Newsletter #111 – May 2025  

USS CHIVO (SS-341) All Hands Newsletter

Reunion Plans

We have all heard the expression, “We need to discuss the elephant in the room.”   Currently, there is no elephant in the room, because to my knowledge, no one has been selected to research, plan and host the reunion.   Bob Bernhardt (1971), organization president, suggested that our 2026 reunion might be shorter, only 3 days, and in Myrtle Beach.   That’s all I can tell you for now.

U-Boats in World War II

There is a really interesting and informative web site at https://uboat.net.   Here are a few tidbits I gleaned from it:

• The average age of u-boat commanders on patrol in WWII was 28 years old.
• The youngest commander on patrol was Ludwig-Ferdinand von Friedeburg on U-155.   He got underway on Sept 9, 1944 and was only 20 years, 111 days old.   There was another 20 year old u-boat commander and six that were only 21 years old.   All of these came late in the war when Germany was short on manpower.
• The oldest commander on patrol was Bruno Mahn on UD-5 (ex Dutch submarine).   He got underway on Aug 30, 1942 and was 54 years, 270 days old.   Two other commanders were in their 50’s.
• Otto Kretschmer, the top u-boat ace, sank 47 ships (274,418 tons) and damaged 5 ships (37,965 tons).   In March 1941 his luck ran out.   His boat, U-99, was badly damaged in a depth charge attack.   He managed to surface the boat and save all but 3 of his crew.   He was taken prisoner and spent 6 ½ years in allied captivity.   He returned to Germany in 1947, and in 1955 Otto Kretschmer joined the Federal German Navy.   He retired in 1970 with the rank of Admiral of the Fleet.   He died in the summer of 1998 following an accident while on vacation.
• Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat on U-196 (a long range type IXD2) holds the record for the longest war patrol.   He left Kiel, GE in Mar 1943, patrolled the South Atlantic and Pacific and returned to Bordeaux, FR in Oct 1943 (225 days).   In May while on patrol, he fired two torpedoes at a target off South Africa, but only one torpedo launched, leaving the other lodged in its tube armed and ready to detonate.   The potentially catastrophic hazard was removed by diving the boat at a steep angle until it slid out of the tube.   During all this, convoy escorts dropped four depth charges on the boat, but without causing any damage.
• Admiral Karl Dönitz, commander of the U-boat force, estimated he needed 300 U-boats to defeat the Allies (100 in repairs and training, 100 in transit to/from op areas, and 100 in actual combat zones).   When the war started in Sept 1939 he only had 26 ocean going U-boats.   In Aug 1942, 3 years after the war began, the number of U-boats at sea reached 100 for the first time (some of these boats were inbound or outbound from bases).   For the next 11 months the number rarely dipped below 100, reaching as high as 159 boats at sea in Apr 1943.   In early Jun 1944 over 100 U-boats were at sea at the same time for 10 consecutive days, then the number dipped below 90, never again reaching its former strength.
• The U-505 was captured in June 1944 and is on display in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.   She has an interesting bit of history that probably is not mentioned in the museum’s description.   The U-505 made a total 12 patrols under three different commanders.   While outbound on patrol ten, east of the Azores in Oct. 1943, U-505 came under heavy depth charge attack.   Peter Zschech, her commander, apparently broke down and took his own life with his service pistol in the control room of the boat.   The second in command, Paul Mayer (26 years old), took command, evaded the pursuers and returned the boat to Lorient, FR in Nov.   1943. This is the only known case during the war.

* * * From The Quartermaster's Notebook * * *

Donations . . .  Donations help to make our reunions possible.

Donation checks should be made payable to the “Chivo Reunion Organization” and mailed directly to our Treasurer: Robert Kuphal, 3520 New Hartford Rd., Suite 301 Owensboro KY 42303.

Eternal Patrol . . .  Recently we learned that the following shipmates have passed away:

• EMCS(SS) Napoleon Bonville (1963-1966) departed February 14, 2016.
• EMCS(SS) Denny O. Clark (1968-1969) departed February 12, 2022.

• EN2(SS) Wallace P. Jackson (1967-1968) departed January 06, 2017.
• TM2(SS) Gerald A. Janes (1961-1964) departed June 10, 2024.

• LT Gary L. Lentz (1970) departed May 10, 2024.
• ETRSN(SS) Joseph E. Magee (1964-1965) departed March 08, 2021.

• EM3(SS) James E. Moore (1967) departed October 20, 2023.
• EMFA Edward D. Pettit (1963) departed December 30, 2009.

• QM3(SS) Raymond P. Rosler (1970) departed May 05, 2022.
• EM3(SS) James E. Skillman (1964) departed April 20, 2023.

• EMFN Shirley L. Warren (1963) departed June 15, 2022.

Binnacle List . . .   These shipmates are facing some serious challenges:

• ENC(SS) Stephen "Budda" Bien (62-64)   email: 3kisses@bellsouth.net
• TM2(SS) John & Joanne Hedum (1952-1956)   email: jnjhedum@bellsouth.net

• FN(SS) Richard V. Holland (1971 decom)   email: rvholland@hotmail.com
• ETRSN(SS) William C. Priest (64-65)   c/o Ruthann Priest,   13230 Elkwood Ct., Midlothian VA 23112-1434

* * * Current Chivo Board Members * * *

The mission of the CHIVO Reunion Organization is:

1. to perpetuate the memory of our shipmates and their deeds, to promote good fellowship and comradeship, and to pledge loyalty and patriotism to the United States of America.

2. to participate in activities that foster recognition of the contributions made by  members of all Armed Forces and their families, both Past and Present, that uphold the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.

3. to provide aid and comfort to service members in need.

We have no dues, and we have a lot of fun!

USS CHIVO (SS-341) Reunion Organization
All Hands Newsletter #111 – May 2025

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