"The U-1226 was a 252 foot long 1,144 ton (1,257 tons submerged) steel hull German World War II era diesel/electric Type IX-C40 U-boat built by Deutsche Werft at Hamburg, Germany where her keel was laid on January 11, 1943. She was launched on August 21, 1943, and commissioned on November 24, 1943.

She was armed with four bow and two stern (533mm) 21 inch torpedo tubes for which she carried 22 torpedoes and mounted one 37mm anti-aircraft gun on the aft deck and one 20mm anti-aircraft gun on the wintergarten. She had a range of 11,400 nautical miles with a top speed surfaced of 18.3 knots, or 7.3 knots submerged.

She departed Horten, Norway an her first, and last operational patrol on September 30, 1944, under command of Oberleutnant zur See August-Wilhelm Claussen, with 55 officers and crewmen, headed for the U.S. coast. Radio transmissions from the U-1226 indicated she was experiencing problems with her snorkel, and after failing to answer subsequent signals from BdU (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote) `Commander in Chief, U-Boats', she was listed as missing on October 29, 1944. She is believed to have gone down in the North Atlantic somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland

In June of 1993 a character named Ed Michaud, claimed to have found the wreck of U-1226 in only 40 feet of water approximately 4 miles Southeast on Monomoy Island, Chatham, Massachusetts. Michaud claimed that the submarine was conducting clandestine spy operations, though he alleged the sub was surfaced, in shoal waters in broad daylight, within sight of Cape Cad and was in the process of making a radio transmission. Suicide.

Michaud claimed the US Coast Guard picked up the 'unauthorized' transmission and dispatched a Navy fighter plane to investigate. The plane, he alleged. sank the U-1226 with a single 50 lb bomb. Needless to say, no U-boat commander worth his salt would ever have placed his boat and his crew in such a fatal position.

As the years passed by without any credible evidence to support his alleged discovery, Michaud's stories grew even more unbelievable. Next he claimed the U-boat was carrying a secret German and Japanese crew, and that she was actually sunk approximately 12 miles off Cape Cod in the area of Orion Shoal, in 60 feet of water.

Conveniently, this mysterious U-boat had apparently moved into international waters, and out of the scrutinizing jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources. This time, Michaud also claimed that the U-boat was sunk by a single depth charge dropped by the U S. Navy Blimp K-25 on October 28, 1944. Furthermore, Michaud made the additional ridiculous claim that the elusive wreck was actually that of an alleged secret giant 377 foot long 3,140 ton Type XI-B U-boat

This alleged giant U-boat was so secret in fact, that not even the German government knew that they had built it! Sound credible? A Type XI (not XI-B) U-boat was in fact, on the drawing board, and three such boats (U-113 to-115) were provided for in the German Navy's Z-Plan on January 1939, though her dieisgn was later determined to be too costly and impractical, further research was abandoned, and not a single keel was laid for such a boat.

It has been many years since Michaud's fantastic discovery, so close to shore, and in such shallow waters, though he has yet to produce a single shred of credible evidence to support his wholly incredible claim."

EDITOR'S NOTE

We tried to tell Ed Michaud that there was no way his scenario could possibly be correct, but he paid no heed to what we had to say and went ahead with his `project'. It had its really funny sides, and it also had it tragic side as well.

On the funny side -- he contacted both Dave Arnold of the Boston GLOBE and Jules Crittenden of the Boston HERALD, trying to get funding for an `expedition' to this mystery U-boat. Both Dave and Jules contacted us and asked about the feasibility of such an undertaking. We told them both that there was absolutely NO chance they would find U-1226 or any other German U-boat there and we gave them the reasons.

Dave Arnold had enough sense to believe us and turn the deal down, but Jules went headlong and the HERALD funded an expedition to see Michaud's secret U-boat. After all, if it is in only 40 feet of water, it must be easy to find, right? Well, yes it would have been easy to see and to dive on -- IF it were there. But this expedition' found exactly what we told both Dave Arnold and Jules Crittendar. thev would find -- nothing! But they had a nice day on the water, and the HERALD picked up the tab for this little picnic.

On the sad and tragic side however -- this goofy story had made its way over to Germany and the widows of the men who died inside U-1226 were pleading that no one should disturb their husbands' grave site in their iron coffin There was no chance that their men would be disturbed because Michaud had not found U-1226 or any other U-boat, but the fear was very real to these old widows. We find this kind of activities revolting and beyond human imagination. Thanks to PAUL for this research. And for what it's worth, we got an e-mail from Michaud which contained a thinly veiled threat that they would sue us if we reported these stories. Here in this county, we have four judges - two men and two women. I know them and have lunch with them a couple times each month so when we were at lunch on Tuesday, 15 May I told them to clear their calendar and gave them the background of the situation.

They all laughed and went on to more important things - like please pass the bread and butter, or would you like more iced tea. It seems that when people really have something to hide, they are quick to make threats of lawsuits. While we have received these kinds of threats more times than I would like, we just keep on reporting the truth and let the chips fall where they may. Truth is an absolute defense to these kinds of lawsuits and so far, nobody has come here to bring these actions they charge. They just slither back under a rock and hope we will not shine a light on them. We always do.