[IronOutlaw]

I have always had a passion for the German Navy, and to a lesser degree the Royal Navy, of the 20th century, mostly focusing on the battle fleets of WW I and the capital ships of WW II.

However, a few years ago I got to meet, and subsequently becomes friends with, the II WO from U-1105, Heinz Sonnenrein and his lovely wife Ursula. Heinz and Ursula both died back in 1999, within 10 days of each other, but my interest had been fired up.

As a consequence of meeting Heinz, I immediately began, through letters, and later the net, making friends in Germany who also shared the U-boat interest. One friend actually works on U-995. When I visited in 2000, he took me to Laboe and showed me around U-995. We later went to Bremerhaven where we saw U-2540, and also to Wilhelmshaven where we had lunch on board the frigate Emden. Also visited the Peter Tamm collection in Hamburg, the U-boot Archiv in Cuxhaven-Altenbruch, and later I went to Freiburg im Bresgau to visit the Navy Archives where I spent far too much money on photocopying.

Another friend is currently a Kapitänleutnant in the Deutsches Marine.

Last year I discovered a U-boat veteran, Herman Meyer, living very close by who was a torpedo mechanic on U-409, and survived her sinking. He has been able to help me with some technical stuff about the Torpedo Firing Report, so that I can complement my SH III KTB's with the correct forms for any targets I engage. Unfortunately, Herman is not so good these days, but I still see him from time to time.

Then there was SH II, and by the time SH III came out, it was too late, I was addicted to U-boats, and beyond help. Maybe there is an SH III Anonymous group out there for guys who are so afflicted and may be able to help me kick the habit, but I doubt it! I bet there is a Partners of SH III Addicts group though!

Anyone interested to see how bad the addiction is, let me know as a recent patrol finished and the KTB, FTB and Shooting Report are nearly ready, and I can send you a copy.