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Air Bubbles

The Newsletter of the North Shore Frogmen’s Club

Volume 55, Number 11

November 2013

President’s Message - November 2013

Happy Fall!

We had planned to reenact the original 1959 Life Magazine photo to have a "Then and Now" segment for the club. Markus Diersbock was able to obtain the permission needed to use the original photo. Mike Garvey spent time meeting with Art Channell, who was in the original photo. Mike met with him to find out where the exact site of the photo was located. The original site lies on personal property and we received permission to shoot another photo on the owner's property. Unfortunately, this whole process took up a lot of time. Since we are closer to the holidays and colder weather, we decided to wait until spring 2014 to do the new photo. I would like to thank Mike and Markus for their help in getting this project going.

We will be having a photo contest! Please go through your awesome photos from this year and get them printed and get them to Mary! The deadline for submissions will be Thursday Nov.21st. New this year, there will be an underwater video category. See the photo contest section of this newsletter for full rules and details. The photo contest will be held on Dec5th and will coincide with the elections for officers for 2014.

We are heading towards that time to start considering nominations for officers. Ask not what the Frogmen can do for you, but what you can do for the Frogmen! We will also be looking for members that would like to assist on committees for membership, activities, dive coordinators, event planning, etc. Please let us know if you have any interest in participating with any of the previously mentioned roles in the club.

Our Banquet will be held on Saturday, Dec.7th at the Italian Community Center (ICC) at 302 Rantoul St in Beverly, MA at 7pm. The banquet will be held in their function room on the second floor and is handicapped accessible. The function room is spacious and they also have a large parking lot so we will have plenty of room all the way around. I'm sure there will be options to purchase tickets online as well as in person at the meetings. I will send out emails to notify everyone about purchasing tickets as soon as everything is set up.

I would like to name John Ferrier as diver of the month. He has done a great job as dive coordinator over the summer and has been up early every Sunday to meet divers at BK. I would like to name Adam Hartnett as member of the month for all of his work organizing the catering for the upcoming banquet.

-Laura Gallagher

COMING UP

Nov 7: Presentation – Greg and Mike Procopio will give a presentation to the NSF about the USS Monitor.

Nov 21: Presentation – Jennifer Entwistle will talk to the Club about Marine Mammal Rescue

IN THIS ISSUE:
President’s Message	pg. 1
Meeting Summaries	pg. 2
Boston Scuba Show	pg.3
Coming Events	pg. 4-5
Pumpkin Carving Pictures	pg. 6
U-505 by Jack Munro	pg. 7-8

*Deadline for submissions* for the December 2013 issue

of Air Bubbles is

Thursday, November 21

Visit our website at www.northshorefrogmen.com

AIR BUBBLES – NOVEMBER 2013

Meeting Summaries

3-Oct-2013

Meeting called to order: 7:30PM Attendance: 2 Officers, 12 Members

Committees:

-Membership: Email rec’d from Jeff

Boudreau; John Ferrier met and dove with him at Lanes Cove. Should be joining soon.

-Program: See website for details

-MetroWest has Ethan Gordon scheduled to speak on 10/8, great speaker

-Pumpkin Carving Dive at Stage Fort Park on 10/12

-Air Bubbles: Oct issue will be out soon.

Dive Talk:

-Bill W dove with John S and Jim D on MD Diver; Kettle Island; lots of v- notched bugs (not taken of course) and they got 1 scallop.

-Jack M dove USS NH, got 20 lbs of bronze; on item looked like a flag holder, possibly

-Markus D dove at Halfway Rock on Damn Boat; saw a seal, and did excellent bug hunting.

-John F, at Lanes Cove with Ralph A. John got 10 bugs and Ralph got 5.

-Adam H at OGB and Back Beach w/2 friends who never dove in New England before. Saw a gold pipefish.

-Gary M and Ralph A at Lanes Cove via boat. Ralph got 5 bugs and the vis changed dramatically between dives.

-Jim B at OGB w/ Dive Society, dove dry, saw torpedo ray swimming around, not just resting in the sand.

-Sunday Dive this weekend: BK at 7:30, leave just before 8am.

General Discussion:

-Al and Vinny did some clamming on shore at Dane St/Independence Park shoreline in Beverly; got razor clams

-Jim D’Urso saw 10’ blue shark off Tilly’s while fishing..

Raffles: Dollars Box: Laura Gallagher Mystery Prize: Ginny Cookson Bug Bag: will go off 10/17

10-Oct-2013

Meeting called to order: 7:38PM Attendance: 4 Officers, 16 Members, 5

guests

Secretary: Minutes from last meeting read and accepted.

Committees:

-Membership: Jim Cook was voted in as our newest member.

