From the Other Side
by Obit. ERNST SCHMIDT (10-+-1983)

Did you know.....

the new German submarine Type XXI had an underwater speed of 18 knots? Eighty of these boats were built, commissioned and ready for action - but never went on a war patrol.

at 750 feet depth, 336 pounds of pressure per square inch rests against a submarine?

U-Boats, P-T boats and minesweepers were transported across Germany on the Autobahn from the North Sea and the Baltic and then down the Danube River to ports on the Black Sea?

at repeated attacks on British warships HMS HOOD, HMS NELSON, HOW RODNEY, HMS WARSPITE as well as large transports in April 1940 during the invasion of Norway, the torpedoes failed to explode? If these dud torpedoes had detonated, the Royal Navy would have lost so many "heavies" that they would have been forced to talk peace with Germany and World War II probably would have ended before it really began

the British Admiralty set up its own `Submarine Tracking Room' to match Grossadmiral Donitz' `Situation Room' in order to gain a complete picture of the positions of the U-Boats?

in January 1940, the first of a new kind of radar sets were installed into aircraft to spot and chase U-Boats?

Little Known Submarine (and Naval) Historical Facts

This section is for your own information - please do not send the answers here - they will be in KTB #181 next month.

331. The only US Navy escort carrier to be sunk in the Atlantic was USS BLOCK ISLAND. She was sunk by V-549 under command of Krankenhagen. USS BARR (destroyer escort) was also damaged in that action.

332. At the outbreak of WW II (American involvement) the US Navy had nine battleships and three aircraft carriers.

333. The Japanese Navy had ten battleships and ten aircraft carriers. At this point in history, the Japanese Navy had more sea power in the Pacific than the US Navy, the Royal Navy and the Dutch Navy.

334. The Kriegsmarine had only two battleships in commission when Germany entered the war. They were GNEISENAU and SCHARNHORST. There were also three "pocket" battleships - GRAF SPEE, ADMIRAL SCHEER and DEUTSCHLAND. Both BISMARCK and TIRPITZ had been launched, but not commissioned. Two really old battleships, SCHLESIEN & SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN were in the reserve fleet.

335. The Royal Navy lost the cruisers HMS FIJI and HMS GLOU.STER in the Battle of Crete. The battleships HMS WARSPITE & HMS VALIANT were damaged.

For this section in KTB #181, do you know:
336. What was the first US Navy ship hit by a Kamikaze?
337. What was the first US Navy ship sunk by Kamikaze"
338. Who was Germany's most successful U-Boat Skipper? (If you don't know this one )
339. When the RN captured U-570, what did they name it"
340. Why are submarines referred to as "boats"?