The Reality About Gasoline Prices -- And What To Do About It
Gasoline prices have been steadily climbing for several months, and Americans are feeling the pain at the pump. The possible culprits (from greedy oil execs to Mideast turmoil) are as plentiful as the proposed solutions (more offshore drilling, green energy or government reserves). But what is really driving prices up? And what, if anything, can be done about it? Let’s take a moment to fill up on information about our fuel.
1. Fighting in Libya is sending gas prices higher.
Libya is not a big enough global oil supplier for the battles there to have a meaningful effect on gas prices. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Libya was a major U.S. supplier, selling us around 700,000 barrels of oil per day. But today, we import less than 50,000 barrels per day from Libya, a tiny fraction of the 9.2 million barrels per day the United States imported in 2010.
Worldwide, the story is no different: Of the 86 million barrels consumed globally each day, less than 2 percent come from Moammar Gaddafi’s regime.
So why are gas prices up? Though Gaddafi’s fate is largely irrelevant to the oil market, unrest throughout the greater Middle East is not. The Persian Gulf region produces almost 24 million barrels of oil per day, more than 25 percent of global oil consumption.
The Arab spring that has brought protests to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen makes markets nervous, and when markets fret over a possible disruption to oil supplies, gas prices rise whether the disruption materializes or not.
2. Tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is a smart way to reduce gas prices. The U.S. government maintains a 727 million-barrel oil reserve that is 38 days’ worth at current levels of consumption to protect against potential supply disruptions. But just about every time prices rise, politicians want to access the oil in the SPR reserve to increase supply and bring prices back down. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), for instance, has been calling for oil releases from the SPR for more than a decade. In a letter to President Bill Clinton in 1999, he endorsed the release of several hundred thousand barrels a day from the SPR because, according to a news release about the letter, oil prices had made a meteoric ascent to nearly $25 per barrel.
Had Clinton dipped into the reserve then, as Schumer requested, we almost certainly would have gotten a raw deal. What if that $25-per-barrel oil could be replenished only at $75 per barrel? Tapping the SPR makes the government an oil speculator, and any nation running record deficits that becomes a commodity trader is playing a dangerous game.
The SPR exists to buy time in a true supply emergency. If we use it as a political tool to keep voters happy by stemming rising gas prices, we may be forced to buy back oil at even higher prices, or we may be left with an insufficient supply in a real crisis.
3. Oil companies produce less in the spring to make gas prices increase.
Almost every year, gasoline prices rise in the spring. At the same time, refineries produce less fuel. This isn’t because oil companies want to keep inventories low to drive prices higher. It’s because what’s in our gasoline, specifically, the butane content that changes from season to season.
Butane is a cheap ingredient in gasoline that boils at low temperatures. In winter, this isn’t a problem. But in summer, butane evaporates from gas, polluting the air while leaving us with less fuel in the tank than we paid for. As temperatures rise, refineries replace butane with more costly ingredients and draw down winter inventories just as the beach season begins. Chemistry, not corporate conspiracy, limits supply.
4. The Obama administration is driving up gas prices.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says EPA regulations are a back-door national energy tax that pushes prices up. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin says the White House drilling moratorium shows President Obama’s culpability in the high gas prices is
hurting Americans.
Blaming the president for rising gas prices is nothing new, and it’s a bipartisan tactic. In 2004, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) blamed President George W. Bush for higher gas prices and for continuing to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as oil prices climbed.
Just one problem: Even if domestic supplies were developed, American presidents couldn’t really control oil prices. The U.S.government has estimated that there are 18 billion barrels of oil in the outer continental shelf of the lower 48 states that are off limits to development. That may sound like a lot, but it is only about 21 / 2 years of supply for the United States, and it would take several years to allocate leases and drill exploratory wells. Even if the estimated 10 billion barrels of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were available for development, today’s policy decisions would have no impact on gasoline supplies
for as much as a decade. Obama can’t dictate what you’ll pay for premium fuel tomorrow.
5. Americans can’t live without cheap gas.
Yes, Americans love to drive, and Americans love cheap gas. But across an ocean, there’s a continent filled with people a lot like us who’ve lived with high gas prices for years. They’re called Europeans.
While U.S. gasoline heads toward $4 per gallon, Europeans have been paying much higher prices for years because of high taxes on fuel. This month in Britain, gas hit 6 pounds, or about $9.76 per gallon. Because gas is so costly, Europe’s per capita energy use is half that of the United States, leaving Europe less vulnerable to oil price shocks yet not undermining its citizens’ standard of living.
The United States, built on cheap oil, is much less densely populated than the Old World, with more wide-open spaces to traverse. But that doesn’t mean we can’t embrace some of the things that have helped Europeans keep their gasoline bills down such as high-speed rail, public transportation, and green energy.
In fact, Americans have shown that they can adjust their behavior when faced with sticker shock at the pump. As gas prices rose from $2.31 per gallon in 2005 to $3.30 per gallon in 2008, sales of the Toyota Prius eclipsed those of the Ford Explorer, and public transit use reached a 50-year high. When it costs $30 to fill up a Geo Metro with regular, all options are on the table.
What About Additives?
Gasoline additives increase gasoline's octane rating. They act as corrosion inhibitors or lubricants, thus allowing the use of higher compression ratios for greater efficiency and power. However some additives carry heavy environmental risks. One of the first additives used was an anti-knock compound called tetraethyl lead.
