U-853 A look inside

[jdelprete]

again many thanks for your time gilldiver!

This will prove helpful for sure and better allow me to direct my time and understand what I will be looking at.

Jim

 

[Gilldiver]

The Larchmont, the Mettis, the lake Crystal, are a few that are more advanced. Long island sound has a bunch of wrecks less than 125' deep more advanced than the u-853. Ive dove a few wrecks in buzzards bay that are also. Dont get me wrong the u-853 is an advanced dive but it is an easy advanced dive, its easy to get on it, it allways has a morring. Its easy to navigate, even with bad vis. The current is never so bad that you cant dive it.

The Larchmont, the Mettis, and Lake Crystal are dark with some current and the Larchmont has some net. Don't even think about the Lake Hemlock (sister to the Crystal) anytime near a spring tide as the curent over her will boil the surface 60' above. Fishermen on her need to use up to 6 oz of sinkers to get to the bottom.

Any dive in the Sound will be more advanced as the visability is much less and the curents are much greater. A dive on the Lexington south of Bridgeport is only for the much more experianced. The depth is 140-145, currents can be over 1 knot, vis is "I can see my fins - great", lobsterpot lines everywhere, and a confusing wreck layout.

In my opinion, she is one of the hardest wrecks to dive, and only a few can diver her and do any worthwhile work like run a camera/video or document the wreck with measurments and drawings.

I'll try to get my next post on the U-853 out tomorrow morning.

 

[wreck.reel]

The Larchmont, the Mettis, and Lake Crystal are dark with some current and the Larchmont has some net. Don't even think about the Lake Hemlock (sister to the Crystal) anytime near a spring tide as the curent over her will boil the surface 60' above. Fishermen on her need to use up to 6 oz of sinkers to get to the bottom.

Any dive in the Sound will be more advanced as the visability is much less and the curents are much greater. A dive on the Lexington south of Bridgeport is only for the much more experianced. The depth is 140-145, currents can be over 1 knot, vis is "I can see my fins - great", lobsterpot lines everywhere, and a confusing wreck layout.

In my opinion, she is one of the hardest wrecks to dive, and only a few can diver her and do any worthwhile work like run a camera/video or document the wreck with measurments and drawings.

I'll try to get my next post on the U-853 out tomorrow morning.

Ive dove the Lexington a few times and your right it is very confusing. The most advanced wreck in long Island sound is the Corn field light ship. Ive dove it twice and i have no plains to do it again.

 

[Gilldiver]

Ive dove the Lexington a few times and your right it is very confusing. The most advanced wreck in long Island sound is the Corn field light ship. Ive dove it twice and i have no plains to do it again.

I did the Cornfiled Lightship (LV-51) the week after we found her. In fact, I'm the one who did the research and found her - well me and the Gary Kosak from Klien Sonar on Wayne Gorden's boat "Canned Air." The lightship can have a lot of current and you have to do her within the slack tide window. This summer we are looking at perhaps raising the Bell, but there is lots of paperwork to do with the Coast Guard, State Archaeologists (Dr. Nick), and some others. I think it will take at lest 2 years to get all the permits and funding in place to bring it up.

I still think the Lex is more dificult, the key is to know that she has about 8 beams across her that are at an angle. These beams seem to have been part of the lifting cradle when they got her to the surface back in 1842. There are also some (I'm one) who think that what we call the Lexington may be something else. Here is her sidescan from NOAA.

In the western Sound the Ben. F. Packard can be rough due to lobster line and depth - sand at 190' and deck at 165 or so. Attached is a good sidescan of the Packard.

 

[Gilldiver]

Here are some diving reports from the Lexington in 1842:

Republican Standard
Bridgeport, Conn. Tuesday Morning, August 16, 1842

The Lexington - The divers have found the remains of this ill fated steamship, and have thoroughly examined the after part of the hold. The center was covered by a part of the bow, which had broken off near the engine and fallen over upon it. The men say that there is no sand in the ship, and nothing to prevent her being raised, though she is lies in a hundred and twenty feet water. It will be recollected that the iron chest on board the Lexington contained a large sum of money in specie and bank notes. So far no bodies have been discovered, and it is not probable that any remained on board when she went down. Arrangements are making to raise her immediately. –Jour. of Commerce.

Step 24, 1842 - Page 2

The Lexington - The Tribune says: The wreck of this ill-fated vessel has been raised to the surface of the water, but one of the chains breaking, she again sank in 120 feet of water. The attempt is again in progress. The eight hundred dollars recovered from her were not in bills, as before stated, but in a lump of silver, weighing 30 pounds, melted by fire, the box having been emptied on the deck to be used as a bucket for throwing water on the flames.

 

[Sean222]

I wholeheartedly agree with wreck.reel and Pete. I have never been on the Lexington but the Larchmont and Metis are far more difficult dives than the U-853. The U boat is pretty easy to navigate and although I hear people sometimes talk about current, in almost 20 years of diving it I can't really remember ever having any really appreciable current. Now, on the other hand the Metis and Larchmont have very strong currents if not dived at slack. They are also much more harder to navigate because they are not
contiguous like the U boat. The other factor is that you can dive different depth levelson the Uboat. On the Larchmont it is stricly a 121-130' rectangular profile(with the exception of the top of the Paddlewheel(s). That being said, I love all three. I don't dive for the challenge of it. I dive for the history and marinelife.

