15 YEARS AGO

In KTB #26, we reported that we’d finished ‘JAPAN’S SECRET WAR’ by ROBERT WILCOX (25-1984), and saw how the pieces of a puzzle were fitting together. It shows why almost no Japanese top ‘brass’ were tried for war crimes, and it gives good insight how the Soviets could make such quick strides toward a nuclear arsenal, thanks to the Japanese weapons complex at the Chosin Reservoir.

For our official SHARKHUNTERS design, we selected the one submitted by TOM HATTON (20-+-1983) and that now is on our letterhead, our KTB Magazine - everything connected with our SHARKHUNTERS carries this emblem. As an aside, some years later, GREG SCOTT (2012-1991) took the steps to have this emblem Trade-Marked so that only SHARKHUNTERS may use it. To both TOM and GREG - many thanks!

More so-called researchers were chasing their tails trying to dive on the sunken U-boat off Ft. Lauderdale. We tried to tell them there was no submarine there, but they insisted - wasted a lot of compressed air and money, but had a nice dive anyhow. Didn’t find anything however. JIM VIZIGIAN (29-1984) was still trying to find information on those special U-boats that surrendered at Portsmouth, NH in the USA. No, he did not mean the Type XXI boats; these four were something really exotic and unusual. Former Member JOHN LOFTUS (40-1984) was trying to get all possible data on intelligence files, corporate stocks and bonds, bearer bonds, large amounts of currency etc. being transferred from the crumbling Reich into western (American) intelligence agencies. JOHN wrote a book which later became a made-for-TV movie staring Telly Savalis named “Kojak, The Belarus Files”. JERRY LAWRENCE (110-1985) sent us a lot of photos of U-853 and BLACK POINT, which went right into the files. Professor TOM MACKIN (145-A-1986), bandleader, wanted to locate the music for the ‘Kretschmer March’. This was a march, written in honor of OTTO KRETSCHMER (122-+-1985) by a German Army bandmaster. It hadn’t been played since the end of the war. I guess “political correctness” was already setting in. Thanks to ‘Silent OTTO’ himself, we obtained this music and some time later, the band led by Prof. MACKIN played this stirring march.

KTB #26 was 6 pages long and still done on that old manual typewriter we keep reading about.

10 YEARS AGO

KTB #65 carried the report of our ‘Patrol’ in Charleston, our Convention. There was more in the ongoing stories from both ERICH TOPP (118-LIFE-1985) BOB MAHER (221-1986) and WALTER AUCONI (1011-1989) on their time in the war.

“The Galloping Ghost of the Japanese Coast” We ran the stirring poem ‘the Galloping Ghost of the Japanese Coast’ in this issue, and it is about USS TRIGGER (SS 237), published in the book ‘SUBMARINE’ by Captain EDWARD L. BEACH (1163-LIFE-1989). ‘Sachsenstoltz’ means Pride of Saxony, and that was an article by SIG KLAUSSNER (211-1986) that ran in KTB #65.

When does Whiskey equal Pepsi Cola? WHISKEY Class submarines = Pepsi-Cola??? We reported that Russia had a unique method of paying for the ingredients that went into the huge Pepsi-Cola franchise in the former Soviet country, since Russia and the other former Soviet countries were flat broke and had little or no hard currency. They paid with submarines. Yep, we thought it was crazy at the time too, but it was true. The Russians made this offer to Pepsi, to trade obsolete submarines at a pre-determined value, to PepsiCo for the product. They suggested PepsiCo use these WHISKEY Class boats as floating restaurants, such as the 1950’s style diners on land. PepsiCo accepted the deal, but merely sold the boats for scrap in Swedish breaker’s yards. If memory serves us correctly, one battleship was also thrown in as part of the deal and that would probably be ARCHANGLSK, the former Royal Navy HMS ROYAL SOVEREIGN.

USS ATULE - sunk We reported the sad fate of USS ATULE (SS 403). She had four war patrols against Japan during the war and then she sank the last German U-boat of World War II. She sank U-977, which was surrendered in Argentina three months AFTER the war ended. It was sunk as a target by USS ATULE 13 November 1947 off Cape Cod. On 31 July 1974, ATULE was transferred to the navy of Peru where she was renamed PACHOCA (S 48). She was returning to port with other boats on 26 August 1988 when a Japanese fishing ship struck her, and she quickly went down in shallow waters. Some time later, she was partially salvaged and pulled to the beach where she was left. Plans were to bring her up on shore and make her as Memorial, but our last report still showed her beached.

KTB #65 was 24 pages long and done on an electric typewriter. We still had not gotten our first computer.

5 YEARS AGO

KTB #111 covered a bit about U-123, a very unique submarine. There were five Knights Cross winners on this boat and one with the Oak Leaf. She sank the first ship in American waters, and was in commission as an operating submarine until 1957. KTB #111 also covered the German blockade runner RIO GRANDE. We also covered the blood bath of the survivors of the Liberty Ship JEAN NICOLET at the hands of the crew of the I.J.N. submarine I-8 under command of Tatsunosuke Ariizumi. There was more on the German secret weapons of World War II.

We reported on a real treasure ship - SS JOHN BARRY, sunk by U-859. This Liberty Ship was filled with hundreds of tons of silver bars and millions of freshly minted Saudi silver rials.

We printed a letter from OTTO KRETSCHMER (122-+-1985), filled with wartime history.

There was more on Operation URSULA, a story broken by SHARKHUNTERS on PETER’S PAGE in which PETER goes into detail on the operations of German U-boats in 1936! They helped Franco in his Civil War, and the first victim to the U-boats was not ATHENIA on 3 Sep 1939, but was a Spanish sub in 1936! There was more of the story by DON ANGEL ALCAZAR de VELASCO (158-1985) helping Martin Bormann out of Europe.

When KTB #111 was published, there were about 4,300 Members in 48 countries. KTB #111 was 36 pages and done on a computer.