Gert Normann, company owner of ‘JD-Contractor’ and formerly involved with the Strandingsmuseum in Thorsminden, is currently preparing a new Museum which will be baptized the ‘Sea War Museum Jutland’. The new museum will open either in 2015 or in 2016 and will be a home to many artifacts which were salvaged by Gert’s team of divers at the location where during the first world war the ‘Battle of Jutland’ took place. Among the salvaged artifacts is the complete diving equipment by Franz Clouth, at the time sole supplier of Diving Equipment to the German Imperial Navy. Please take a look at this link for some further details: http://cphpost.dk/news/new-danish-war-museum-to-open-in-2016.12026.html
The new museum has its own website too but right now (january 2015) the site is still under construction. You can check it for updates yourself: http://www.vragmus.dk/
In september 2012 belgian historical diving enthusiast Jaap Stenger and myself drove to Denmark where Jaap had purchased a nice Danish navy 2 bolt diving helmet which we had to pick up. Together we visited Philip Nathansen and Gert Normann. Only 3 weeks earlier Gert and Philip salvaged the complete set of Franz Clouth Diving equipment from a German shipwreck in the North Sea: the ‘Meteor’ which was sunk during the Battle of Jutland. Gert and Philip showed us some great finds, including a complete bronze tower of a 1st WW english submarine which was stored in a hangar awaiting a place in the museum.
With many thanks to both Gert Normann, and the Museums’ Curator, Mr. Silver for sharing the photographs (marked ‘Sea War Museum’) listed here below. Also many thanks to Philip Nathansen for sharing the photo’s taken during the actual salvage operation. All other photo’s by David L.Dekker