-Program: See website for details

Raffles: Dollars Box: John Marren

Mystery Prize: Mike

Bug Bag: Will go off on 10/17

PRESENTATION by Ryan King on Cave Diving in Ginnie Springs. Great show!

17-Oct-2013

Meeting called to order: 7:30PM

Attendance: 2 Officers, 127 Members Secretary: Minutes from last business

meeting read and accepted.

Committees:

-Membership: Ellen to send test

messages to John to check “membership” email addresses.

-Program: See website for details

-Skiing 1st week in March at

Steamboat. Contact John Ferrier if you’re interested.

-East Coast Divers social on Saturday

-10/24-Wing Night at Angela’s Pizza

-10/31- No meeting on Halloween

-12/5-Elections and Photo Contest – you should be working on your entries for the Photo Contest!

Old Business: Mike Garvey has gotten permission from all the property owners at Plum Cove to recreate the Life Magazine photo. We’ll do it in the spring (too late to try to do it this year).

Dive Talk:

-There were about 12 people carving pumpkins, and several others kayaking and several bystanders.

Jack Munro and Jim Cook participated. Jack says “it’s a little easier than dynamiting underwater!”

-Jim B, Gary & Jim Cook went to Niles Beach. 2 good dives. 6-8’ vis. Gary went for a lobster and silted it up so everybody lost each other.

-Bruce was at Folly Cove today. Fantastic, warm, 8-10’ vis, no wind. Lots of crabs, 1 lobster, flounder. Couple shorts on the 2nd dive; got a nice picture.

-Dive this weekend:

-Ralph Arabian wants to dive Saturday if anyone’s interested

-BK Sunday 8am, leave around 8:30. Laura will announce time change.

Raffles: Dollars Box: John Marren

Mystery Prize: Jim Barbara

Bug Bag: Cheryl & Bruce Moore

The North Shore Frogmen’s Club

PO Box 3604

Peabody, MA 01961

2013 OFFICERS

President: Laura Gallagher Tel: 508 843-2395

Email: searaven00@yahoo.com

Vice President: Adam Hartnett Email: greatnewsadam@gmail.com

Treasurer: Vinny Egizi

Tel: (858) 342-3365

Email: vinnymass@yahoo.com

Secretary: Ellen Garvey Tel: 781-595-4978

Email: elleng@alumni.duke.edu

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Membership: membership@northshorefrogmen.com

Newsletter: Mary Howard

Tel: (781) 944-1292

Email: m.m.howard@comcast.net

Webmaster: Markus Diersbock mdiersbock@gmail.com

Visit our website at www.northshorefrogmen.com

AIR BUBBLES – NOVEMBER 2013

Diver of the Month

for October 2013

John Ferrier

Member of the Month

for October 2013

Adam Hartnett

Photo of then-Governor Dukakis signing the “Free The Beaches” law in November of 1986.

NEWS RELEASE

October 9, 2013

The Boston Scuba Show is scheduled for March 1, 2014 at The Holiday Inn on Rte 1, (1 Newbury Street), Peabody, Massachusetts. Beginning at 10

A.M. and continuing through to 3 P.M. the program will feature: Jonathan Bird of TV’s

Jonathan Bird’s BLUE WORLD. Jonathan will be showing and discussing videos shot during his many adventures. Also on the program will be: Deb Greenhalgh and Steve Lubas, returning from TRUK Lagoon; Dallas and Linda Edmiston coming in from YAP, popular Pacific retreat; in- water photo offerings from GUAM with Donna Calhoun; Diver Ed, recently escaped from Maine; the films of Bill Lovin; the amazing crack-of-dawn underwater photography of Jerry Shine; Recreational Rebreathers and Cold Water Sidemount Diving with Alex Dulavitz; current ramblings of Alex Shure; a new film and lively commentary by Chris and Fred Calhoun. Audio- visual by Linda and Kerry Hurd. Program directed by Alan Budreau.

The Underwater Club of Boston Paul Revere Spike Award will be given to Alexine Raineri.

During the show, attendees can be part of a group photo with Jonathan Bird…copies available.

Attendees are eligible for a free scuba experience at selected local dive shops. Inquire at the show upon arrival. Compliments of The Dive Patrol, Inc.

Tickets at $15 per will be available at the door on the day of the show, or may be purchased in advance by writing to Cecile Christensen, 2 Ocean Ave (1-H), Gloucester, Ma 01930. Checks payable to THE DIVE PATROL.

Visit our website at www.northshorefrogmen.com

AIR BUBBLES – NOVEMBER 2013

Coming Events:

November 7:

Presentation at North Shore Frogmen’s Club: Greg and Mike Procopio will talk about the USS Monitor.

November 21:

Jennifer Entwistle will discuss Marine Mammal Rescue.

