two years
later, the sub was sunk by the Canadian navy off Chebucto
Head, near where the HMCS Esquimalt lies after it was sunk
by the German U-boat.


German sub sunk two years after sinking final Canadian warship in 1945

The cost of raising a German U-boat sunk off Chebucto Head would probably be prohibitive, says a former submariner who once probed the possibility.

A marine archeologist announced last week that he plans to start hunting for U-190 this spring. A local historian has suggested the German sub, sunk by the Canadian navy in 1947, be salvaged for a museum display. That idea was examined three decades ago by a group of experts who eventually abandoned the scheme.

"We went into the details of how she could be raised because she was quite deep," said Phillip Wood, who took command of U-190 after it surrendered to Canadian warships off Newfoundland.

"We contacted a Dutch salvage company that had the heavy-lifting gear. . . . They came up with figures which indicated it would cost millions and millions of dollars."

On April 16, 1945, U-190 sank the last Canadian warship lost in the Second World War. It torpedoed HMCS Esquimalt nine kilometres off Halifax. Forty-four of the minesweeper’s 70-man crew died of exposure. The sub surrendered a month later, and the navy used it for training for two years before sinking it near Esquimalt’s wreck.

"She was sunk as target practice," said Mr. Wood. "She was shelled, she might have been bombed and might have been depth-charged. But altogether, considering the position and the condition she might be in, it was thought that there’s no way that this could be raised satisfactorily or even restored as a museum piece. So we dropped the idea."

Several warships and aircraft fired at the sub on Oct. 21, 1947, said Frank Robertson, who was an able seaman on HMCS New Liskeard when the minesweeper helped send U-190 to the bottom.

But many of the shots fired over the course of about 10 minutes "missed her altogether," he said.

"I would think she would be in pretty good condition," he said. "The bulk of her would be in good shape."

To this day, Mr. Robertson can’t fathom why the navy sank U-190 instead of putting her in a museum.

"The crew aboard our ship was disappointed," he said. "I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they bring her to the surface."

In 1993, a German U-boat sunk on the last day of the Second World War was pulled off the bottom of the Kattegat Sea, between Denmark and Sweden. The project to haul U-534 up from under 67 metres of water cost a Danish newspaper publisher $3.6 million.

It’s "completely premature" to get into how much money it would take to put U-190 on display, said Dan Conlin, curator of marine history at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

"Nobody has any idea what shape the hull is in, and that’s where your costs begin," Mr. Conlin said.

"Add to that the cost of raising it and the long-term conservation costs. It would be a huge bill. But right now, we just have no idea what that would be."

The potential value as an attraction would be quite high because there are only four U-boats on display around the world.

"We’ve had over 23 million people in the boat since 1954," said Keith Gill, former curator of the U-505 exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.

About 300,000 visitors walk through the U-boat every year, Mr. Gill said.

"It was always envisioned that it would be a very big draw and it always has been," he said.

"There’s always a fascination with submarine life, and German submarines tend to grab more attention than any others."

Setting up the U-boat in its own dedicated building at the Chicago museum cost $35 million US.

"For us it was a gigantic commitment and probably the biggest single exhibit cost that we’ll have for many, many, many years," Mr. Gill said. "But there was no question about whether it was important to do. And if we were going to do it, we wanted to do it right."

Monday, February 06, 2006

Clemson takes over Hunley lab

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The State
By James T. Hammond
February 03, 2006


Preserving Civil War submarine may set stage for Lowcountry campus
Clemson University trustees Thursday accepted the laboratory that is preserving the Confederate submarine Hunley, along with 82 acres of land, a drydock and a wharf in North Charleston.

The agreement with the city of North Charleston and the private, nonprofit group Friends of the Hunley sets the stage for Clemson University to receive $10.3 million in state funds to begin its “Restoration Institute,” a plan to create a satellite Clemson campus in the Lowcountry.

Under the agreement, Clemson will be required to finish the Hunley’s preservation and deliver it to a museum to be built in the region. Failure to meet the milestones in the agreement could cause the property to revert to the city.