 

[Gilldiver]

This is the 3rd of the Diving U-853 series.

Control Room:

Looking aft while in the bomb hole you will see the large round hatch that leads into the sub’s control room, this was the operational heart of the boat. There are 3 ways into the control room, the first is the large round hatch from the crews quarters and the bomb hole, the next is a large round hatch in the aft bulkhead leading into the diesel engine room and the third is a small hatch that leads into the conning tower. The hatch to the conning tower is very tight and no diver can get through it with tanks on. It should never be considered to be an escape route, 1st because it is so tight, 2nd because it leads to another compartment that is even more difficult to get out of.

As you enter the control room, just in front and slightly to your right will be a mound. This mound is the remains of 37 mm antiaircraft ammunition. The cases were steel and have mostly rotted away. You will still find the shells or bullets, but don’t play with them. They are explosive shells and still live, also some are tracer rounds have phosphorous in them and might light off if exposed to air.

Hard to your left is the planesmen’s stations. There used to be large steel wheels there but they have rusted away. A bit further in and slightly to the left of the boats centerline is a large column which is the casing for the two periscopes. There is a small access door on the front side that you can try to have a look through. Immediately in front of the periscope support is the combing of the hatch into the Conning Tower (more on this later)Take your time and look around here, there is a lot to see. As in any wreck, look up – almost all divers only look down and so miss ½ of the wreck. If you plan to go further aft in the control room or on into the diesel engine room, keep to the right to pass around the periscope support. A very small diver might get around to the left of the support, but only at great effort and the complete stirring up of the silt/sand.

Once past the periscope support you should see a number of valves in the far right corner and a large round hatch leading into the diesel engine room.

Now to back up a bit and into the conning tower.

Conning Tower
I really can’t tell you much about the Conning tower as I have never been in it (or the conning towers of the U-85 or U-352). Nor have many others. The two hatches into the Conning tower are: 1) the hatch from outside on top that you should have seen on your swim around the outside and 2) the hatch down into the Control room. As you will find, both hatches are only about 20-24 inches wide. The divers that have been inside the Conning tower have reported it very tight with the periscopes taking up almost all the room just aft of the entry. The divers I know tell me that there was only room to turn around in. Please note, these divers took their tanks and fins off and had support divers to help them in and out. In all cases the diver penetrating the Conning tower used a 30 or 40 pony/stage for the penetration part of the dive. An experienced team of wreck divers should have at least 3 divers – the penetration diver, one to help the penetration diver into and out of his tanks (and fins, the amount of movement to get through the hatch with fins on would completely spoil the vis inside), and one to aid the penetration diver into and out of the hatch and hand in/out any camera/video units. The conning tower is no place for any diver who 1) does not have years of experience and 2) a support team dedicated to his/her safe entry and exit.

The interactive video on the U-505 site referenced earlier will give you a much better picture of what is in the Conning tower then I can.

The next post will be on the diesel and eletric motor rooms.

 

[Gilldiver]

Part 4 on diving the U-853

Diesel Engine and Electric Motor Rooms

If you decide to penetrate into the diesel engine room, you will be entering one of the tighter and furthest away compartments of the wreck. Once inside you will have to pass through one compartment and at least one hatch to reach an easy exit both ways. The area between the diesel engines is also the tightest passage that you will have to do in the boat.

There are three exits in the diesel engine room, the round hatch from the control room, a rectangular hatch into the electric motor room, and a crews hatch to the outside that is between the diesel engines. This last hatch will exit next to the 37mm anti-aircraft mount on the exterior of the boat.

As you enter the diesel engine room, you will be in one of the larger areas in the room. In front of you are the two engines and right above you are the main induction valves that let in air to run the engines on the surface or when using the snorkel. To your right you may see some white round objects, these are glass electrical fuses. If you look carefully at the front of the engines you may be able to see the remains of the start/stop and throttle stations. But these stations are much deteriorated. On top of the engines you will see the valve rocker arms and springs. A good viewing of the movie Das Boat (The Boat) will go a long way in helping you visualize this area, even if the boat in that movie was a Type VII.

About 4 or 5 feet past the very front of the engines and above them is the crews hatch to the outside. The hatch is tight, but smaller divers can make it out with tanks on, but only with effort and there is a combing of about 20” that you have to pass through. All of the other hatches on the boat are thin in section and once you pass the thickness of the hull you are done. This hatch is more like a short tunnel. When passing between the engines you only have about 24” of clearance between the engine blocks, it is tight. Take careful notice of the diesel fuel feed lines that run the length of the engines right where you want to go. I find that I have to keep my shoulders above these lines to pass through. The good news is that they do make good hand rails to pull yourself along with.

