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In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withstand

JANFU

JANFU

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In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withstand Nazi U-boat attacks

In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withstand Nazi U-boat attacks | National Post

In the fall of 1942, Pyke had developed a material made from a mixture of ice and wood chips. Called pykrete, the substance not only floated, but stayed frozen at warm temperatures for a longer period than regular ice. It also repelled bullets.

Why not, Pyke reasoned, build a pykrete aircraft carrier that could be used to protect Allied convoys? Or better yet, a fleet of indestructible war ships?
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Yep- remains are at the bottom of the lake.
 
Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

idea_steed said:
I haven't heard of that
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The prototype is at the bottom of the lake.
I was unaware as well. But a friend had dived that lake and told me about it. He told me about this in 04 or 05.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Lake_(Alberta)

A diving expedition to the site in 1985[1] found the remains of the model on a steep slope just off-shore at a depth between 26 and 43 metres. Although the refrigeration equipment was removed before sinking, the wooden walls of the hull, an "incredible jumble"[1] of cold air ductwork and also a great quantity of the bitumen used as part of the insulation remained at the site. As of June 26, 2011 only the west wall of the structure remained intact; the rest has fallen to pieces and is strewn from 40 feet to 90 feet in depth. An underwater plaque at the site notes its part in World War II history.
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Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

JANFU said:
In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withstand Nazi U-boat attacks

In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withstand Nazi U-boat attacks | National Post


Yep- remains are at the bottom of the lake.
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If you spend any time driving around Alberta and Saskatchewan, you will see hundreds of abandoned air strips, used both for the training of pilots and ground crew, but for technological research away from prying eyes. I am told that much of the work done on the Avril Arrow was begun in such facilities.

The prairies were also where most German prisoners of war were shipped, again to isolate them by using the bald prairie as its own barrier.
 
Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

Fearandloathing said:
If you spend any time driving around Alberta and Saskatchewan, you will see hundreds of abandoned air strips, used both for the training of pilots and ground crew, but for technological research away from prying eyes. I am told that much of the work done on the Avril Arrow was begun in such facilities.

The prairies were also where most German prisoners of war were shipped, again to isolate them by using the bald prairie as its own barrier.
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I read that - and I don't know if they did this at other POW camps - one camp in Ontario actually let the prisoners out to go to town (apparently unsupervised) for short periods on the honor system and they always came back.

Not sure if it is true or not.
 
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Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

DA60 said:
I read that - and I don't know if they did this at other POW camps - one camp in Ontario actually let the prisoners out to go to town (apparently unsupervised) for short periods on the honor system and they always came back.

Not sure if it is true or not.
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'Fraid not...

Initially they had extreme security because the US was a neutral country and they did not want Nazi soldiers escaping and getting back into the war view the US back door.

They were however given excellent health care. A late friend of mine was a general surgeon in Alberta in those days providing free surgery to combatants.
 
Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

Fearandloathing said:
'Fraid not...

Initially they had extreme security because the US was a neutral country and they did not want Nazi soldiers escaping and getting back into the war view the US back door.

They were however given excellent health care. A late friend of mine was a general surgeon in Alberta in those days providing free surgery to combatants.
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Originally one of my family's friends was captured by the allies towards the end of the war when his captured P-51 was shot down. They were originally going to send him to Canada but then they found out he was an American, born and raised in New Jersey, so they sent him to Birmingham in the UK instead where his accent would not blend in. They feared he would escape and just go back to the US and blend in. Apparently there were a lot of American-born Luftwaffe pilots captured during the war that they had trouble finding places to keep them so that they could not blend in if escaped.
 
Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

Carjosse said:
Originally one of my family's friends was captured by the allies towards the end of the war when his captured P-51 was shot down. They were originally going to send him to Canada but then they found out he was an American, born and raised in New Jersey, so they sent him to Birmingham in the UK instead where his accent would not blend in. They feared he would escape and just go back to the US and blend in.
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A German pilot was captured after being shot down in a P-51 Mustang? The American designed turbo boosted aircraft that was the backbone of the US and British war effort?

How did an American born German get his hands on an American plane that wasn't introduced in Europe until 1941?
 
Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

Fearandloathing said:
A German pilot was captured after being shot down in a P-51 Mustang? The American designed turbo boosted aircraft that was the backbone of the US and British war effort?

How did an American born German get his hands on an American plane that wasn't introduced in Europe until 1941?
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He was shot down towards the end of the war in early 1945, the Germans captured a P-51 then got him to fly it because he could read everything. They used them to blend into fighter groups escorting bombers then attack the bombers.
 
Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

Carjosse said:
He was shot down towards the end of the war in early 1945, the Germans captured a P-51 then got him to fly it because he could read everything. They used them to blend into fighter groups escorting bombers then attack the bombers.
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Oops.

And you say he was shipped to Canada?

Canada stopped taking German POW's in 1944
 
Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

Fearandloathing said:
Oops.

And you say he was shipped to Canada?

Canada stopped taking German POW's in 1944
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They wanted to apparently, maybe it was 1944 then, but then they found out where he was born.
 
Re: In 1943, in a remote Alberta lake, workers began to construct a bergship to withs

Fearandloathing said:
'Fraid not...

Initially they had extreme security because the US was a neutral country and they did not want Nazi soldiers escaping and getting back into the war view the US back door.

They were however given excellent health care. A late friend of mine was a general surgeon in Alberta in those days providing free surgery to combatants.
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I am not so sure...

'Camps were spread from Alberta to New Brunswick, but the largest by far were at Lethbridge and Medicine Hat in Alberta which were purpose-built to house 12,500 prisoners each. With 350-man dormitories, each site boasted two 3,000-man recreation halls, six educational huts, six workshops and six dining halls.
Games and entertainment weren’t overlooked either. Inside Lethbridge’s Camp 133 there were regular soccer tournaments. Prisoners enjoyed handball, boxing, wrestling, gymnastics, tennis, skating and more. In November 1944, it was reported to the Red Cross that the internees had a 45-piece orchestra, a 55-piece band and several smaller musical groups. In accordance with Geneva Convention rules, PoWs were permitted to wear uniforms and insignia in camp and were provided the best winter garb.
And they were given jobs. In 1943, Canada’s Minister of Labour authorized employment, primarily on farms and in logging camps. Employers would pay the government $2.50 per day per worker, from which they could deduct room and board. Trust grew: many farmers housed them off camp for days at a stretch. By 1945, over 11,000 PoWs were at work, including 2,200 working the sugar beet fields around Lethbridge. Many became like family to the farmers.'

- See more at: https://legionmagazine.com/en/2012/03/the-happiest-prisoners/#sthash.xIstUy0Y.dpuf
 
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