Hello Rainer and all! Thanks so much for your reply! Your information is very useful and I appreciate your help! Best regards! Funkmeister
Forum: WWI forum

Hello Ladislav and all! Thanks for your reply! yes, I know that some German U-boats transported cargo, and some german officers to the Northern Africa, in order to support mutinies there, behind the front line. One camel was transported from Northern Africa to Northern Adriatic, and was some kind of mascot of German U-boat flotilla in Pula and island Brioni near Pula. Best regards! Funkmeist
Forum: WWI forum

Hello all! I have one question, better to say I need information about one specific moment in WW1, and any help would be very appreciated. In WW1 Germans helped Turks in the front in Palestine, German officers were advisers to Turkish commanders, German artillery units operated there etc. Ok, in the April of 1916, the Germans operated with 14 aircrafts from Beersheba. Name of the unit was Squ
Forum: WWI forum

Hello MPC and all! Good story about HMS None Yes, Tommy Atkins did great job! Just one detail, about battle for malta, shows how the war was hard. I mean, just few biplanes against superior forces, and still... Thanks MPC for mentioned other nationalities in war for Britain. The Commonwealth people in the british forces, and a lot of volunteeres from other countries, including Poland, Czech
Forum: General Discussions

Hello Robert M. and all! Yes, it is very interesting and useful text, with a lot of interesting links. When we see that after Kriegsmarine used four-rotors Enigma, and the allied codebreakers were unable (in the first time) to broke the new cipher, it was "second happy time" for German submarines. This is the best description of importance of the Bombe and BP and few really smart Brit
Forum: General Discussions

Hello all! All that was important, the most important! But, when searching through Ultra messages, I think that radar was some kind of bait for the Germans. Please, don't get me wrong, of course that radar was important, but the Germans tried to pick up higher and higher frequencies (lower and lower wavelengths) of the allied radar, down to 3 cm wavelength, and they blamed also allied age
Forum: General Discussions

Hello! Two "crowns" below the anchors- stabssteuermann, the anchors between two "crowns"- obersteuermann. Source for international military insignia: Best regards! Funkmeister
Forum: General Discussions

Hello Pierre! Thanks for your reply! I try to find informations about dogtags and military books. I think that situation with the dogtags was more or less similar with the situation in WW2. Best regards! Funkmeister
Forum: WWI forum

Dear Sir, Ladies and Gentlemen! I am agreed with you, absolutely. Yes, it was submarine support ship, and also a lot of German military personnel were aboard. And yes, the Soviet captain would to do his best to sank the ship even in the case he had known the ship is full of civilian refugees... Because of that I recommended two books about the war in the east, just to make the full picture. A
Forum: General Discussions

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen! I have one question... Did WW1 German submariners had any kind of dogtags when were aboard a submarine? I know that German Army soldiers had dogtags, oval shaped with two small holes. I believe that German submarines had the same dogtags, with other marks and with their serial numbers and perhaps names. But, what about submarine officers? They hadn't serial n
Forum: WWI forum

Hello all! I am agreed! Doesn't matter which sunken ships and submarines, western, eastern, northern or southern, they are all the resting-places of the crews and passengers sank together with the ships. Exploring and diving around them, it is ok. But, it must be done under supervision of authorized personnel, because of two main reasons. The first reason is safety, because so many dive
Forum: General Discussions

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen! Thanks for your comments! Dear Werner, I am happy because you and your family survived and hope you found your happiness! About the war in the eastern front, few books have been very important to me... Harrison E. Salisbury's "The 900 Days- The Siege of Leningrad". The book explains the first days and months of the war, after 22nd June 1941,
Forum: General Discussions

Hi! The best way to obtain personal record about service in the Kriegsmarine is to go to the following site: And make a tracing request. They need name, and date and place of born, if possible. Of course, they have just details from personal file, but your friend will find at least her dad's miitary unit, where he served etc. For the details about prisonship in the USSSR, I don�
Forum: General Discussions

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen! Today is anniversary of sinking of German ship "Wilhelm Gustloff". The ship transported German refugees to the mainland, and after the sinking most of them died in frozen water. I know that the ship transported also military personnel, but many of the passengers were civilians, including women and children. Now I don't wish to provoke another "
Forum: General Discussions

