We began this in KTB #115 a few months ago when we reported some of the items running in the little flier put out by the vet from USS KEITH. Remember, first they claimed they sank a German U-Boat off San Francisco and the boat was full of gold. They were on the TV program ‘UNSOLVED MYSTERIES’ with that. Later, they decided this was not a German U-Boat (full of gold) but was an American submarine they sank in error, but the US Navy was trying to prevent them from gaining access to the files that ‘would reveal the truth’ about this awful tragedy. Now they have decided this was actually the Japanese I-15 because they located a man who, as a young man, saw a Japanese float plane on the beach at Malibu, California and they figured that I-15 must have lost this plane - how do you just misplace a plane and pilot???

In the ‘FALL 1995’ issue of this leaflet, there is a report of yet ANOTHER submarine off the California coast. In another article, not related, the author says they would ‘love to find a sub with treasure’ like Paul Tidwell finding I-52. Now he has decided that I-15 is sunk off the California coast, and he wonders if there were more subs involved in the ‘special mission’ of I-15.

This goofy publicity is apparently paying off, as this group has been featured on television a couple times; once for the ‘U-Boat Full of Gold’ story and the other time for the ‘Accidentally Sunk American Submarine’ story. They have gotten the FORUNO company to donate many thousands of dollars of equipment, such as Radar and plotter-sounder. But the bottom line is - they have not found this German U-Boat full of gold; they have not found the US Navy sub sunk in error; and they have not found I-15.

Who knows what great ‘discoveries’ the veterans from USS KEITH will come up with next - a U-Boat with Hitler’s body sunk in the Great Salt Lake? Possibly a TIGER tank with the HOLY LANCE in it atop Pike’s Peak? Maybe they’ll locate that dirigible that was carrying the SS gold when it crashed on the moon.

More Phantoms

Cape Cod U-Boat, Unsolved Mysteries U-Boat
I-15 and USS Keith
I-15 and USS Keith
More on the San Francisco "U-Boat"