u-boat?

spez401 · Aug 7, 2006

Re: u-boat?

I just went back and read that story at the link i posted. its one of 2 or 3 versions of the story that I heard. Grizzly, maybe it is the same boat... ya never know. Maybe next time i get out there, i'll take my underwater detector and see if i can find gold. lol. But with a 3-5 minute bottom time... Makes me consider recertifying in Nitrox...
Steve

Peg Leg · Aug 7, 2006

Re: u-boat?

Talking about U-Boats. I went to the keys in 1964 with a friend of mine who said he knew where a Submarine was located.
We went out to the locationans sure enough there is was.
It was stuck in a coral reef backwards at about 60 feet down. I swam around this thing but got nervios because underneith this sub was nothing but BLACKNESS. You could not see a thing. This sub was on the edge of the Gulf stream. It went from daylight to pitch black and I do not care to go where I cannot see the bottom.
We went to the Navy to get try and get permission to work this sub but were told that the Navy considered this a Marine harzard and they wanted to blow it up. I forgot where it was located and never went back. There were no reported german sailors every coming ashore in this area so I guess they are still there along with everything that can go BOOM.
I now understand that a few subs were bobytrapped and since there is no air they most likely are still in fine shape.
I have really forgotten the location.
Sorry
Peg Leg

grizzly bare · Aug 7, 2006

Re: u-boat?

spez,
pulled my notes. Lost Treasure magazine had a story on the 853 and said that a LEGEND stated that a treasure from Nazi families was on board. Rumor only.

grizzly bare

spez401 · Aug 7, 2006

Re: u-boat?

grizzly... i have dived the wreck a few times. Once even went into the front hold (very brief penetration). But of all the people i know who dove it, nobody found any treasure. And the boat is still very much intact, or at least it was last time i dove it (about 3 years ago). she sits almost completely upright on a flat level bottom.
But hey... that's the reason I dove the wreck. Same reason i Take my metal detector to the beach and remote locations... the possibility of finding something.
Steve

Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp · Aug 7, 2006

Re: u-boat?

[=Gold_Needle ]
Hey Tropical Tramp,
I want to hear about this undived and even unknown German WWII sub.
Tell me everything.....
ee ya,Gold-Needle
********
OK Gold Needle, well "almost " everything ehheheh

Tropical Tramp

Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp · Aug 7, 2006

Re: u-boat?

=Mackaydon
The best Uboat site I've seen is:
http://uboat.net/
Don.......
**********
Geese Don, I "hate" you. I have so much to do, yet you caused me to lose 3 hrs in that fascinating site, still thanks. sigh

Tropical Tramp

Peg Leg · Aug 7, 2006

Re: u-boat?

When I was in the first grade I recall watching a U-Boat being sunk off the coast at Daytona Beach. You could see the planes diving and dropping their bombs and see the water spray up from the exploding bombs. I was at the Board walk and it was early Saturday morning. I was living at 222 South Grand View-a few blocks from the Beach. It was safe for little kids to walk around then. Times have really changed.
The location was due East of the Daytona Beach Pier and out a few miles.
Peg Leg

Mackaydon · Aug 8, 2006

Re: u-boat?

Tropical:
In three hours, you've just scratched the surface of that great site:
Enjoy,
Don....

grizzly bare · Sep 3, 2006

Re: u-boat?

In Thomas Penfield's "Directory of Buried or Sunken Treasures and Lost Mines" (1971) he lists on page 110, U-583 at Judith Point in Newport County with $250,000 on board. He gives it XXX which translate to "Considerable reason to believe that this sunken ship exists....but not what the odds are that a treasure exists inside it.

grizzly bare

Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp · Sep 3, 2006

Re: u-boat?

HO: I had to format my cumputer. I lost many em's etc. -- BobinSd/ Gold needle, did I ever send you the follow up data on the submarine?

Tropical Tramp alias Till Eulenspiegle de La Mancha

Cablava · Sep 3, 2006

Re: u-boat?

U-583
Type VIIC
Laid down 1 Oct, 1940 Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Commissioned 14 Aug, 1941 Oblt. Heinrich Ratsch
Commanders 14 Aug, 1941 - 15 Nov, 1941 Kptlt. Heinrich Ratsch

Career No patrols 14 Aug, 1941 - 15 Nov, 1941 5. Flottille (training)

Successes No ships sunk or damaged
Fate Sank at 2148hrs on 15 Nov, 1941 in the Baltic, near Danzig, in position 55.23N, 17.05E after a collision with U-153. 45 dead (all hands lost).

Mackaydon · Sep 3, 2006

Re: u-boat?