Senate President pro tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, has been the legislative patron of the Hunley preservation since the vessel was discovered on the seabed near Charleston.

The Hunley’s preservation has been funded by state and federal taxpayer funds, as well as private funds raised by the Friends of the Hunley. A complete accounting of the funds spent on the preservation remains to be done.

The pioneering Confederate submarine Hunley sank in 1864 after torpedoing a Union ship in Charleston harbor. The 40-foot, hand-cranked Hunley was lost for more than a century after it became the first submarine to sink a ship in warfare. It was discovered and raised off Charleston in August 2000.

Clemson plans to create the Clemson University Restoration Institute, comprising the 82-acre site on the old Navy base in North Charleston and a yet-to-be-built Clemson University Architecture Center in Charleston’s historic district.

“These facilities will form the nucleus of a vibrant university research campus,” Clemson President James Barker said in the cover letter to his presentation to the trustees.

The proposals for a greatly increased Clemson presence in the Lowcountry are not without controversy. The land the city of Charleston has given Clemson for its 22,000-square-foot architecture school on George Street isin the middle of historic Ansonborough, where residents are protesting the construction of a modern-style building amid their historic homes.

Clemson plans to break ground on the $7 million structure this year.

And the Friends of the Hunley are the subject of a lawsuit in the S.C. Supreme Court over whether it must publicly disclose its finances and actions.

But Clemson officials assert the Restoration Institute will become an engine for economic growth for the Charleston region, creating at least 90 full-time jobs with an annual payroll of $5.3 million in its first phase.

Two state-funded academic research chairs will call the institute home, including a Professorship in Historic Preservation and a Professorship in Urban Ecology.

The $10.3 million for an academic building at the North Charleston site has preliminary approval under the South Carolina Research University Infrastructure Act. The new 22,000-square-foot building will complement the Warren E. Lasch Conservation Center, the site of the preservation work being done on the Hunley.

The new building will be the first phase of a larger, 65,000-square-foot facility, Barker said. Itwould be completed in 2007 or 2008. Clemson envisions the Institute becoming home to future preservation work on items recovered from the sea.


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Sunday, February 05, 2006

Author explores mysteries of the Hunley

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The Post and Courier
By Brian Hicks
February 01, 2006


Cornwell visits conservation lab while researching book in Lowcountry
She was amazed by the watch, the pipes, the tools - all the things they left behind - but crime novelist Patricia Cornwell did not consider these remnants of the Hunley and her crew mere artifacts.

To her, it all looked a lot like evidence.

"One of my favorite things is an old crime scene," Cornwell said Tuesday as she toured the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. "You want the dead to speak to you. It may be hard to get it out of these things, but if any team can do it, this one can."

The best-selling author of the Dr. Kary Scarpetta mystery series is researching a book in the Lowcountry and on Tuesday dropped by the Hunley lab. She has been visiting Charleston native Jamie Downs in Savannah, where he serves as Georgia's Coast Regional Medical Examiner.

Downs, who did some of the forensic work on the Hunley crew, escorted Cornwell to the, well, scene of the crime.

"It's interesting to watch her work," Downs said. "The reason her books are so good is the detail. She walks around with a notebook, taking notes as she asks us why we do this or what that is for."

Cornwell spent a few hours with archaeologist Maria Jacobsen and conservator Paul Mardikian and still had not gotten enough of the story. It was a tale right up her alley. Confessing a preference for 19th century research, Cornwell - who famously made her own investigation of the Jack the Ripper killings - said she was surprised at the depth of the story at the Hunley.

She said the Hunley project served a dual purpose, not only preserving history, but also developing the technology that allows science to answer lingering questions.

"It's not about the North or South, it's about people," she said. "I think this preservation and conservation is important work, and if they are not allowed to finish, it would be a tragedy."


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Saturday, February 04, 2006

Audio: Deep Wreck Diver Richie Kohler Speaks at Conference on the Book Shadow Divers

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The Sub Report
By Lubbers Line
February 03, 2006





On January 28 at the Reading Across Rhode Island Literacy Conference deep wreck diver Richie Kohler provided the conference keynote address covering the book Shadow Divers. The book Shadow Divers by author Robert Kurson chronicles the true adventure of two Americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of World War II.

