By James Heinz

In a previous article, I showed a propeller from the shipwreck of the PRINS WILLEM V which sunk off Milwaukee in 1954. It is on display at Jerry Guyer’s dock on south Water Street in Milwaukee. As the roughly cut section of propeller shaft sticking out of the center of the prop shows, it was the prop that powered the ship when it sank.  It was later cut off by a diver after it sank.

There is another propeller that was removed from the wreck.  It is a spare prop that the ship carried. I tracked down the spare prop where it is on display, at the south end of the parking lot at the Waukegan, Ill., marina.

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James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.

Photos of artifacts provided by author