TEWKS Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Sorry about the yellow journalism but darn-it, I need to push print! Full story in Sunday's paper or you can click the link. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2539106/All-aboard-SS-Thistlegorm-Divers-explore-rusting-trains-trucks-motorbikes-British-munitions-ship-sunk-German-bomber-coast-Egypt.html Pat Link to comment
sardineone Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Pat, thanks for posting the link. Interesting and great photography! Link to comment
TEWKS Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Glad you enjoyed it George! Guessing this was how the bikes looked before their 73 year bath. 1939 Norton 16H Pat Link to comment
upflying Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Tires look salvageable. I reckon there is a lot of WWII stuff in the bottom of the Atlantic. Link to comment
Guest Kakugo Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 This is nothing. Between 1945 and 1946 thousands of tons of equipment were simply dumped into the sea by American and British troops. In the Mediterranean a few British escort carriers were regularly loaded with a bewildering assortment of surplus items, from motorcycles to spare aircraft engines, sailed to deep waters and then all that was on the deck was simply pushed overboard. I even heard the inhabitants of a few Pacific islands started a sort of cottage industry to recover what American GI's and sailors had dumped in relatively shallow water at the end of the war, when orders to dispose of equipment which wasn't economical to bring back home or to scrap were issued. An ingenious Kiwi managed to drag off 14 bulldozers from Million Dollar Point (Vanuatu) in 1948, which were in surprisingly excellent conditions after three years under water. He restored them and sold them for a nice profit to an Australian mining company. He made some extra money by salvaging tons and tons of copper and ship parts in the same fashion. There's a further twist to the story, and hopefully our Aussie friends can help me out here. I was told in the '80s the Australian military sold "for pennies" a number of WWII-vintage H-D during an auction of surplus goods at the Banyo Army Depot. These bikes were brand new, unassembled and still in their original crates, bearing US Army stenciling. Myth has that large quantities of WWII surplus material were stockpiled at the end of the war in a disused mine under the grounds of this military facility and the military once in a while does a little "spring cleaning", throwing away the goods in worst conditions and selling off the rest. Is there any kernel of truth in this? Link to comment
TEWKS Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Tires look salvageable. I know, was thinking the same thing. I've probably ridden on worse in the day. Pat Link to comment
hopz Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Tires look salvageable. I know, was thinking the same thing. I've probably ridden on worse in the day. Pat Looks like they would buff-out… Link to comment
BoisePilot Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I was told that many of the goods supplied to the US and England during the war were forbidden as part of the purchase contract to be returned and sold as surplus. I have read that this was standard practice as a result of many companies having to compete with there own war surplus products at the end of WWI. Link to comment
Paul In Australia Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Site was sold for development in 1998. Link to comment
Guest Kakugo Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Site was sold for development in 1998. So no mine shafts full of wonders, I take? Thanks for clearing it out. Link to comment
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