Richie Kohler modestly describes himself as just a sport diver from New Jersey but he has taken a passion for wreck diving and turned it into a career. Together with fellow wreck diver John Chatterton they solved the deep sea mystery of a lost WWII German submarine discovered off the coast of NJ. After six years of investigation that submarine turned out to be the U-869 thought to have been lost at the close of the war thousands of mile away, in the eastern Atlantic near Gibraltar.

Both Richie Kohler and John Chatterton are hosts of The History Channel series Deep Sea Detectives with 57 episodes completed to date. Their most recent project is a documentary on the sinking of the Titanic to air Feb 26 on The History Channel. For that project Richie dove on the Titanic twice in the Russian MIR submersible, their investigation has proved to be a bit controversial.

If you're interested in listening to Richie Kohler's remarkable story TheSubReport.com has made it available in MP3 format. The keynote address is about 40 minutes including a short period of audience questions.



The U-869.



Conference Audio
Note: 36MB Download.
Not recommended for dial up users due to excessive download time.



Don’t forget to visit "The Sub Report"

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Friday, February 03, 2006

New Blog dedicated to the U-1277

_________________________________________________________________


Follow the Link: www.u1277.blogspot.com



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www.schnorkel.blogspot.com

U-1277

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U-1277
By Luis Mota
Fevereiro 03, 2006






The U-1277 was built in the Bremer Vulcan shipyard in Bremen - Vegesack, commissioned on the 3rd May 1944 and launched May 18th of the same year. Her command was delivered to Captain-Lieutenant Peter-Ehrenreich Stever.

She belongs to VIIC class and was, originally, 67m (221ft) long, 6.20m (20ft) high and 4.74m (15ft) waterline beam. Two of her four engines (two diesel and two electric engines) that generated a power of 3200hp with a maximum speed of 17.6 knots on surface and 750hp with maximum speed of 7.6 knots when submerged.

She displaced 769 tons on the surface and 871 when submerged. The sub had a range of 8500 miles at 10 knots on surface, 130 miles at 2 knots submerged, 3250 miles at 17 knots on surface and 80 miles at 4 knots submerged. She could submerge to a maximum depth of between 150m (495ft) and 180m (594ft) with a minimum crash-dive time between 25 and 30 seconds and she had the capacity to store 113.5 tons of fuel.


The sub was fitted with four torpedo launch tubes on the bow, two on starboard and two on portside, and a fifth on the stern (all 533mm), carrying a total of 14 torpedoes. She also had anti-aircraft guns installed on the conning tower. These guns were 37mm automatic cannon and two twin 20mm machine guns.






This submarine was integrated into the 8th flotilla, where she worked first as an experimental and instruction ship. On February 1945, because of the few remaining U-boats still active, she was transferred to Bergen (Norway), home of the 11th flotilla. This sub was now a front boat. Her first and only patrol was to sail across the Iceland Strait into the Atlantic and position herself on the entrance of the English Channel. The U-1277 left port on April 22nd 1945.




The crew was composed by 45 men, four of which were officials - The Commandant (Peter-Ehrenreich Stever), the First Subordinate officer (Johannes Malwitz), Second Subordinate officer (Carl Hermann Stachow) and the machine officer (Ernst Engel) - four sergeants and the remaining crew were sailors. The age of the crew of the U-1277 averaged between 18 and 27.




The U-boat was scuttled on the dawn of June 4th 1945 out of Cabo do Mundo, near Oporto, by order of her Commander, Captain-Lieutenant Stever, after sailing without course through the Atlantic for a period of one month (the Armistice was signed on the 8th of May 1945, one year after her launch into the water and almost one month before she was sunk).


In October 1973 a group of sport divers and local fishermen went out to sea to find out the cause taking hold of all their fishing nets. It was with some luck and happiness that they found that the obstacle was the famous German submarine that sank on our coast at the end of the World War II. The sub rests since 1945 at 31m (102ft) on a sandy seabed, with the stern completely silted up and lain about 45 degrees on her portside. Althought the bow is missing, the four torpedoes launch tubes and the conning tower where all anti-aircraft guns were mounted is still visible.





