move
The zone begins to shake and dematerialize.
You feel a slight motion.
Outside the twilight zone, you see:
U-505
The zone restabilizes itself.

out
With a jolt, you are hurled out.

U-505

You are inside the cavernous Kriegsmarine slips at Brest, 
France, in 1942. Tied to the quay to your 'west' is the U-505, 
a type IXc U-Boat. You may go aboard and explore its interior. 
You can also learn more about its exterior by typing 'survey'. 
To learn the purpose of this virtual exhibit 
(the ACTUAL U-505 is on display at Museum of 
Science & Industry, Chicago) type 'mission'. 
To learn who helped create this exhibit, type 'credits'.  
You see a gangplank heading west, toward the sub's Conning Tower. 
You see Sub Guide here.
You see the twilight zone here.
BenHM (U-Boot Commander) and Nox are here.
You join BenHM.

west
You walk the gangplank to the sub's deck. 
A short climb leads you to the... Conning Tower. 
This is the conning tower - submariners call 
it a 'sail' - where the Captain can direct surface 
operations by direct observation. It has a chest-high 
wall that is more for weather, as the bullet holes attest. 
As on the quay, you can type 'survey' to look at 
the exterior of the U-505 in more detail.
You see a gangplank going east to the quay.  
You see a circular hatch and
ladder leading down. (Way down, and tight.)
To the east you can see Nox and BenHM (U-Boot Commander) 
across the gangplank.

You drop down into the conning tower.

mission

This series of rooms is a virtual representation 
of the actual U-505, on display at the Museum of 
Science and Industry in Chicago.  The virtual exhibit 
is intended as a demonstration of the possibilities, 
toward the goal: of an on-line Museum.


survey

You start your survey from the front, or bow.  
The deck of the U-505 is flat, and made of boards 
supported above the cylindrical pressure-hull.  
Like most WWII subs, this is completely different from modern subs, 
where everything retracts into the smooth 
cylindrical outer-hull. Forward of the sail you 
see the davits and anchor winch.  
Directly in front of you, slightly to the left is 
the first generation air-search radar.  
You can learn more about it by typing .  
Immediately behind-and crowding you-are the masts 
for the periscope, air intakes and the schnorkel. 
Behind the masts are the two gun emplacements, 
each one a little lower than the other. For more about them, 
type .  As you look further back, you see the tapered stern.  
You see no obvious entries, other than the hatch at your feet, 
since they're all hidden by the deck boards.  
To learn about loading and logisitics in a U-Boat, 
type.... For all of its 76 m (249 ft) the U-505 looks really big.  
Keep that impression in mind as you tour the inside, 
you're in for a bit of a surprise.


enter U-505

U-505 is still under construction. Next