I don't know if anyone ever found a "Penfield Treasure" except the adventure experienced in looking for some of the 'losses' he mentioned. Ten-plus years ago, I took a two week trip through Nevada following up on various Penfield Treasure stories of Nevada. I found treasure in the form of conversations with the locals, camping, the geography and an occasional 'goodie'.
Don...

grizzly bare · Sep 3, 2006

Re: u-boat?

Mackaydon,
I suspect that Penfield was referring to the 853 instead of the 583. Lost Treasure has that story I mentioned earlier about the treasure of several Nazi families on board the 853.
Know what you mean about Penfield. I've had a few searches for things that later I found to be questionable or no where close to where he placed it. Just another cautionary tale to show us that we need to cross-reference all research material.

grizzly bare

Mackaydon · Sep 3, 2006

Re: u-boat?

grizzly bare

One Penfield story got my attention. Lumber company train with Wells Fargo payroll ran off the tracks into Lake Tahoe at Glenview (or Glenbrook) on the eastern shore. Supposedly WF agent was in the locomotive with the engineer when, on this particular cold winter day (of course) the brakes failed (of course) and the engine and a car or two went right off the end of the rail pier.

Sounds easy, doesn't it. Yet, WF historian in SFO assured me they have no record of such a loss. Of course, old pics or charts of the lake and shore might show where the railhead (loading pier) was--and a mag should find a locomotive (don't you think??). So why has it not been found??
Like I said, talking to the locals etc. was part of that treasure hunt; unfortunately, I later went back to the area and it's now a private (gated) community ; but Reno was close enough to keep my occupied.
Don......

Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp · Sep 4, 2006

Re: u-boat?

HI, just one thing, Tahoe is DEEEP even at the edges, but with fantastic visibility.

Tropical Tramp

Cablava · Sep 4, 2006

Re: u-boat?

U-853
Type IXC/40
Laid down 21 Aug, 1942 AG Weser, Bremen
Commissioned 25 Jun, 1943 Kptlt. Helmut Sommer
Commanders 25 Jun, 1943 - 9 Jul, 1944 Kptlt. Helmut Sommer
18 Jun, 1944 - 9 Jul, 1944 Oblt. Helmut Frömsdorf
10 Jul, 1944 - 31 Aug, 1944 Oblt. Otto Wermuth
24 Aug, 1944 - 15 Oct, 1944 KrvKpt. Günter Kuhnke (Knights Cross)
1 Sep, 1944 - 6 May, 1945 Oblt. Helmut Frömsdorf

Career 3 patrols 25 Jun, 1943 - 31 Mar, 1944 4. Flottille (training)
1 Apr, 1944 - 1 Oct, 1944 10. Flottille (front boat)
1 Oct, 1944 - 6 May, 1945 33. Flottille (front boat)

Successes 1 ship sunk for a total of 5.353 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 430 tons
Fate Sunk 6 May, 1945 in the North Atlantic south-east of New London, in position 41.13N, 71.27W, by depth charges from the US destroyer escort USS Atherton and the US patrol frigate USS Moberly. 55 dead (all hands lost).

Some sources state that the destroyer USS John D. Ericsson (DD-440) is also credited with the sinking of the boat. My own sources disagree and what I consider the best source does not mention the destroyer as responsible. However, she was certainly in the area and dropped depth charges on or near the boat so she should probably have some credit for its loss.
Location of the wreck
She is reported to be lying at 41 12 40N 71 25 20W, in 125/130 feet of water (this is about 4 miles west of the official sinking location).
Courtesy of U Boat.net

Christopher · Sep 9, 2006

Re: u-boat?

I really recommend you the http://www.shipwreckcentral.com website.
Those guys have huge db of shipwrecks.

SADS 669 · Jul 11, 2013

Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp said:
[=bell47 . How cool would it be to find a u-boat? Even if it's previously known, it would still be cool to dive on it.
******
I have a German WW-2 one in the Sea de Cortes, Mexico, in aporx. 80ft of water. But no-one is interested enough to even ask me any questions, despite having been posted in here various times.

Inicidentally, as far as I can find out, it is still basically unknown and untouched.

Tropical Tramp

Love to see a photo or two......

ECS · Jul 12, 2013

grizzly bare said:
Mackaydon,
I suspect that Penfield was referring to the 853 instead of the 583. Lost Treasure has that story I mentioned earlier about the treasure of several Nazi families on board the 853.
Know what you mean about Penfield. I've had a few searches for things that later I found to be questionable or no where close to where he placed it. Just another cautionary tale to show us that we need to cross-reference all research material.

The legend of the U-853 has been discussed too many times on other threads,German sailors burying diamonds on Montaug Point in brass 88 shells,an incident that never happened,but makes for a great treasure tale.

whydahdiver · Jul 12, 2013

I have the props from U-853 at my museum. Each year on the anniversary of her loss there is a ceremony in the cemetery where some of her crew are buried.

WHYDAH Diver