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U-166 Project Field Updates
Thursday, October 9, 2003 (Part 2)
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A German rescue breathing device,
known as a Dräger Lung, found in the debris field of U-166. This device,
comparable to the famous Momsen Lung used aboard U.S. boats, allowed
seamen to escape from submarines sunk in shallow water. When
U-171 sank after striking a mine in the Bay
of Biscay, twelve of her crew escaped to surface 130 feet above
using the Dräger
Lung. (Four more managed to swim to the surface without any breathing
gear.) At right, a survivor of U-175 wearing a
Dräger Lung (U.S. Coast Guard photo). |
The following was written by C. J. Christ, pilot,
former combat pilot, businessman, and authority on the history of U-boats:
THOUGHTS ON THE U-166
EXPEDITION
This trip can only be expressed in superlatives: The
most interesting - most exciting -most unique - and most fun. When Rob
Church of C&C Technologies asked me
to come along on an expedition to document the wreck of the U-166, I
ascended immediately to Cloud Nine, and in the fifth day of the discovery
and surveying work, I am still there.
It is interesting to note that on the passenger
manifest of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
boat Ronald H. Brown, the ship serving our group of scientists,
historians, and media documentary people, everyone on board is listed with
affiliation credits from foundations, a television production company,
government agencies, or the like. There are even two foreign visitors.
But in the "organization" block next to my name, only "none" is listed. I
can truly call myself a U-boat buff who is having fun.
I never imagined in 1967 that the Sunday afternoon
dive on a U-boat in sixty feet of water near the Louisiana coast would
eventually lead to today and that I would find myself positioned directly
above the U-166 and watching video pictures so well-lit and focused that it
seems one could touch the rim of the conning tower bridge or sit in the seat
of the antiaircraft gun and turn the aiming wheel. Just like everyone
involved on this and the original expedition, I feel a certain reverence for
the twenty-five people aboard the Robert E. Lee, and the 55 men
entombed in the "iron coffin" called the U-166.
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Mr. CJ Christ preparing to lay a wreath
during a memorial ceremony to honor those who perished on the U-166 and
the SS Robert E. Lee on July 30, 1942 |
There are "no flowers on a sailor's grave," as the old
sea song says. This is a typical example. No families can put flowers over
these final resting places. No tombstone with epitaphs. The story of the
hunter suddenly being the hunted is typical in combat. The last few seconds
of the young lives snuffed out here in just minutes will never be known, but
their niche in history will be preserved for future generations to know from
this expedition. That alone makes it unique and worthwhile.
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C. J. Christ
October 8, 2003
Aboard the R/V Ronald H. Brown
NOAA Ship 104 |
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