Did You Know?

.....in order to scout and to keep a close enough watch over a wide area, a one-man observation kite called BACHSTELZE (water wagtail) was towed behind a surfaced U-Boat? This contrivance was used only on rare occasions in the South Atlantic.

HARRY’S NOTE - the FOCKE-AEGLIS auto-gyro was also used by U-Boats for scouting, and was also used in the Indian Ocean. OTTO GIESE (45-1984) told of a time they deployed theirs off U-181 in the Indian Ocean - the tether line parted and the pilot slowly descended to the sea. The enemy was not the sea this time; it was the sea birds! OTTO said that this guy was badly pecked by the birds. I wonder if he got a WOUND BADGE (VERWUNDEDABZEICHEN) for this strange injury...

....the TYPE XIV U-Boat was called the MILKCOW? It had a displacement of 1,688 tons, a range of 12,300 miles and carried 720 tons of Dieseloil in addition to their own fuel supply. On pre-arranged rendezvous they would deliver fuel, torpedoes, ammunition, fresh food, drinking water, medical supplies etc. to other U-Boats. 10 boats were laid down in 1941; were operational in 1942; and all were sunk by July 1943.

HARRY’S NOTE - the MILKCOWS were the highest priority targets for the Allies for obvious reasons. Every TYPE XIV they sank cut short the combat patrols of about a dozen frontboots. It is also noted that the guys on the MILKCOWS had a very poor sense of security. They rarely manned the guns when refueling frontboots, chatting endlessly on the radio with BdU. All things considered, the MILKCOWS had a tremendously short life span.

Little Known Submarine Facts

This quiz began in KTB #102. It is meant for your enjoyment only and to improve your knowledge of submarine and naval history. Do NOT send answers here - the answers will be in the next KTB.

Here are the answers to the quiz in KTB #117:

71. World’s largest battleship, the 72,809 ton I.J.N. YAMATO, was sunk on 7 April, 1945 during the battle for Okinawa. YAMATO and her eight ship screen boldly charged the U.S. Fleet and in less than two hours, YAMATO and five of her escorts were sunk.

72. The last time so many USN battleships were together prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor was the previous July 4 weekend. This was also in 1941 and at Pearl Harbor.

73. The I.J.N. carriers sunk at Midway were AKAGI, KAGA and SORYU. In addition, HIRYU was damaged. This broke the back of the I.J.N. in World War II.

74. At daybreak on December 6, 1941 Lt. James O. Cobb sighted a submarine off Diamond Head and radioed his sighting to his headquarters. The submarine submerged before any action could be taken.

75. The 12th most successful US Navy submarine Skipper was Norvell G. Ward, C.O.of USS GUARDFISH (SS 217). Together they sank 14 ships over 5 war patrols.

For KTB #119 next month, do you know:

76. What was the German supply ship that was boarded by the Royal Navy in Norwegian waters to free almost 300 British merchant sailors in February 1940?

77. What was the first contact between the I.J.N. and the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor and when?

78. Who originated the concept of KAMIKAZE?

79. Who were the four German Fleet Commanders in WW II?

80. Who was the eleventh most successful USN submarine C.O.?

Vocabulary

FLOTILLEN-CHEF
in the Flotilla Commander. His rank was usually KorvettenKapitän but do you know that

KALEU
is the shortened version of the rank of Kapitänleutnant. We see this term used in many books and movies about the U-Waffe.

Submarines on Display

DICK COLE (204-A-1986) has compiled a list of submarines on display and where to find them. Here we read that you may visit the only TYPE XXI U-Boat in the world that is open to the public. It’s part of the DeutschesSchiffahrtsmuseum (the German Seafaring Museum) in Bremerhaven. This is an excellent museum and in fact, one of the ten best seafaring museums in the world.

PROFESSOR ELLMERS (2303-1992) and the others here have always been most helpful and cordial to our SHARKHUNTERS groups.

To the best of our knowledge, there are only three other TYPE XXI boats still in existence. They are U-2505, U-3004 and U-3506 which are still entombed in the ‘Lost Bunker’ which was located in 1988 by HARRY COOPER (1-LIFE-1983), JAK

MALLMANN SHOWELL (74-1984) & EDDIE PHILLIPS (220-A-1986). This expedition is on Tape H-5. U-3506 was the last boat of our very good friend, GERHARD THäTER (194-LIFE-1986).