Lance Knapp was a US Navy Rescue & Salvage Diver from 1967 to 1973. Retiring from the Navy, he became an Engineer for Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation until retirement in November of 2003.
Lance has been affiliated with the H. Lee White Marine Museum in Oswego, New York since 1985.
In addition to raising Derrick Boat #8 in 1985, he has also been the Captain and restoration Chief of the ocean-going tug LT-5 from 1992 to present.
(The LT-5 is a designated National Historic Landmark and is believed to be the last remaining operational LT that participated in the Normandy Invasion. It is also credited with shooting down a German fighter plane at Omaha Beach.)
Raising Derrick Boat #8
The Derrick Barge was built in 1925 for dredging, lock repair and lifting heavy boats on the Barge Canal system. Power came from a steam boiler engine manufactured by the Ames Ironworks company of Oswego. The Barge’s long, triangulated derrick was capable of lifting 150 tons.
Following 60 years of service, the Barge was retired and donated to the Museum in 1984 by the New York State Department of Transportation. Shortly after its arrival in Oswego in January 1985, it sank in a severe winter storm. The story of its rescue under the direction of Lance Knapp is told in a series of black & white photographs in the exhibit gallery. Mr. Knapp, a former U.S. Navy search & rescue diver, is also the captain of the LT-5 tugboat.
The Barge was rechristened the “Lance Knapp” at its reopening dedication ceremony in 1990.
More information can be found on both the Derrick Boat and Tug LT-5 by going to the museum web site.
