Richie Kohler
Wreck Explorer - Producer
Brick, NJ - USA
In 1991 alongside partner John Chatterton Kohler began diving on the previously unknown wreck of a World War II German U-boat. Dubbed the “U-Who” by the divers, the submarine was identified by Kohler and Chatterton in 1997 as U-869. In 2000, PBS’ “NOVA” aired a two-hour documentary titled “Hitler’s Lost Sub” on the adventure. It became the highest-rated episode in 15 years. This story is the subject of the book “Shadow Divers”, written by Robert Kurson. The “New York Times” bestseller has recently been purchased by 20th Century Fox and the film is to be directed by Ridley Scott.
Since solving the mystery of the “U-Who,” Kohler has continually worked on projects to locate and identify other historically significant shipwrecks, including the USS Murphy, a World War II American destroyer, located 90 miles off the New York coast (September 2002), and the German U-boat U-215, located and identified 150 miles south of Nova Scotia (July 2004).
In 2005 Kohler and his partners mounted an expedition to the most famous shipwreck in the world, RMS Titanic. Diving from the Russian research vessel Keldysh, they made multiple dives to 3,786 meters in the MIR submersibles to explore the wreck site. The teams work and exciting finds were featured in the award winning, two-hour History Channel special documentary, Titanic’s Final Moments: Missing Pieces.
Kohler has two children, Richard III and Nikki. He can often be found diving shipwrecks with his dive partner and wife, Carrie.
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