Original frame outline

Visible part remaining

Sand bottom level (31m)

Hidden part remaining



The hull is dressed with little white anemones (Sargatia elegans), thousands of types of small fish and the largest conger eels that can be found in these waters. Also huge octopuses and the amazing colony of pink anemones descending from the North Sea may be found here. These are some of the natural attraction of this wreck. On the conning tower, divers can only see the hard hull, made with 22mm solder rigid sheet metal, the periscope and the open hatchway.


Even in this state of deterioration, the U-1277 is still clearly one of the best and more interesting wreck dive sites of Portugal and the best in the north of our country.



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U-1277 (Portuguese Version)

_________________________________________________________________

U-1277
By Luis Mota
Fevereiro 03, 2006






O submarino U-1277 foi construído nos estaleiros da Bremer Vulcan em Bremen - Vegesack, e lançado à água a 6 de Agosto de 1943. O seu comando foi entregue ao Oberleutnant zur See Peter-Ehrenreich Stever a 3 de Maio de 1944. Stever foi promovido a Kapitänleutnant a 1 de Janeiro de 1945.


Era da classe VIIC41, pertencia à série 1271 e tinha originalmente 67.23 metros de comprimento, 6.20 metros de pontal, 4.74 metros de boca e 9.55 metros de altura máxima. Para se deslocar utilizava dois dos quatro motores disponíveis (dois a diesel e dois eléctricos) que geravam uma força de 3200hp com velocidade máxima de 17.6 nós à superfície e 750hp com velocidade máxima de 7.6 nós submerso.


Deslocava 769 toneladas à superfície e 871 toneladas quando submerso. Tinha um raio de acção de 8500 milhas a 10 nós à superfície, 130 milhas a 2 nós submerso, 3250 milhas a 17 nós à superfície e 80 milhas a 4 nós submerso. A sua profundidade operacional máxima situava-se perto dos 240 metros a qual atingia num tempo máximo que variava entre os 25 e os 30 segundos, e tinha uma capacidade de armazenar 113.5 toneladas de combustível.


Estava equipado com quatro tubos de lançamento de torpedos à proa, dois a bombordo e dois a estibordo, e um quinto à ré (todos de 533mm), transportando um total de 14 torpedos. Possuía também, no exterior, artilharia anti-aérea constituída por um canhão automático de 37mm e quatro metralhadoras de 20mm equipadas aos pares.




A vida a bordo destes submarinos era difícil, num espaço reduzido viviam durante meses, em média, de 50 a 55 homens, que constituíam a tripulação do navio. Apenas havia duas casas de banho para todos, das quais uma, no início de cada campanha, se encontrava cheia de mantimentos, pelo que apenas uma das casas de banho servia os 50 homens. Não havia duche, não havia médico a bordo, a água potável era racionada e, conforme as águas por onde navegasse o submarino assim era a sua temperatura no interior, ou seja, se navegassem nas águas geladas do Mar do Norte, no interior do submarino fazia muito frio e se navegassem mais a sul, junto ao equador, o interior do submarino era muito quente, o que provocava nos tripulantes irritações na pele e alergias.




O submarino foi integrado na 8ª flotilha na qual funcionou como navio de instrução e experiências até que em Fevereiro de 1945, dada a escassez de submarinos de combate, foi transferido para a 11ª flotilha de submarinos da Marinha de Guerra do Reich comandada por Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (segundo a contar da esquerda na foto), um herói condecorado com a Cruz de Ferro de 2ª classe (1940.04.20), Cruz de Ferro de 1ª classe (1940.12.31), Ubootskriegsabzeichen (1941.01.02), Cruz de Cavaleiro (1941.02.26) e Cruz de Cavaleiro com Folhas de Carvalho (1941.12.31), cujo palmarés somava 22 navios afundados num total de 166.596 toneladas.