When you have passed the engines you will be in a larger area where you can stop and have a good look at the back of the engines. On the bulkhead right in front of you facing aft is the rectangular hatch, or really a door, to the Electric motor room. Passing through this hatch is fairly easy, but I find getting my arms and shoulders through first and pulling through works well. You are now in the Electric Motor Room.

Electric Motor Room
As the name implies, this is where the electric motors are. This compartment has 3 exits, the rectangular hatch to the Diesel Engine Room, a round hatch into the After Torpedo Room, and a large bomb hole on the Starboard side aft (the diver left side heading aft) in the compartment. The electric motors were used when the boat was submerged. The motors themselves are mostly under the decking as they were directly attached to the propeller shaft, but you can see the curve of the top of both of them. This compartment is perhaps the easiest and most “clean” of all the intact compartments and easiest to penetrate. Besides the top of the motors, there is not a lot to see, but as it is clean. The bomb hole is big enough to easily get though, but you need to take care os the edges which can be sharp. Other then the large bomb hole forward of the conning tower, this is the easiest entry into an intact compartment on the wreck.

I would recommend that newer divers spend some time in here just looking around, let the sound track of Das Boat play in your head, and perhaps say a prayer for the crew who still remain on the boat. Most were less then 22 years old and most knew that by that time in the war, they were on a suicide mission, but went anyway and died for their country.

My next post will be on some thoughts on the steps and training on the wreck to allow you to safely penetrate all the compartments.

 

[ScubaSarus]

With descriptions like that we could build a 3D image and allow those of us with no wreck penetration experience to do a virtual dive thru.

Time to re-write the wreck diving books. We have so much experience on this board and if everyone pooled their experiences together we could write one heck of a book.

Nice job Gilldiver

 

[Gilldiver]

This will be my 5th and final post on diving the U-853. Here I want to go over some easy penetrations and how you might want to work up to them. But most important, it will greatly speed your practical education if you can find a good boat and a diving mentor who will show you the ropes, and the wreck.

There are more then a few boats running out to the U-boat from CT, NY, and RI. The CT boats are out of Mystic and New London, NY boats run from Montauk, and RI boats run from Point Judith and Newport. When you make your reservations, ask if there are any divers going that might be able to fill the mentor role, there just may be.

Now for the wreck; I’m not going to go over the After Torpedo Room in any depth as I think I did that well enough in the 1st post. Here I’m going to talk about penetrations.

#1) The easiest route is from the open after torpedo room forward through the large round bulkhead hatch into the Electric Motor room, then out the bomb hole on the wrecks right hand side. You can go forward and have a look through the rectangular hatch into the Diesel Engine room, but don’t go in on your first trip, just get used to the insides of the boat. You may want to do a few entries and exits on this route to get used to passing through the hatch.

#2) A simple in and out of the control room through the forward bomb hole and the round hatch in the control rooms forward bulkhead. Just go in and stop and look around, study the photo’s from the U-505 and try to superimposed your mental image on what you see. After a while, the wreck will start to come alive for you. On your second or third time in the control room, work your way to the after hatch into the Diesel Engine room, then back out through the control room and forward bomb hole.

#3) You should now be comfortable in both the Control room and the Electric motor room, time to put them together. Pass through the Control room and into the Diesel engine room, move slowly and work your way between the engines and back to the hatch into the Electric motor room. Then out the aft bomb hole or through the hatch to the after torpedo room. I find that it is easier to go from the control room aft then to work forward from the electric motor room.

#4) Move forward from the forward bomb hole into the crews spaces. Don’t go far and don’t go past the galley. Just get used to the space and what is there. Then turn around and back out the bomb hole.

#5) If you want to go into the forward torpedo room, practice going through the after torpedo loading hatch. The hatch just leads to the open areas of the after torpedo room, so it is almost like jumping through a hoop. Get used to getting into the area from on deck and from the room area back out through the hatch. When you are both proficient and comfortable doing this, you should be ready for the forward torpedo room. I have described the forward torpedo room in post #2, just remember the I-beams are your highway, use them if you are at all unsure.

#6) If you are comfortable in the forward torpedo room, perhaps it is time to head aft into the crews quarters. But don’t do it just to do it and don’t let anyone push you to do it. Many, if not most divers will ever go into the forward torpedo room, and even fewer will head aft into the crews quarters. For this route, it is in the forward torpedo loading hatch, back through the crews quarters, past the galley, and on to the forward bomb hole.

#7) The grand tour, In the forward torpedo loading hatch up to the forward torpedo tubes, back into the crews quarters, to the bomb hole, into the control room, then the diesel engine room, on to the electric motor room, and out the after torpedo room. This final dive takes me about 15 minutes to slowly make my way and not stirring up the bottom passing through 7 hatches along the way.

I have specifically not gone into gear, equipment, gasses, tanks, running lines, etc. These are for you to decide on with your training and practical experience. But I would make an observation about lines in the wreck. Just about all the routes I have laid out go in one hatch or area and out another. If you run a line, you will either have to reverse your full trip to reel it up or cut it off. Cutting off a penetration line is not only bad form as far as littering the wreck, but you have just left an entanglement hazard for the next diver/team. For this reason, I do not run a line inside the U-853.

Pete Johnson