Joint Army/Navy salvage effort gets underway

Photo Essay - click on each image to view at full size

19 August, 2007 Museum officials have been hampered by a lack of engineering drawings or builders' plans, which we have been unable to obtain from Russia because they are still classified. Almost all our technical knowledge about the sub comes from reverse engineering the data developed when the sub was drydocked in preparation for the filming of the Harrison Ford movie 'K-19: The Widowmaker'", he concluded. Submarine veterans from the Soviet Navy with an intimate knowledge of the workings of this boat have helped the museum and the Navy develop additional information, but more data was needed before salavge could begin. As a result, the Navy dispatched a team of four salvage experts to Germany earlier this month to inspect U-461, K-77's sister sub, moored in Peenemunde. Russian Sub Manager Bill Sheridan accompanied that group, primarily to provide details about how the sub in Rhode Island differs from the sub in Germany.

17-25 August, 2007 These pictures show the Army Landing Craft (Utility) 2031 New Orleans, based in Tampa, which is being used as the support vessel and dive platform for this phase of the salvage operation.
Arrival on August 17	View of the bridge of the 174 foot long vessel	Landing Craft (Utility) 2031
View of dive operations from the bridge; hurricane barrier and new I-195 overpass in background	Joint service nature of the operation is clearly shown in this photo.

19-20 August, 2007 The office of the Navy's Superintendent of Salvage is a key player in this mission. These photos show the arrival of the command trailer and other equipment to support the exercise.
SUPSALV support trailers arrive, 19 August	SUPSALV, Naval Sea Systems Command	Trailers set in place, 20 August

19-25 August, 2007 In order to maximize the training benefit, 24 active duty divers participated in this phase of the mission--12 each from the Army and Navy. Many had already done salvage work in a combat environment in Iraq, but all agreed this experience was unique and invaluable. Warrant Officer Peter Sharpe, leader of the Navy dive team, described the chance to dive on and inside a sunken submarine as a “once-in-a-career” opportunity.
Tending divers, 19 August	Tending divers, 19 August	Army & Navy divers, 25 August
Tending divers, 19 August	Navy divers tent, 25 August

19-25 August, 2007 In order to stabilize the vessel and try to right the 48 degree list, the plan is to attach four 7200 pound anchors via large wire cable to strong points on the sub. The anchors were buried ten feet deep into the ground. Compressed air would be pumped into the port side ballast tanks, while cable pullers put tension on the cables. These photos show the sequence of the setup for that operation.
Anchors and cable arrive, 19 August	Offloading operations	One of the anchors
Unspooling the wet end of the cable, 23 August	Setting the aft anchor, 24 August	Aft anchor in position, 24 August
Digging out the fwd anchor hole, 25 August

29 August, 2007 Fox News (national) reporter Laura Ingle (r) and producer Shira Weitz with members of the Army-Navy IRT team.

Last Updated:
8/30/07