A 11ª flotilha era uma flotilha de combate com base em Bergen, Noruega. Fora fundada a 15 de Maio de 1942, sob o comando de Korvettenkapitän Hans Cohausz. A maioria dos submarinos desta base operava no Mar do Norte. Em Setembro de 1944, quando os submarinos de bases francesas alcançavam a Noruega, a flotilha foi reorganizada e, em Dezembro do mesmo ano, o comando entregue a Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock. Operavam nesta flotilha quase 180 U-boots das classes VIIC, VIIC41, XXII e XXIII. O primeiro submarino da classe XXI, o U2511 (submarino do meio na foto acima), executou a sua primeira missão nesta flotilha. A história da 11ª Unterseebootsflottille acaba em Maio de 1945, com a rendição da Alemanha.




A missão do U-1277 era, após ter largado de Bergen (foto acima - Bergen - ano 1945), rumar ao Atlântico, via Estreito da Islândia, e patrulhar a entrada do Canal de Mancha. A tripulação só soube do seu destino quando alcançaram mar alto e abriram o envelope selado com a missão atribuída, entregue ao comandante momentos antes da partida do submarino. Era, como chamavam na Werhmacht, “uma missão de ir para o céu”, ou seja, sem retorno. Todos os homens a bordo do submarino tinham consciência do seu destino.


Durante a II Guerra Mundial serviram nos U-boots 40.000 marinheiros alemães.
30.000 nunca regressaram.


Deixou a base no dia 22 de Abril, sob intenso bombardeamento, para a sua primeira e única patrulha como submarino de combate, submergindo logo de imediato nas geladas águas do Mar do Norte sem poder emitir qualquer sinal de rádio sob o risco de ser localizado e afundado pelas forças aliadas. A tripulação apenas recebia informação através do aparelho de rádio montado no topo do snorkel. Foi dessa forma que receberam a 4 de Maio a mensagem do Almirante Karl Dönitz, que ordenava a todos os submarinos que se encontravam no activo a suspenderem todas as acções ofensivas contra os navios aliados, desarmarem os seus torpedos, emergirem, içarem a bandeira negra e se entregassem no porto aliado mais próximo, era o início da “Operação Arco-íris”, e dias mais tarde, a 7 de Maio, a notícia da capitulação da Alemanha. A guerra terminara.



A sua tripulação era constituída por 47 homens, dos quais 4 eram oficiais - Comandante (Peter Ehrenreich Stever), imediato (Johannes Malwitz), segundo imediato (Karl Hermann Stachow) e oficial de máquinas (Ernst Engel) - 4 eram sargentos, 10 eram cabos e os restantes 29 eram marinheiros. A idade da tripulação deste submarino rondava entre os 19 e os 20 anos de idade, sendo comandante Stever o mais velho com 27 anos.


Apesar da guerra ter terminado, a saga do submarino U-1277 ainda continuava. A rendição e entrega do submarino aos aliados não faziam parte dos planos do comandante. Voltar à base naval de origem, em Kiel, na Alemanha, implicava enfrentar de novo um longo caminho pejado de navios inimigos e aviões. E uma vez chegados a Kiel, havia sempre o risco do porto ter caído nas mãos dos soviéticos, sinónimo de morte certa para qualquer soldado alemão. A Argentina era um destino provável, mas cedo abandonado, pois estava fora de alcance. A cidade de Vigo, no norte de Espanha, foi então o destino escolhido pelo comandante Stever e aprovado pela sua tripulação. Mas, devido à confusão das comunicações na altura, receberam a informações de movimentos comunistas em Espanha, o que os fez abandonar esse destino. Há 42 dias que o submarino navegava submerso, com o combustível, assim como os mantimentos, quase no fim. Portugal foi a escolha do comandante e dos seus homens pelo facto de ser um Pais neutro e se encontrar perto.




