We put a bit of a 'teaser' into KTB #112 last month, regarding the planned construction of a fleet of submarines that were 1,200 feet in length. There are three major questions raised about these giant boats - if something the size of a NIMITZ Class aircraft carrier can be called a 'boat'. They are - WHO WHERE & WHY.

In answer to the 'WHERE' - they will be built is (tentatively) Charleston Naval Shipyard. What's that, you say - Charleston has been closed down? Read on . . . . . The Largest Submarine

OKAY; next question - why would anyone want or need to build a 1,200 foot long submarine?

These huge submarines will have no weapons, no 'quieting' equipment, they will not be nuclear, they will not have the high speed nor will they be able to dive to the deep depths modern-day submarines can reach. So what good is a submarine like this?

These 1,200 foot long submarines will be tankers and will carry oil BENEATH the polar ice cap. That makes for a much shorter trip, saving a great deal of money.

Who is the force behind this project? Keep reading.

OKAY, we have read WHY and we have read WHERE - but now we need to know WHO. Who will build these giant 1,200 foot long tanker submarines?

Need a clue before we recall the answer? He is a CHARTER MEMBER of SHARKHUNTERS. There were only 22 Members to come on board that first year of 1983, so this narrows down the possibilities. Got the answer yet?

Here is another clue - he wrote one of the absolute BEST books on the U-Boat war ever published. Got the answer yet? If you need another 'nudge' the book is 'IRON COFFINS'.

OKAY, for those who do not wish to guess any longer, the answer in OBLT HERBERT WERNER (18-CHARTER-1983).

Displacement: 73 1/4 tons/76 tons
Length: 72' 3"
Width: 7"
Draft: 10' 6"
Machinery: single shaft Walter geared turbine
Power: 2,000 SHP
Speed: 28 knots
Auxiliary machinery: electric motor
Auxiliary power: 14 SHP
Auxiliary speed: 14 knots surfaced; 4 knots submerged
Bunkers: 20 tons of PERHYDROL
Radius: 50 miles @ 28 knots

(HARRY'S NOTE - it was this lack of efficiency that ultimately made all Walter-powered boats unusable for combat - they had 'very short legs' for sustained combat.)
Tubes: none
Guns: none
AA Guns: none
Crew: 4