Best part is that a few years ago MSI was refurbishing U-505 after years of elemental damage (she had been kept outside but now has an indoor enclosure. MSI reached out to find parts and the company that built her in Germany actually donated parts and mechanics to repair her. They wanted the last remaining example of their cutting edge engineering (at the time) to be in pristine condition for anyone to see.

He may have dismissed the photographer as a joke but he is probably the most important man on that submarine. If it does sink he has a limited time to photograph as many documents, technology and other secret things as he could before the sub went underwater. On board there would be significant engineering and communications type equipment, lots of document intel, up to date codebooks and much more. All of which would be extremely useful to the war effort. So much so that these documents are printed on water soluble paper to stop them being recovered from a sunk vessel.

The fact that the officer closed the hatch without thinking twice speaks volumes to the amount of trust he has in his men.

Since it was abandoned by the previous owner this wasn't stealing. It was just an intense salvage operation!

Oh also Lt David, the guy who led the boarding part was awarded the Medal of Honor for his part in this.

"Camera guy" is usually code for "intelligence operative"

People forget that the U.S. Navy's boot camp is just north of Chicago because, you know, the Great Lakes connect to the ocean, and are only classified as "lakes" because they are fresh water bodies.

This bloke can talk his way out of trouble

Yes getting that machine was the HUGE win which is why that German Commander broke down. it wasn't being captured it was knowing what we got from his ship.

It is incidents like this that deservedly gave the name "The Greatest Generation" to  this generation. "We do the difficult immediately, the impossible takes  a little longer." There are so many stories like this, probably even crazier than this,  that are left undocumented and forgotten to history. Insurmountable obstacles were just annoying speed bumps to people that had just survived the Great Depression.

"We sank all of them"
The Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy are SO grateful.😂

Guys, I'm 67 and during the mid to late 1960's we went to the museum of science and industry as a family. At the time there were actual WWII fighters hanging from the ceiling and we did the tour of this sub when it was still outside along one of the exterior walls. You walked through a hallway to enter at one end and then through another to exit. I've also done the tour of the Cobi I believe it's called, in Manitowoc Wi. A U.S. WWII sub that's being restored. It's simply amazing how small these things are when you get aboard and try moving around.

4:25 on a serious note, the camera guy was there for intel gathering

Don't seek revenge, seek prevenge to save time!

This sounds like something the SAS would've done, and praise doesn't get much higher then that.

Sam, you said it best.... The Navy is Built Different.

The sequence was so fucking perfect.  The ONLY reason they got power to run the bilge pumps was U505 being taken under tow, and the people inside felt it.  The ONLY reason they took it under tow was because the hatch had been shut.  Getting the pumps running got the hatch back above sea level.  Hatch above sea level allowed the second team to get in.   That plus shanghai'd Polish sailor?  Perfection.  Absolutely everything fell into place.

Chicago native here, most definitely worth the visit. I’ve been in it and around it multiple times at the museum of science and industry downtown.

I'm from da chi. I remember asa kid it being outside the museum. They restored it then built a room around it. Issa beautiful site 👍

If you haven’t watched The Biggest Logistical Flex:Berlin Airlift by The Fat Electrician, you are seriously missing out. It’s truly one of the best.

I grew up in the Chicago area, and I've been through that sub.  I was a kid then, and I can still remember how cramped and uncomfortable it was in that thing.   My parents probably read the story at the museum, but as I was a kid I couldn't have cared less.  Now that I'm older I appreciate the story.  That guy was funny as hell.