Hello all! I am agreed that the Poles continued to fight and that they were brave! Just for information, duringevacuation of British and French troops from France to Great Britain, the Poles were almost always the last which were evacuated, usually they defended the evacuation,from few harbors. They fought in the Northern Africa, Italy, France (after the D-Day) etc etc. Also, what to say fo
Forum: General Discussions

Dear Sir! The best way how to obtain correct information on your grandfather is to go to: and than to send "tracing request". You must know your grandfather's name, date of born and death, and probably his rank. They will send details from his personal file, and you will know all they have. Of course, they need some time to collect all information, perhaps a month or two. B
Forum: General Discussions

Hello! Well, special greetings to all ladies and gentlemen who spent the holidays on duty, especially for those who were aboard ships, submarines, isolated bases etc! This time it was the first time to me, after so many years, to spend the holidays (Christmas Eve/ Christmas and 31st December/ 1st January) at my home and not on duty, so I was lucky! When I mention ships, submarines and bases,
Forum: General Discussions

Hello Jan7 and all! No, I am not a German. I just have naval rank equals to the rank of Funkmeister in Kriegsmarine. For those who are not familiar with "radio ham vocabulary", DX means long distant radio communications. "73" sounds preety good when typed in Morse. About U-boat long long way off radio communications, they used some merchant marine coastal radio stations for
Forum: General Discussions

Hello Jan7 and all! Jan7, you use regard "73 y buenos DX de Jan7". It is salut in radio communications by wireless telegraphy. Just wonder, radio ham or professional? I have been the both Sorry for use this topic for this question Best regards! Funkmeister
Forum: General Discussions

Dear Sir! You may go to: Then go to date 25 November 1943, and you will find remarks about Spain, connected with experience of U-617. Hope this helps! Merry Christmas and happy New year! Funkmeister
Forum: General Discussions

Hello all! Wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, to all of you and to your families! Special best wishes to MPC's new sailor! These days, both boys and girls can be sailors! Best wishes! Funkmeister
Forum: General Discussions

Hello MPC and all! Thanks for the kind words! No, I am not a German. I use the name Funkmeister because my rang in the navy equals to the rang of Funkmeister in the Kriegsmarine in WW2. I am agreed that radio operators in the merchant marine had responsible duty, but also think that all crewmembers aboard a ship (merchant marine or navy) and aboard submarine had responsible duties. About dis
Forum: General Discussions

Hi MPC! Well, when I was young, I was radio ham. Later, when I wasn't so young, I was merchant marine radio telegraph operator. Many times I received distress messages on 500 kHz, mostly during the night. Fortunatelly, never send one. I don't know how many times auto alarm awake me (very unpleased tone in my ears, indeed), I run into the radio room, and listened on 500 kHz. After I re
Forum: General Discussions

Hello all! International distress frequency was 500 kHz (wavelength 600 meters, wireless telegraphy) and was used until the late 1990's. All merchant ships in navigation had to monitor the frequency, in war and piece. There were two silence periods, in which the ships weren't allowed to transmit on the frequency, from 15 to 18 minutes and from 45 to 48 minutes of the each hour, except
Forum: General Discussions

Hello all! Sad news, indeed! I changed few e-mails with Mr Barry Scully, and I am glad because I can say, the each my e-mail was answered, and he was very polite and friendly. Mr Barry Scully always commented false myths about U-boats and Ireland in WW2. I am happy because I sent him few links to original documents, who denied those false myths. My condolence to his family! Barry, have a cal
Forum: General Discussions

Hello Ibrahim! You may go to: and then go to chapter "Bases", and you will find description of German bases in Penang and Singapore, plus some additional informations. Best regards! Funkmeister
Forum: General Discussions

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen! About the German Americans, German anti-nazis etc... AH's nephew, born in America, joined the USN as volunteer, under the false name. All the family in the US hated that idiot AH! But, of course, they were Americans. many Italian Americans, German Americans etc fought for their country, the USA, and they their best! Also, Japanese Americans fought against na
Forum: General Discussions