Depois de abandonar a maior parte da sua tripulação e dos seus objectos pessoais, entre os quais se encontravam Kurt Ernst e Walter Herkstroeter, em balsas de borracha aproximadamente a uma milha de costa ao largo de Angeiras, Stever rumou para Sudoeste, desactivou os torpedos e distribuiu pelo navio quatro homens, entre os quais o oficial de máquinas Engel, com instruções para o afundar. Foi abandonado a 2.5 milhas de terra com os quatro tubos lança torpedos da proa, as válvulas de escape da casa das máquinas, as aberturas de ventilação da câmara de imersão e a escotilha da torre abertas, de maneira a inundar e inutilizar o submarino por completo. Os cinco homens deixaram o U-1277 na última balsa e dirigiram-se para terra. Alguns náufragos foram ajudados a chegar a terra por pescadores de Labruge e Angeiras e outros pelo navio salva-vidas “Carvalho Araújo”, que alertado se apressou a sair para o mar.


O ponto de encontro combinado pela tripulação em terra seria junto a dois moinhos que até há pouco tempo ainda existiam na praia de Labruge.


Foi voluntariamente afundado na madrugada de 4 de Junho de 1945, pelas 00h45m, ao largo do Cabo do Mundo, a norte da cidade do Porto, depois de navegar sem rumo pelo Atlântico durante um período de um mês.


Horas depois de chegar a terra a tripulação do U-1277 foi encaminhada para o castelo de S. João da Foz, no Porto, onde na altura estava sedeada uma unidade militar. Dias depois forma transferidos para Lisboa, a bordo do contratorpedeiro Diu, comandando por João Pais, e depois de entregues às autoridades aliadas foram enviados para Inglaterra, via Gibraltar, onde passaram dois anos como prisioneiros de guerra antes de regressarem a suas casas na Alemanha. O Kapitänleutnant Peter-Ehrenreich Stever permaneceu preso durante mais algum tempo, condenado em tribunal militar inglês por ter ordenado o afundamento do seu submarino.


Em Outubro de 1973 um grupo de mergulhadores desportivos acompanhados por pescadores locais mergulharam no local onde havia algo que prendia as redes de pesca. Foi com agrado que verificaram que o peguilho era o famoso submarino alemão afundado no fim da guerra. Repousa desde então a 31 metros de profundidade, num fundo de areia com a ré completamente assoreada e tombado para bombordo cerca de 45 graus. A proa, virada a sul, já desapareceu, assim como a fuselagem exterior da torre onde estava colocado todo o armamento anti-aéreo, existindo ainda os quatro tubos lança torpedos da proa. Os dois de bombordo estão caídos na areia e os dois de estibordo estão colocados no respectivo lugar.





Traçado original

Casco visível actualmente

Fundo de areia 31m

Casco assoreado



O casco do navio está coberto de pequenas anémonas brancas (Sargatia elegans), as fanecas são aos milhares, os congros são dos maiores que se podem encontrar nestas águas, os enormes e curiosos polvos e a maravilhosa comunidade de anémonas rosadas proveniente do Mar do Norte são alguns dos atractivos naturais deste naufrágio. Na torre apenas se encontra o casco interior, constituído por placas metálicas soldadas de aproximadamente 22mm de espessura, o periscópio de combate e a escotilha sem tampa.


Apesar do seu estado de deterioração, o submarino U-1277 é ainda um dos pontos de maior interesse no mergulho desportivo em Portugal e o melhor do norte do Pais.



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Thursday, February 02, 2006

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine

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Daily Chronicle
By Aracely Hernandez
January 30, 2006



Holding a copy of her recently “Secrets of a Civil
War Submarine,” local children’s book author Sally
Walker of DeKalb stands among the rows of children’s
books at the DeKalb Public Library on Friday.
Chronicle photo HOLLY LUNDH

DeKalb author wins prestigious award
DeKALB - Sally M. Walker scanned the shelves of the DeKalb Public Library on Friday for her award-winning book “Secrets of a Civil War Submarine.”

“I don't know if I've ever seen it on a library shelf,” she said as she looked at the spines of the thin books in the young-adult section.

“It's checked out,” one of the clerks called to Walker, a frequent library patron.

Walker smiled.

Since 1990, Walker, 51, of DeKalb has written more than 40 books for children. Last Monday, she received the Sibert Informational Book Award. It was announced at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio. The award was established in 2001 and is presented to the writer of the most distinguished informational book for children published in the prior year.

