[Milsurplus] Chicago Museum U-505

[Thomas Adams]

All these comments about Museum of Science & Industry and the 
handling of U-505 brings up something I've wondered
about for a while.

When I was a kid, the ceiling of the main hall of the museum was used 
to display a number of WW2 aircraft; I imagine
they're probably still there. I especially remember the Spitfire that 
hung over the model railroad layout, and the Rolls
Merlin engine on display on the 2nd floor balcony next to it.

Over the main entrance, there hung a VERY rare bird indeed; a real, 
Honest To Gawd, Stuka dive bomber! Not many
of those made it to museums.

Even hangng on display in a museum, that airplane made 
history...  she executed the last Stuka attack ever made!

One morning in the 1970s, just before the museum was about to open, 
the cables holding it let go, and she dropped,
one last time, about 25 feet in a sort of Kamakaze attack...  scoring 
a direct hit that demolished an information booth!

I was in college at the time, and saw an item about the incident in 
the Chicago Sun Times (mailed to my dorm daily).
GREAT photo of the plane sitting there amid the splintered wood of the booth!!!

The museum director at the time said that the damaged airplane would 
be repaired and put back on display.

A couple of years later I happened to be at the museum, and I asked 
about the still missing Stuka. I was told she was
still being put back together for display.

Does anyone know if the airplane was ever repaired and put back in 
her place of honor over the main doors?


Mr. T.  W9LBB

At 11:50 24-08-12, Ray Fantini wrote:
>Fairly serious charges, I have worked with some people involved with 
>archival and research activities and find that almost imposable to 
>imagine in a museum director. Thought that the U boat was one of 
>that museums biggest draws?  Have known of cases where due to 
>economic problems or by transferring part of a collection things get 
>lost, or where corporate collections get disposed of by management's 
>actions at levels above the curator or local management but this 
>story on the surface appears to be a little over the top to me. I 
>did a simple search about Vic Danelov and the museum and other then 
>the links that are directly traced back to the Shark hunter's web 
>site found no other material supporting there statement.
>RF