U-853 A look inside

[H2Andy]

nice video ...

man that boat looks tiny on the inside

 

[Drewpy]

That is very cool...but creepy!? Is that site considered a war grave?

I kept looking for a skull or bones.....

 

[wreckedinri]

That is very cool...but creepy!? Is that site considered a war grave?

I kept looking for a skull or bones.....

Some people may. Most people dive there knowing the circumstances of the U-Boat's demise and treat the site with the appropriate respect.

But some do not, and thus, skulls and bones have been taken. Most only take photos. Here is a bit of video with said bones.

http://www.secretsquirreldivers.com/includes.html/u853.wmv

Be Safe,
Dennis

 

[H2Andy]

Is that site considered a war grave?

not by the US government, and thus it's ok to dive

the German government considers U-Boats war graves, but has no powers of enforcement outside German territorial waters. they lodge a protest every year against diving inside U-Boats, as a symbolic gesture.

 

[paulthenurse]

Why doesn't the German government request permission to retrieve the remains of her dead sailors? Certainly, after all this time the US government would grant the Germans permission to do so. Yes, they were fighting for the Third Reich, but most if not all of the sailors aboard were simple men who were pressed into duty to fight for their country. They deserve a proper burial. And if the remains of the sailors can reasonably be said to have been returned home, there can be no further argument that it is disrespectful to dive there.

 

[H2Andy]

Why doesn't the German government request permission to retrieve the remains of her dead sailors?

that's a really good question

 

[Soggy]

Why doesn't the German government request permission to retrieve the remains of her dead sailors? Certainly, after all this time the US government would grant the Germans permission to do so. Yes, they were fighting for the Third Reich, but most if not all of the sailors aboard were simple men who were pressed into duty to fight for their country. They deserve a proper burial. And if the remains of the sailors can reasonably be said to have been returned home, there can be no further argument that it is disrespectful to dive there.

How would you identify who was whom? The bones in there are just a jumble. Many, especially skulls, have been purposely put into inaccessible areas of the wreck (behind machinery, etc) by "conscientious" divers to prevent them from being brought up.

 

[Soggy]

That is very cool...but creepy!? Is that site considered a war grave?

I kept looking for a skull or bones.....

There are bones all throughout it. Piles and piles of them. Over 50 sailors went down with the boat.

 

[paulthenurse]

It really doesn't matter who is whom. They died serving their country, no matter how misguided it's ideals may have been to our sensibilities. Even if only some of the remains were retrieved, it would surely bring some comfort to the surviving family members.

 

[H2Andy]

How would you identify who was whom? The bones in there are just a jumble.

i don't think identifying them is the issue

but getting the bones out and having a communal grave would go a long way