German G7e Torpedo Warhead and Its Ghostly Image

Shown here is a torpedo warhead recovered from the German submarine U-352 by U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal divers in the 1980s.  It is currently on display in the museum's World War II gallery.  The warhead comes from a G7e electric torpedo, one of twelve carried by the submarine. The warhead would have carried about 618 pounds (280 kilograms) of an explosive mixture known as Schießwolle 36 or Guncotton 36 (having been invented in 1936).  It contained a mixture of 67 percent  TNT, 25 percent aluminum powder, and 8 percent HND (a highly toxic explosive booster). 

A type VIIc U-boat, U-352 patrolled the American coast line in the Spring of 1942.  She did not have any success before being discovered by the Coast Guard ship USCG Icarus (WPC-110) southeast of Cape Hatteras.  352 actually got off the first shot, but the torpedo went wide and exploded prematurely.  Icarus closed the distance and fired off five depth charges in a diamond pattern.  The resulting explosions critically damaged 352 and forced her to the surface.  Icarus immediately opened up on the submarine with her 3-inch gun and machine-guns.  Already taking on water, the  submarine went down for the final time. Before the boat went down, thirty-three of her crew jumped into the water.  Icarus rescued and captured them all.


A close up of the pareidolia inside the
 museum's German torpedo warhead.

In the 1980s, the West German government requested that the United States remove all remaining human remains from the boat after receiving reports of looting.  It was during this recovery operation that the museum received the warhead.  Today, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Sanctuary office oversees the site and educates divers about the nature of the wreck.

This artifact is a favorite among HRNM docents because what can been see inside the warhead.  Years of oxidation and corrosion has created a white pattern of what looks like a face.  While this may be no more than a pareidolia, some think they are seeing a ghost.  Come see for yourself!

USS Cumberland and CSS Florida Expedition

Yesterday, Gordon Calhoun and I went with NOAA and NHHC's Underwater Archaeology branch to the sites of the USS Cumberland and CSS Florida wrecks, off Newport News. We spent the day observing marine archaeologists map the two wrecks with their new technology, creating sonar images of them so we can compare how the wrecks have settled and changed over the years.

Here are some of the images as the archaeologists viewed them on their computer screens. In future weeks, we'll be able to provide you with the official images, but these we took with our camera while on the boat.
The above image is of Florida. Note how fuzzy the sides of the wreck are, indicating the large amount of sediment on it.
This is an image of Cumberland. Note how much sharper this image is than Florida--much less sediment is on this ship. Below is another image of Cumberland in black and white.
All of the above images were taken by sonar equipment that was lowered into the water below the boat's hull. Here is a photo of the crew working to lower the equipment once we reached the approximate location of both wrecks.