Did You Know?
by OBLT Ernst Schmidt (10-1983)

Germany built U-Boats for the Finnish and Turkish Navies between both World Wars?
in Spring 1917 in World War I, German U-Boats sank 800 ships, totaling nearly 2 million tons?
the convoy system was started in 1917?

Quiz

This quiz is for your enjoyment only. It is meant to improve your knowledge of submarine and naval history. Please DO NOT call or write here with answers - they will be in KTB #126 next month.

96. It was HMS ARK ROYAL that launched her SWORDFISH planes to look for BISMARCK but attacked the Royal Navy cruiser HMS SHEFFIELD in error. Fortunately all torpedoes missed but as I recall, those on board the cruiser SHEFFIELD were none too pleased with the incident.

97. The five US Navy aircraft carriers lost in World War II were: USS HORNET USS LEXINGTON USS PRINCETON USS WASP USS YORKTOWN

98. The six US Navy escort carriers lost in World War II were: USS BISMARCK SEA USS BLOCK ISLAND USS GAMBIER BAY USS LISCOME BAY USS OMMANY BAY USS ST. LO

99. The only USN carrier lost in the Atlantic was USS BLOCK ISLAND sunk by U-549 under Krankenhagen. The spread also damaged the 1,300 ton DE USS BARR. U-549 was immediately sunk by other destroyer escorts USS AHRENS and USS ELMORE.

100. The 7th most successful American submarine skipper was Walter Griffith, sinking 17 ships over five war patrols in both USS BOWFIN and USS BULLHEAD.

Now, for KTB #126......do you know

101. As of December 1941, how many battleships and aircraft carriers did the US Navy have?
102. How many did the I.J.N. have at the same time?
103. When war began in 1939, how many battleships and aircraft carriers were in the Kriegsmarine?
104. In what battle were the Royal Navy cruisers HMS FIJI and HMS GLOUCESTER sunk?
105. Who was the 6th most successful US Navy submarine C.O.?

Now the answer to the tough riddle; the one I said would be a lot more difficult than it appeared. What was the first German U-Boat to sink a ship since the end of World War I? Who was her Skipper? Who was her victim? Where did this take place?

If you guessed this was the sinking of ATHENIA by U-30 under Fritz Julius Lemp on 3 April 1939 - sorry, that is incorrect. The first since the end of World War I took place on 3 December 1936 off the Spanish coast when U-34 under Harald Grosse sank the Spanish Republican submarine C-3 during the super-secret Operation ‘URSULA’. This operation and its secret history was reported for the first time in history on the pages of our KTB Magazine, thanks to information in ‘PETER’S PERISCOPE’ by former Abwehr agent PETER HANSEN (251-LIFE-1987).