Manitowoc’s World War II Submarines Multi-Cache
Manitowoc’s World War II Submarines
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Size: 
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This is a multicache that will take you to four places around Manitowoc that were important to the city’s World War II submarine effort. This cache makes a nice bicycle ride through Manitowoc, or it can be accomplished via moped or car. The final waypoint is a micro – please take your own pen!
Twenty-eight submarines were built in Manitowoc for use in WWII. After their launch, naval crews tested and trained aboard the submarines in Lake Michigan before they were loaded on floating drydocks and hauled down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Mississippi River to enter into the war. Twenty-five Manitowoc subs saw action during WWII and sank 132 ships for a total of 488,918 tons destroyed. Four Manitowoc submarines were lost during the war, taking 336 crewmen with them.
The coordinates for the first waypoint are:
N 44 06.051
W 087 39.760
The first waypoint provides a good view of the shipyard where the submarines were built along the Manitowoc River at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company. At the height of the war 7,000 people worked at the shipyard in 3 shifts, 7 days a week. Because the river is so narrow here, the submarines had to be launched sideways, rather than lengthwise, as was common at shipyards near the ocean. There is a monument to a Manitowoc resident at the first waypoint. Use the year this person died to decipher the second waypoint:
The coordinates for the second waypoint are:
N 44 05.500
W 087 3D.B0A
ABCD = The year Mr. Schuette died.
The second waypoint is the old Manitowoc Railroad Depot where the Navy sailors would arrive at Manitowoc to crew their newly-built subs. The building is now used by the Holiday House. Use the year the Holiday House was founded to decipher the coordinates for the third waypoint:
N 44 05.G52
W 08H 40.22E
EFGH = The year Holiday House was founded
The third waypoint is where the Navy submariners would exercise each day to prepare for their war patrols. Charles West, owner of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, donated the land for the field, and today the park is named after him. Use the name of this park to decipher the coordinates of the final waypoint:
N 44 0W.W61
W 087 ET.E60
_ _ _ _field Park
5 3 8 9
This cache was placed as a partnership with Wisconsin Historical Society, and Wisconsin Maritime Museum. We hope you enjoyed learning about submarines built in Manitowoc. To learn more about Wisconsin’s maritime heritage please visit our other geocaches in the Manitowoc / Two Rivers area and throughout the state, or visit wisconsinshipwrecks.org and maritimetrails.org!
***Congratulations to mutzz&meg for the FTF!***
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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Treasures
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