J0313, your statements caught my attention, because I have researched the question of whether a WW2 US fleet boat could transmit when not fully surfaced and not found conclusive evidence that they could.
What diagram are you referencing? There is no diagram accompanying the Wikipedia article, although there is a photo of a VLF (receiving) antenna. The accompanying text makes clear why that antenna is necessarily receive-only.
Straub's site does not address radio transmission while at radar depth. It only makes a distinction between surfaced and submerged. I am unable to find any support for your statement that "they could transmit and recieve at radar depth" on Straub's site.
Straub does have a link to the external diagram of a fleet sub at the HSNA site:
http://www.hnsa.org/doc/fleetsub/app...es/figa-02.htm
This diagram identifies the radio antennas as one long-wire antennas running forward from the shears and two others from either side of the conning tower coaming. Portions of these might be out of the water when the boat was at radar depth, but the end of the long wire closest to the deck stanchion might well not be. It's hard to see how any of these antennas could be energized with transmitter voltages when not completely surfaced. Even when surfaced, it would seem that heavy seas might ground them out.
I have wondered about the possibility of transmitting from a sub which was not fully surfaced. The first-person accounts only refer to transmitting while "surfaced" but that is negative evidence, as is the evidence of Straub's site. The HSNA diagram infers that WW2 US fleet subs were not equipped to transmit unless fully surfaced, but certainly doesn't prove it. You state pretty strongly that it was possible. Could you provide me with your sources for this?