Nominations for 2014 NSF Club Officers

Beginning at the first Business Meeting in November (11/7/13), the 2013 officers will entertain nominations for officers for next year, to take over “commencing

with the New Business portion of the last scheduled Club meeting in December and ending with the conclusion of the Old Business portion of the last scheduled Club

meeting in December of the following year.”

Consider that it may be your time to run for office. Talk to current and past officers to understand the requirements of the various positions, and refer to the Club’s Bylaws for the “legal” descriptions.

Nominations begin 11/1/13.

Elections will be held on 12/5/13.

Please Welcome our newest

Club Member

Jim Cook

2013 PHOTO CONTEST

Get your photos printed and make submissions for the contest to me by November 21 at the latest!

Contest Categories:

1)Cold Water

2)Species Interaction in cold water

3)Warm Water

4)Species Interaction in warm water

5)Above Water / Dive Related (must have some sign(s) of diving activity in the picture)

6)New – Video category

Photo Contest Rules:

Submissions are to be made by members of the

North Shore Frogmen’s Club only.

Submitted photos and videos must have been taken since September 2012.

Photos are to be submitted as prints, maximum size no more than 8 1/2” x 11”.

Submitted photos may not be matted or framed.

 Please label photos as to orientation (i.e. UP ), as there is no guarantee that I will be able to tell what you think the orientation is.

Note the category on the back of each photo (see 7 categories below).

Provide any photo titles you may wish to have displayed with your pictures. (I will not make up any titles, and titles really add a certain something to voters!)

Maximum of 4 submissions per photographer per print category. Please contact me if you plan a submission to the video category.

I’m looking forward to seeing some fantastic photos from Club members!!

Mary Howard

Who was voted in on October 10, 2013.

Visit our website at www.northshorefrogmen.com

AIR BUBBLES – NOVEMBER 2013

U-505: A TYPE IX-C U-BOAT BUILT IN HAMBURG Germany in 1941

Story written by Rear Admiral Gallery and retold by Jack Munro

Early in WWII with only 50+ U-boats, the Germans started building many. By the end of WEII 1,100 had been build. At

the beginning of the war, the British base at Scapa Flow was considered impenetrable, yet U-47 commanded by Guntur

Prien got in the base and sank “The Royal Oak” and left without a scratch. By 1942 U-boats had sunk 1,570 allied ships totaling 7,700,000 tons and were building new U-boats like the U-505 at a rate of nearly 30 per month.

The allies were stunned, but were putting together a plan that would put Germany at risk by later reversing the sinking of allied vessels and we were new sinking U-boats. By war’s end, 70% of the U-boats were on the bottom and one (U-505)

was to end up in a Chicago museum.

The story of how the U-505 ended up in Jackson Park in Chicago, 1,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, is as follows:

The U-505 was commissioned on August 26, 1941 at Hamburg, Germany. After training the crew, Captain Axel Loewe set off on his first war patrol in early 1942. During his first twelve days in the patrol area, he spent 258 hours on the surface and only 34 hours submerged. This was a good indication of how the U-boats were controlling the seas at this time.

Late in 1942 the convoys crossing in the North Atlantic were first attached by Wolf Packs. One really bad attack was called the “Night of the long Knives” by the Germans. There were 83 ships in the convoy and 32 were sunk and many

more were damaged. The first U-boat Aces were Prien in U-47, Schopke in U-100, and Kretschmer in U-99. Six months later the British Allies got even by sinking all three. Kretschmer survived as a POW. At the time of the writing of this book in the late 1950s, Kapitan Kretschmer Zur See became the head of the New German Submarine Navy.

The U-505 under the command of Captain Loewe sunk nine merchant ships totaling 26,000 tons, but not enough to qualify for the Iron Cross. In order to qualify for the Iron Cross you needed to sink 50,000 tons. The Germans had sub pens in Brest and Lorient on the French coast. U-505 went there to overhaul engines, fuel up, and load food and torpedoes, plus shells for the deck guns.

On the second war patrol the U-505 was sent into the American waters and the Caribbean. While on route, they tracked and sunk a Robin Hood Class freighter, a 6,900 ton vessel. The first torpedo disabled the ship and Loewe waited for the

lifeboats to be lowered and an SOS to be sent before finishing the ship off with the third torpedo. The first day in the Caribbean they tracked and sunk the Thomas McKean out of Baltimore, MD. They again disabled the ship, let the crew send an SOS and let them lower the lifeboats,

gave them medicine and bandages and navigation aids to shore, then finished sinking the McKean with deck guns. During the war, both sides claimed sinking ships. Both the allies and Germany kept pretty good records with photos and names of people on all sides. Boards were set up to verify as much as possible. At

the end of the war, all records were checked and rechecked and most of the boards were quite accurate.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow were the days in between action that occurred most often, like a muffled explosion in the engine room. The diesel was shut down and

the explosion was tracked down. It was found to be a large can of Frankfurt sausages that exploded because of the tropical conditions both on board and outside of the U-boat 505. The Captain made the decision to eat the sausages rather than throw them overboard until they were gone. Food aboard submarines was stored all over where there was space

