August 7, 2004
by Rob Church
Rob Church is the Chief Scientist for the Deep Gulf Wrecks expedition and a highly accomplished marine archeologist. He is the Principal Investigator (with Dan Warren) for the archaeological component of the project.  He is also the Project Manager for the project with C&C Technologies, the principal contractor for the expedition.

U-166 on trials, Spring 1942. Courtesy the PAST Foundation and the D-Day Museum, New Orleans.

We have completed the planned work at three of the seven shipwreck sites we came to explore.  The progress so far has been fantastic.  As we move through our plan of operation at each site, I am pleased at how relatively smoothly the operations continue after working our way through a few technical difficulties.  The quality, knowledge, and work ethic of our team make my job considerably easier.  The scientists, ROV operators, and surveyors work closely together on 12-hour shift rotations round the clock to help each other compete their objectives and learn from each other.  Combining the industry, academic, and government personnel together is proving a tremendous benefit for each of us.

The crew of U-166 on deck during the boat's commissioning ceremony, March 23, 1942. All photos in this series are courtesy the PAST Foundation and the D-Day Museum, New Orleans. Click to enlarge.	Off-duty crew members lounge on the upper deck while the boat transits the Kiel Canal, May 30-31, 1942.	Officers of U-166 in the wardroom. At left, Gunther Kühlmann (commander); bottom, Hans Traun (first officer); right, Erwin Klein (engineering officer). The man at top center is believed to be Claus von Oppel, the boat's second officer.

We are a day ahead of schedule with several exciting discoveries at each location.  We now once more are above the site of the U-166.  This is the third trip for me to this site and the second for a few other of our crew.  We have completed the reconnaissance of the stern and bow sections of the U-boat to assess the current condition of the vessel.  We have conducted a detailed examination of the microbiology test platforms deployed in October 2003 by Droycon Bioconcepts, Inc. and completed the small area survey south of the debris field.  Vertebrate (fish) and invertebrate (crabs, etc.) traps have been placed out from the wreck and we are currently conducting individual biological sampling of additional vertebrates and invertebrates. 

The following images were recorded August 6-7, 2004 by the Triton XL-11 ROV. Images courtesy MMS/NOAA OE.
Upper deck plating at the stern of U-166.	Looking down on the front of the conning tower.
The boat's "wintergarten," with its 2cm anti-aircraft gun.	Deck plating forward of the main gun.
The bow section of the boat, showing evidence (upper right) of the blast that tore the boat apart.	A six-gilled shark on the wreck of U-166.

On Thursday evening I received a message from a family member of a merchant seaman who was lost on Gulfpenn during the war.  It is easy to look at these shipwrecks and see artifacts, beautiful coral, and fish and invertebrate habitat, but the fact that most of these wreck sites are war graves is something that is continually on our minds as we explore these majestic scenes.

Crew members gather on the work deck of HOS Dominator for the arrival of the fish traps.

Chief Scientist Rob Church retrieves a rusticle experiment from the sample basket.

Morgan Kilgour gathering hag fish from the traps.