Chicago's Griffin Museum of Science and Industry houses the U-505, the only German submarine captured by the U.S. Navy in World War II — and its former commander reportedly never left.
5700 S. Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60637
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
General admission required; U-505 submarine tour is a separate add-on ticket. See griffinmsi.org/pricing for current rates.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved; the U-505 interior tour involves a narrow submarine corridor — mobility-limited visitors may not be able to enter the vessel
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1941 · Only German submarine captured by the U.S. Navy in World War II · First enemy warship seized by the U.S. Navy since 1812 · Intelligence prize — Enigma machine and code materials recovered intact
The U-505 was laid down at Deutsche Werft in Hamburg and commissioned in August 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Axel-Olaf Loewe. It made several war patrols in the Atlantic and Caribbean, sinking eight Allied vessels during 1942. Command transferred to Oberleutnant zur See Peter Zschech in September 1942. Zschech conducted several patrols but faced increasing Allied anti-submarine capability. On October 24, 1943, during a patrol in the North Atlantic, the U-505 was attacked by depth charges from Allied aircraft. Zschech, reportedly under severe psychological strain from the attritional nature of the campaign, shot himself at the controls. He did not die immediately; crew members reportedly used a pillow to muffle his cries as Allied vessels passed overhead. He died before the submarine reached port. First watch officer Paul Meyer brought the boat safely back to Lorient.
On June 4, 1944, USS Guadalcanal task group intercepted the U-505 west of Spanish Sahara. Commander Daniel Gallery executed a boarding operation while the crew was abandoning ship, securing the vessel before it could be scuttled. The capture was classified for the duration of the war to prevent Germany from knowing that its codes and equipment had been compromised. The U-505 was the first foreign warship captured by the U.S. Navy since HMS Macedonian in 1812.
Daniel Gallery, now a rear admiral, campaigned to bring the submarine to Chicago rather than have it scrapped. The city agreed, and the U-505 was towed to Chicago and installed at the Museum of Science and Industry in 1954, initially as an outdoor exhibit. In 2004, a major restoration and relocation project moved the submarine indoors into a climate-controlled underground chamber. The museum was renamed the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in 2023 following a major gift from the Griffin family.
Sources
Haunting reports involving the U-505 cluster around the commander's quarters — the area of the boat where Peter Zschech died during the October 1943 attack. A security guard who worked the overnight shift in 2005 stated that she heard voices on the submarine every single night she was on duty. A separate account describes apparitions of legs, feet, or shoes visible through the door of the commander's cabin, with no corresponding body above. Temperature monitoring in the submarine has recorded drops of approximately 14 degrees Fahrenheit in localized areas inside the vessel.
Other reported phenomena include doors slamming without apparent cause on visitors inside the sub, the sensation of a hand on the shoulder, and electronic voice phenomena captured during informal investigations. The American Ghost Walks organization documented these accounts in detail and identifies the U-505 as among the more consistently reported haunted exhibits in the Chicago area.
The museum also carries broader haunting claims not connected to the submarine: the apparition of defense attorney Clarence Darrow on the museum terrace overlooking Jackson Park Lagoon, a young girl reported in the Blue Stairwell, and a mustachioed figure resembling H.H. Holmes observed in the Yesterday's Main Street exhibit. The Darrow account has some basis in the attorney's documented connection to the neighborhood — he died nearby in 1938 and reportedly requested his ashes be scattered at the adjacent lagoon.
Notable Entities
The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry occupies the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition on the Museum of Science and Industry campus in Hyde Park. General admission covers most permanent exhibits, including the Pioneer Zephyr train, Coal Mine, and Yesterday's Main Street. The U-505 submarine is a separate ticketed experience.
A separate ticketed tour takes visitors through the actual interior of the U-505, the German Type IXC submarine captured by USS Guadalcanal task force on June 4, 1944. The tour covers the control room — where Commander Peter Zschech died by suicide in October 1943 during a combat patrol — along with the torpedo room, engine room, and crew quarters. Guides present the full capture and Cold War-era restoration history.
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