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AIR BUBBLES – NOVEMBER 2013

available. U-boats had no refrigeration so they ate the perishables first, then the eggs which were marked with an x on

one side and rotated every day. They could last three weeks because of doing that. Twenty-three days went by with not much going on until the U-505 encountered the “Romar”, a three masted schooner with a Columbian flag. It did not stop

for the warning shot and it was sunk by Loewe via gunfire. The schooner was sunk weighing four hundred tons without much concern for the crew. U-boat 505 luck changed after that. Loewe was sick a few days before the sinking of the

schooner and after the sinking he called U-boat headquarters and headed back to Lorient. When he returned, his appendix was removed and he never returned to active duty again. He would spend the rest of the war ashore on Doenitz’s staff.

Kapitan Lieutenant Cszhech took command of the U-505, having served as Executive Officer on the U-124 which under the command of Captain Mohr had sunk over 100,000 tons of shipping in two weeks’ time. The U-505 crew expected big

thinks of the new skipper. In October of 1942, the U-505 sailed back to the Caribbean with a new piece of radar equipment called the “Metox”. Cszhech was asked by the crew to do things that Captain Loewe had routinely let them

do, but the answer was always no. He was also asked to promote Willi Bunger, and the answer was still no. He also

painted over the lion on the conning tower. Near Trinidad he contacted and sighted a freighter and the chase was on. In his haste, Cszhech’s torpedo was too fast, but he corrected that and sunk the 5,500 ton steamer, which did have time to

send an SOS. That was something that Loewe never would have done. The next morning Cszhech tracked another target, missed a zigzag and fired a torpedo which missed; then he did a totem pole (slang for keeping the periscope up too high and too long). The target might have seen it and could have changed course. The

tonnage for this score was 46,200 tons. Captain Cszhech also dismissed the crew’s idea of extra lookouts for targets and the enemy. His answer was that they had the “Metox” and that is

better than lookouts. A half an hour later, a twin engine Lockheed dropped four bombs on and around the bridge right after the Captain left. The U-505 shook as, with a loud noise, the bombs

exploded, followed by a loud explosion away from the boat. The Lockheed was too low when they dropped the bombs,

causing the plane to explode and crash. Both pilots were killed, and the Officer on the deck and the lookouts were severely injured. The boat’s

superstructure part of the bridge and lots of vital piping was damaged. Cszhech got back on deck, giving orders to help with the injured with no yelling, and helped the Chief Engineer to report the damage. The port enging flooded and was damaged. The damaged piping and wood was thrown overboard. The starboard engine was running again and the U-505 limped away before they got caught by another plane or ship. Four thousand miles away from Lorient, and the radio was out but going again after the antenna was repaired, they were able to contact U-boat headquarters to get

help at sea from the other U-boats. While still near Trinidad a flying boat appeared, but by some miracle did not see them. After twelve hours of nonstop work, the wounded rested below. Torches and hacksaws repaired the pipe ends so hopefully the boat could dive. The pressure hull was intact, but the diving systems and fuel tanks were leaking. A few days later other U-boats arrived and the U-505 could dive, but only for a short time. The severed wounded, Officer of the Deck and one of the lookouts moved to another boat. Medical supplies, food, and spare parts were given to the boat. They were given help to stop the fuel leak so that they would not run out of fuel and get seen and tracked by aircraft.

Back in Lorient, the U-505 spent six months being rebuilt. Doenitz met with the Captain and the Executive Officer going over every detail of the patrol. Lorient and Brest were under constant bombing by the Allies. The locals hated the Germans being there, not only because the bombs would frequently fall in the villages, but also the food shortages and constant harassment of all the females there. There was a lot of sabotage of parts in the shipyards as well. When the U-

505 arrived, Doenitz had lost eighty-six boats that year, but in the six months that they were there, they lost one hundred fifty more boats including Doenitz’s son’s boat.

On June 30, 1943, the last night before the U-505 was ready to leave, upon starting to leave, they found major problems with the U-boat and had to go back to the dock again. The repairs were made and on July 3, 1943 they left again, only to find more problems and Cszhech not wanting to go back. At one hundred twenty feet of water, after charging the batteries, they were bombed over and over again. Cszhech was thinking it was a destroyer, but it was a plane that had spotted them.

Visit our website at www.northshorefrogmen.com