 |
U-1105 Shipwreck Preserve
 On May 8, 1995, the State of Maryland, in partnership with the U.S. Navy, formally opened its first underwater shipwreck preserve off Piney Point in the Potomac River. The subject of the preserve is the rubber-sheathed German submarine U-1105 — the “Black Panther.” An early attempt at stealth technology and the only known example remaining from fewer than 10 such vessels, the U-1105 was turned over to the U.S. Navy for study and testing upon its surrender at the end of World War II. The submarine was sunk and raised a couple of times before being finally subjected to a test of high explosives in the Potomac. An error in the transcription of longitude and latitude figures masked its location for decades until the transposition of the figures was discovered and sport divers relocated the vessel. Its relatively intact condition, despite naval stripping of equipment prior to detonation and the damage of the explosion per se, raised the specter of vandalism.
Captured German submarine U-1105 prior to sinking in the Potomac River, 1949.
Since all such vessels remain the property of the U.S. Navy, permission to proceed with a preserve was required and received. The Navy also generously funded the preserve through a Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program grant which also provided funds for a related exhibit housed at the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum. For more information about the preserve, contact the Office of Archeology at 410-514-7661, or St. Clement's Island Potomac River Museum at 301-769-2222.
*** If you have already visited the U-1105 shipwreck preserve, we need your input. ***
|
Send me more information on the U-1105 Shipwreck Preserve and other Maryland archeology programs and volunteer opportunities! |
If you would like us to send you materials about the U-1105 Shipwreck Preserve, or the various archeology programs and opportunities available for volunteers, please click on one of the documents below, complete the form, and email it as an attachment to the email address provided in the document.
For information on Underwater Projects for Volunteers, the U-1105 Shipwreck Preserve, Laboratory Projects for Volunteers, the 2008 Workshop in Archeology, the 2008 Maryland Archeology Month, or Internship Opportunities, open this document.
For information on Terrestrial Projects for Volunteers, Laboratory Projects for Volunteers, the 2008 Workshop in Archeology, the 2008 Maryland Archeology Month, or Internship Opportunities, open this document.
|
| For information on membership in the Archeological Society of Maryland, click here.
|
Thank you for your interest in Maryland archeology!
|
Emergency Numbers:
DAN...(919) 684-8111 US Coast Guard...(301) 872-4344
DNR Police...(301) 888-1601 Maryland State Police...(301) 475-8955
Please report all damage/vandalism/theft to the Maryland Historical Trust and the DNR Police.
Contact Numbers:
Maryland Historical Trust...(410) 514-7661; e-mail
St. Clement's Island Museum...(301) 769-2222
Piney Point Museum...(301) 994-1471
Last updated: February 4, 2008
|
