The American flag flies from the tower of the captured U-505 German submarine near Cape Blanco in French West Africa on June 4, 1944, during World War II. (U.S. Navy)

This story was originally published in the Chicago Tribune on Aug. 14, 1954:

At the end of a 3,000 mile trip from the Atlantic ocean, the U-505, captured nazi submarine, was hauled ashore last evening on the 57th st. beach opposite the Science museum in Jackson park.

It was the first time in history that a submarine ever had been pulled ashore. For Maj. Lenox R. Lohr, museum president, it represented a dream first voiced eight years ago to have the naval war prize as a permanent war memorial in Chicago. The U-505 was captured by a task group, commanded by Rear Adm. Daniel G. Gallery, off the coast of French West Africa in 1944.

Bringing the U-boat to land was a major engineering feat, planned and directed by Seth Gooder, a retired engineer, and K.C. Thornton, naval architect of American Shipbuilding company. They donated their services as did many others who aided the special U-505 committee.

For nearly two weeks the U-505 was ready, sitting on a steel cradle, placed on top of steel house moving rollers, on the Great Lake Dredge and Dock company floating dry dock in Calumet river. Until yesterday weather fouled the landing plans.

As thousands of spectators watched from the shore, the dry dock, maneuvered by three small pushing tugs, eased up to a steel pier built out 30 feet from the shore line. Steel rails with rollers lay atop the pier.

The U-505 submarine is moved into position for its trip across Lake Shore Drive to the Museum of Science and Industry in 1954. Captured during World War II, the German U-Boat came to the museum to serve as a war memorial. After five decades outdoors, the museum brought the submarine inside and opened a 35,000-square-foot U-505 submarine exhibit in 2005. (Museum of Science and Industry)

Gooder, contending with fluctuation in the lake level, figured the bottom of the cradle would be 4 7/8 inches above the pier rails. The gap was found to be exactly 5 inches.

The lake movement caused the dry dock to rise and fall gently, but not enough to interfere with landing operations as workmen secured the vessel to the shore. Coming in stern first, the U-505 extended 65 feet past the end of the dry dock.

Expert house movers of the La Plant-Adair company of Indianapolis, which specializes in moving entire cities, then took over. They rigged 12 cable lengths thru pulleys from the cradle to the winch of an International Harvester company tractor.

Water ballast was taken aboard to lower the dry dock five inches. Then, inch by inch, the submarine was hauled ashore. As the center of gravity of the U-boat shifted landward, lines to two sets of pilings in the lake kept the rear of the dry dock from rising.

It was 6:55 p.m. when the winching started. About 3 1/2 hours later the U-505 was fully ashore on its cradle, its stern projecting over the sidewalk bordering S. Lake Shore dr.

In four days the house movers, using hydraulic jacks, will elevate the submarine six feet to a level with the roadway. Lake Shore dr. then will be closed to traffic overnight while the leviathan is hauled across. Three more days of rolling will be needed to place it outside the east door of the museum.

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