“Did you see that show about U-234 on the History Channel?” The voice on the telephone was that of WERNER HUBER (3968-1994), crewman on U-874, a Type IX-D2 boat.

“That fellow said they dived to 2,000 feet to avoid destroyers. What nonsense!”

Dived to 2,000 Feet

He was referring to comments by Dr. HEINZ SCHLICKE (1820-1991), former Member of SHARKHUNTERS. Dr. SCHLICKE was one of the world’s foremost scientists in some military applications, but he certainly was no navy man. He said more than once that U-234 was forced to run at 2,000 foot depth to avoid the destroyers. Obviously, that was impossible for World War II boats and we both wondered how the History Channel, usually so careful to be accurate, could make such an obvious blunder by allowing an interviewee to make such an erroneous statement and then air it.

WERNER’s Brush With the Deep

WERNER knows that the German U-boats could achieve incredible depths for their day, but 2,000 feet was totally out of the question. He went on to tell us of a near tragic mistake they had with U-874 which almost cost them all their lives. They had also been ordered to Japan with strategic war materiel for the Japanese Army, but first they had to make some test dives with their new schnorkel. The valve stuck in the open position and before they could correct it, they estimated that some 50 to 75 tons of water poured into the boat. They sank like a stone in Oslo fjord and while normally a fjord has no bottom, they were fortunate that their boat found a ledge and hung there at a 50º tilt, at 900 feet! He said:

“We used buckets, boxes and everything we could get our hands on to move the water from the electric room and the diesel room into the control room so we could pump it outside. We were hanging on a mountain peak in the Oslo fjord. If we had slipped, we would have been gone.

All our electric motors was drowned out, was full of water. And we went into Horton, to the shipyard and that saved our lives because we didn’t go towards Japan.

There we took the engines apart and we had to get all the windings rinsed with fresh water and had to have them dried out and get them reinsulated. We hosed them out with clear water, with fresh water. But we could get our two diesels going. We also got our 2 Junkers air compressors working.

Right, 50 to 75 tons of water came down the schnorkel; that was a hell of a big mess. Our cargo for Japan was mercury, some alloy metals, optical glass, we had some alloys for ammunition - for the Panzerfaust - the shaped charges, and we had an extended keel.

They extended our keel in the shipyard and that’s where we loaded that mercury in bottles. It came from Italy. We also had spare parts for airplanes.

EDITOR NOTE - Was it really mercury? While it was labeled as ‘quiksilber’, the German word for mercury, it is not only possible but highly probable that these bottles contained uranium oxide. When U-234 sailed for Japan, she carried 560 kilos of a material in bottles labeled ‘quiksilber’ but the material was actually uranium oxide. Could be possible that U-874 was going to carry material for the Japanese atomic bomb. Remember, Japan test fired their first atomic device about one week before the United States test fired theirs - that was reported in the book ‘Japan’s Secret War’ by ROBERT WILCOX (25-1984).

“On the way back, we was supposed to bring raw rubber, all the food was in tin containers so the tin could be used in the armaments industry, there was quinine, manganese and opium to make morphine out of. Then we got stuck on that ridge in Oslo fjord and then the war was over when we were in the shipyard. We was really lucky.

When the war was over, we have planned to head back to Germany and beach her (U-874) and unload her, and get the hell out of there! But we had to go to Horton, and that’s where I met Topp (ERICH TOPP 118-LIFE-1985). The British took over the boat and cut the crew in half. I met Topp and one of the Suhren boys was there - probably Gerd, because Teddy would still be in Narvik. From there we were moved into Oslo. Hell, we still had our weapons, we still had our flag, we still had everything.

On June 1st, we sailed for Scapa flow and in Scapa Flow we was disarmed and we raised the surrender flag, which was the black flag. They cleaned the ship out but we stored our provisions. You know when you dewater the tubes, we stuffed them full of bottles - the good stuff! Hell, we had to make a living - black market, you know.

And then they put a crew on board, and them British sailors was sitting in the electric room and during the 24 hours it took to go to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, we had already exchanged photographs, cigarettes and of course, the bottles and we had a good relationship with them.”

“As long as it goes from sailor to sailor, there is usually friendship and respect.

Now going back to U-234

A question. They said in the show that the uranium that came to the US aboard U-234 was used in the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Is this true?”

EDITOR NOTE - While this is a widely held theory by many researchers, there is no proof that this was the case. It is in all likelihood, a correct assumption but the records on that shipment of uranium seems to have gotten destroyed or misplaced. Imagine that.

“When we went down in Oslo fjord, our depth gauge showed 900 feet, and our tail was hanging down at a 50º down angle. We were at 900 feet and hanging on that ledge, but this statement that U-234 was running at 2,000 feet is nonsense.

We was so lucky - but I broke my ankle and for days, I didn’t know it was broken. I thought just sprained, but it did not get better for some days.

And this woman, Barbara Schaff that they listed as the “U-234 historian”, she said that they surfaced just long enough to dump the bodies of the Japs overboard - that’s the way she said it, dump the Japs overboard. Is this correct?”

“Dumped the Japs Overboard”

We told WERNER that we had seen the same thing, and it just was not true, and pretty disrespectful at that. The Skipper of U-234, JOHANN-HEINRICH FEHLER (32-+-1984), was a Member until beginning his ‘Eternal Patrol’ some years ago. HARRY spent an entire day with Capt. FEHLER in his home in Hamburg in summer of 1988 and they wrote many letters back and forth until his passing. Captain FEHLER was adamant that the bodies of the two Japanese officers we not stuffed into the bilges as some rumors said, but were laid out in the diesel engine rooms so they could be sewn into their shrouds. That was the only place on the boat that had enough room.

Then, when the weather subsided, the two Japanese officers were given a burial at sea with all the military honors possible on a small submarine in the open ocean. They did not surface to “dump the Japs overboard’ as Barbara Schaff said; they surfaced and gave them an honorable burial at sea. There is a big difference.

We sent a FAX to Nick Davatzes, President of the History Channel, and pointed out these glaring errors and asked for his comments, if any. There has been no reply. We are saddened to see such a shoddy piece of work on the History Channel, which has been so well known for accuracy and excellent work to uncover real stories rather than this kind of questionable reporting.