Walker's book tells the story of the CSS H.L. Hunley. In 1864, it was the first submarine to sink a warship, although the Hunley also sank in the engagement. The Confederate submarine was discovered 131 years later on the ocean floor near Charleston, S.C. The first part of the book covers the history of the submarine, while the second tells the story of the search for and discovery of the vessel.

It took Walker a year to research the book and four months to write it.

She is ecstatic about the award.

“This is the Mount Everest of children's literature, and I just climbed it,” she said.

Her friends at the library are happy for her, too.

A poster at the library bears her photo and a photo of her book and announces her as the winner of the award. A display of her books, including titles such as “Volcanoes: Earth's Inner Fire” and “Mary Anning: Fossil Hunter,” sits on top of the card catalog in the children's section.

“We are so proud of her,” library circulation clerk Marge Dumstrof said and patted the back of Walker's hand.

Walker, who studied geology and archeology at Upsala College in East Orange, N.J., said she always wanted to be a writer of children's books, but was discouraged from doing so by a high school counselor.

She said she started writing in her 30s after she saw an ad in Writer's Digest magazine seeking someone to write a book on earth science. Her first published book is “Glaciers: Ice on the Move.”

It took the publishing company six months to decide it would publish the book and another year before it was printed.

“I love this,” she said about writing for children. “I want them to be readers. What I want them to do is love books.”

Walker, who came to DeKalb 20 years ago when husband James started teaching geology at Northern Illinois University, said the first place she visited - even before seeing her new home - was the library.

“I told them, ‘We need a library card. I haven't even gone to my home, yet,'” she recalls saying. “‘I need books.'”

She said the library is her home away from home and she reads just about everything she can. During childhood, her favorite fictional character was Nancy Drew.

One of the most important things any child can have is a library card, she said.

“I always emphasize that to kids,” she said. “The library is free and you own every (book).”

Her advice for people who want to write?

“Read. Read more books,” she said. “The more you read the better you write.”


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Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Discoverer of Confederate submarine plans return to Shreveport.

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Shreveport Times
By John Andrew Prime
January 30, 2005


Red River and Cross Bayou will hum with activity in a way they haven't since the Civil War when famed diver Ralph Wilbanks returns to Shreveport in February.

Wilbanks, who discovered the wreck of Confederate submarine Hunley in 1995 off Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, with the backing of best-selling adventure author Clive Cussler, plans a return visit to explore parts of the waterways he first visited in 1999 with fellow diver Steve Howard.

"We plan to get to y'all around the 20th of February but it could be slightly later," Wilbanks said in an e-mail to The Times. "Now I have Harry Pecorelli working with me. He was with me when we found the Hunley."
Wilbanks has been featured in Cussler's series of nonfiction books titled "The Sea Hunters" and also appeared under his own name in fictional settings in at least one of Cussler's novels.
But his enduring mark in undersea annals will be finding the ill-fated Hunley in Charleston Harbor. Divers sought the Hunley for decades, and in a sense it was the Holy Grail of American undersea historical exploration.
With Cussler's backing, Wilbanks visited Shreveport in the late summer and early fall of 1999. Using a 25-foot research vessel bearing the sign of Cussler's nonprofit organization, the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), he and Howard towed side-scan sonars and magnetometers through the brown river and bayou waters, searching for traces of four Confederate submarines.
Official Civil War records indicate five such boats were in Shreveport in 1864 and early 1865, with one apparently dismantled and sent overland to Houston. However, when Union naval officers accepted surrendered Confederate naval stores in the summer of 1865, no submarines were turned over, although a just-completed ironclad, the Missouri, was given.
"This is very important, historically and archaeologically," said Gary Joiner, military historian, author and cartographer who worked with Wilbanks during the 1999 visit and will assist him again.
Finding the boats, Joiner said, "would prove what we know the records and the literature to be. Every indication is that those subs were here and that they never left. That Clive and Ralph are involved shows the importance of this because both are world-famous for their archaeological pursuits. I consider Ralph to be a maritime Indiana Jones."


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