17 October (Wednesday) We had planned to visit the fully restored ‘Alte Tanta Ju’ (old Aunt Ju) Ju 52 at the museum in Wunstorf, but since this museum is located on the Wunstorf Luftwaffe Base, it was not possible. Thanks to Osama bin Laden, all NATO bases are on ThreatCon Delta and nobody is allowed on the facility except those who work there.

Wolfsburg Volkswagen Werke - that was the code name in World War II for the V-1 and V-2 rocket building plant. They also made airplane wings and other components, and they repaired these as well. Today, they build Volkswagens and it is the largest automobile manufacturing plant in the world. The facility is about the size of the principality of Monaco, employs some 50,000 workers, has the world’s largest auto painting facility, has 16 employee cafeterias, their own butcher shop and bakery on site, makes twelve miles of brake lines daily, uses 1,000 tons of coal daily for the electric power plant which not only powers this huge facility but it also powers the city of Wolfsburg, has the largest rail terminal in Europe and the second largest railway system in Europe. This is one huge place! We took the tour by tram and, unlike the Audi plant in Bavaria, photos and videotapes were allowed here.

Did you know that Volkswagen owns the prestige auto company Bentley? Or the super high-performance Lamborghini Company? We saw the $340,000 Bentley convertible and the newest sports car from Lamborghini, the Mercialago, which sells for something like a quarter million American dollars. Wow!

In the evening, Captain REINHARD HARDEGEN (102-LIFE-1985) came to the hotel for a visit. It was good to see him again. He is in great shape, and a very accomplished golfer. He signed autographs and had his photo taken with all our Members, then had to head for home. He had to prepare for his wife’s birthday on the following morning. It is considered bad luck in Germany to wish anyone a Happy Birthday except on the day itself, so to avoid this bad luck we asked Captain HARDEGEN if he would convey our best birthday wishes to his wife on the following morning.

18 October (Thursday) As our bus heads out along the Autobahn, we see more and more German Army convoys. They are larger than normal, and we see many more than usual. It appears that Osama bin Laden has made an impact he never expected.

Soon we are at the Hamburg City Hall where we are met by Oblt. z.S. d.R. HANS-GEORG HESS (125-LIFE-1985), the Skipper of U-995 and holder of the Knights Cross (now a Doctor of Law) with his son TILMAN HESS (5817-LIFE-1999) and Major HANNES ESKEN (1601-LIFE-1990) a veteran of the Luftwaffe. They joined us for the two-hour walking tour of this beautiful and important old city, and TILMAN was the tour leader. He knows the area quite well, and is very active in the politics of the area. We had a nice stop for coffee - and TILMAN graciously covered the check. Many thanks TILMAN.

Top left: Hardegan in WWII
Bottom left: Hardegan today (Susan Berleigh photo)
Top right: Luftwaffe Museum
Center right: Valentin Bunker
Bottom right: Thater at lunch

After the tour of Hannover, we boarded the bus and headed for the Luftwaffe Museum, headed by our friend Günther Leonhard. Standing there waiting for us with him was our cannoneer friend from the Crimean Campaign, GERD DIETRICH (5925-LIFE-1999) as well as the Museum Staff, all at our disposal since the Museum is closed to the public this afternoon and only open for the SHARKHUNTERS. After a welcome speech by Günther Leonhard, we went to the Museum restaurant where the chef had prepared a superb lunch for us - tiny sandwiches, but the hit of the meal was the thick, rich pea soup that had been the mainstay of the Wehrmacht in World War II and the German military of today. It was great! This pea soup is one of the high points of our ‘Patrol’.

We received a splendid personal tour of this beautiful museum, but the high point was the visit to the fully restored Me 109 and Focke-Wulf FW 190. The barriers were taken down at these two planes, and our SHARKHUNTERS Members were allowed to climb to the cockpit of each and shoot photos and videotapes as much as we wanted. We had plenty of time, as we were the only ones in the Museum. Both are totally restored from original parts - there is nothing custom made on these two birds. At the beginning of the war, there was nothing in the sky to match the Me 109 but later on, then came the ‘Butcher Bird’ which could tangle with anything in the sky at the time and take it apart. In the never-ending technology battle however, the Royal Air Force came out with the new, improved SPITFIRE then the Americans put the P-51 in the skies and there was nothing to stand in the way of the MUSTANG.

19 October (Friday) Again our SHARKHUNTERS go where no one else can go. This time we are at the bunker Valentin. This was made to handle the final construction of the Type XXI U-boats which at that time, were the most advanced submarines in the world. We were shown where the eight pre-built sections would have come in to begin their smooth flow of work to fit them together, into the special high roof section where the periscopes and snorkels would be tested, to the final assembly and to the deep dive tank where the boats would be flooded down to test for any leaks and finally, they would have moved out into the Weser River to begin their journey to the North Sea and combat. It never happened. No Type XXI U-boats or any other types for that matter, were ever built here. The war ended before this facility could begin production, but the bunker still stands and is used today as a major supply facility for the German Navy. It is a very busy place in these days, since the German Navy is geared up for this new war.

We met GERD THÄTER (194-LIFE-1986), Skipper of U-466 and U-3506, near Wilhelmshaven where we had lunch with GERD and three of his friends, all veterans of the U-boats. Naturally, they signed autographs and posed for photos with our Members. Then GERD led us to the 205 Class submarine that we toured, along with a minesweeper and a great museum.

Our normal visit to the Wilhelmshaven Naval Base was not to be this year, again thanks to Osama bin Laden and the bases being on ThreatCon Delta. We expect this war to be over by the time we return next year and we will visit then.

The two-man SEEHUND submarine of World War II. According to the story at the Museum, this was used against Allied shipping at Normandy and sank two ships.

Before we move onward, here are some memories of the 206A Class submarine and the two-man SEEHUND we visited.

Patrol 2001 in Northern Germany

October 13 and 14
October 15 and 16
October 17, 18, and 19
October 20