20 YEARS AGO in our KTB

Although this issue, in April 1983, was the third issue of our newly blooming organization, it was still unnamed – but it was three pages long! There were some riddles, a short item on U-30 and the ATHENIA, and Axel Wenner-Gren.

Yes, it was done on that old manual typewriter and to be quite honest, it was pretty light and boring in comparison with today’s computer typeset 44 page magazine – but it was a nice start.

15 Years Ago

During the time KTB #35 was being prepared (and for some years before and after) HARRY was working as Vice President of a large company in Chicago and so Members were saying that they could not reach him by telephone.

Kapitän KARL FRIEDERICH MERTEN (23-+-1984) had written to us with comments on the book written by Buchheim after ‘Das Boot’, which was entitled ‘die U-Bootfahrer’. MERTEN writes that Buchheim has partly brilliant, partly manipulated photos and the tendency is insulting the complete submarine force of Germany during the war; men, officers, commanders, the staff of Dönitz and the Großadmiral himself. It seems that Captain MERTEN’s book sold well, and that would indicate that public opinion was going in that direction. During the war, MERTEN took U-68 right into the harbor at St. Helena (where Napoleon has once been exiled) and torpedoed a tanker.

ERICH TOPP (118-LIFE-1985) informed us that he was not related to the Captain Topp who commanded TIRPITZ.

EDDIE RUMPF (179-1986) and others were batting about ideas on what had happened to SURCOUF, a mystery unsolved today.

KTB #35 was only 8 pages long, done on that manual typewriter.

10 Years Ago

There was a great photo on page 2 of Captain REINHARD HARDEGEN (102-LIFE-1985), a big smile on his face, holding a very young SEAN COOPER (1/2-LIFE-1987) in his arms.

There were continuations of various articles plus a new piece by LCDR MILES GRAHAM as well as more on President John F. Kennedy – his liaison with the woman who was Hitler’s companion at the 1936 Olympics, to his disaster with PT-109.

“A long way from Hoboken!” is a phrase we learned in this issue. JOHN OGILBY (614-A-1988) wrote “I’m glad I saw the ad for Sharkhunters. I’ve never traveled so much since I met with Sharkhunters. I’ve come a long way from Hoboken.”

KTB #74 was still just 28 pages long; still done on a typewriter.

5 Years Ago

KTB #120 continued some of the great stories such as the Disaster of Convoy PQ.18, the doctoral thesis on ‘Imperial Japan and the Third Reich’; the startling story by DON ANGEL de VELASCO (158-1985) on who did really escape Germany in the last moments; there was a new article by ERICH TOPP (118-LIFE-1985) and we revealed that President GEORGE BUSH (4116-1995) was going to be the main entrée at the table of the Japanese garrison on Chi Chi Jima…..they cooked and ate the downed American fliers!

A group of SHARKHUNTERS laid a wreath at the British War Cemetery on Ocracoke Island. They included Commander JAMES CHEATHAM (1231-1989, TOM WOOD (4317-1995), Dr. SURREY ROBERTS (4318-1995), BOB SHEPPARD (4319-1995) and DONNIE COBB (4403-1995).

We had a report on world-wide submarine proliferation and we told which countries were making and selling what kind of submarines – and how many of them. There was more information from CHARLES GUNDERSEN (205-1986) on the failings of the American Mk 14 torpedo.

We gave the locations of the U-Boats scuttled in Operation ‘DEADLIGHT’. KTB #120 was 40 pages long and looked good.