Types of additives include metal deactivators, corrosion inhibitors, oxygenates and antioxidants. The Clean Air Act was put into place in January 1995 in the United States of America as part of the efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency. This act requires deposit control additives (DCAs) be added to all gasolines. This type of additive is a detergent additive that acts as a cleansing agent in small passages in the carburetor or fuel injectors. This in turn serves to ensure a consistent air and fuel mixture that will contribute to better gas mileage.
Some other additives are:
Combustion catalyst: any organometallic compound which lowers the ignition point of fuel in the engine combustion chamber reducing the temperature burn from 1200 degrees to 800 degrees F.
Catalyst additives: These prolong engine life and increase fuel economy
Burn rate modifiers: These increase the fuel burn time, resulting in an increased fuel efficiency
Stabilizers/demulsifiers/dispersants: These additives prolong the life of fuel and prevent water contamination.
Corrosion inhibitors: These prevent corrosion of the fuel tank and fuel system.
Deposit control additives: These act as detergents, and clean the engine.
How well do these additives work? There are many products on the market that claim to improve gas mileage and reduce harmful emissions that pollute. Some of them only work marginally well, while some of them do not work at all. Nearly all of them are sold over the internet. Some are outright scams, while others work to the extent we see some improvement in automotive performance.....but not much. Some represent companies that have been in business for a measureable length of time and are slowly but surely gaining recognition.
There are four agencies that you should know about before you invest in any product for your car or truck. There are a number of do's and dont's before you take any action that involves the old jaloppy in your garage or driveway.
Here are the agencies:
a) The Federal EPA. This is Obama's watchdog that is chartered with protecting the air we breathe.
b) The Federal Consumer Protection Agency. This agency guards against internet scams. Of particular interest are the "gas pills" that are dropped into the gas tank with a refuelling.
c) The Southwest Research Laboratories. This is a private research agency that focuses on fuels, testing of fuel performance in automobile and truck engines, emission control devices and strategies, and engineering recommendations for truck and fleet operators.
d) The California Air Resources Board (CARB). This agency operates within the State of California and is responsible for the state formulating and implementing air pollution laws.
Here are the "do's" and the "don't"s:
a) Don't put any additive in your car or truck's fuel system before you have checked with the manufacturer to see if your action is okay as far as your vehicle's warranty limitations.
b) Do not operate your vehicle with any fuel additive before consulting with the Federal agencies listed above.
c) Do not buy a large supply of fuel additive before you have run tests on your car or truck to see how well these additives really work.
d) Do not rely on the recommendations of others before using the additive in your own vehicle. What worked out okay in John's Durango may not work out well in your Ford.
e) Keep detailed records of everything you do. Above all, keep detailed records of the information you see at the gas pump and your vehicle's oddometer.
f) DO NOT PERFORM A PARTIAL FILL OF YOUR VEHICLE'S FUEL TANK. You will louse up your test results and will learn nothing about the effect of fuel additives on your vehicle.
g) DO NOT "TOP OFF" YOUR VEHICLE WHEN YOU ARE REFUELLING. WHEN THE GAS PUMP CLICKS "OFF" THAT IS IT.
h) Do not corrupt the fuel your vehicle normally uses with other stuff that will louse up your testing. Examples of this are the use of a higher octane rating fuel, introducing another additive into your gas tank, or using an octane booster such as methanol, ethanol, or a benzene derivative.
How good is the additive?
The proof of the pudding (or the gas tank) is how much money can a fuel additive actually save you ? Here is a quick layman's test to find out.
Step One: Fill your tank with the gasoline or diesel fuel that you normally employ. Remember....DO NOT TOP OFF when you fill up.
Step Two: Record the amount of fuel that you pumped into your vehicle, as shown on the gas pump.
Step Three: Record the oddometer reading on your vehicle while you are still in the gas station. Do not drive away and then remember to do it while you are out on the road.
Step Four: Drive your vehicle until your tank level reaches 1/4 full.
Step Five: Drive into your service station to refill. Record the oddometer reading on your vehicle. Record the amount of fuel you pumped into your vehicle on this visit, as shown on the gas pump.
Step Six: Subtract the oddometer reading from Step Three from the oddometer reading you have recorded in Step Five. This will tell you how many miles you have driven since your last visit to the service station
Step Seven: Divide the miles driven from Step Six by the amount of fuel pumped into your vehicle from Step Five. This will give you the miles per gallon using untreated fuel for Run One.
Run Two:
Repeat Steps One Through Seven. Compute the miles per gallon as described in Step Seven. If your technique is consistent, the results from Run One and Run Two should approximate each other. These runs will show how your vehicle will perform with untreated fuel in its everyday operation.
Run Three:
Step One: Put in the recommended amount of additive before you start filling your gas tank. Fill your tank with the gasoline or diesel fuel that you normally employ. This is to ensure that the additive and your fuel amounts will mix properly in your gas tank. It is especially important that you NEVER put in a second additive in your tank when doing your initial fill. Also, Remember....DO NOT TOP OFF when you fill up. Let the pump click off when your filling is done.
Step two: Record the amount of fuel that you pumped into your vehicle, as shown on the gas pump.
Step Three: Record the oddometer reading on your vehicle while you are still in the gas station. Do not drive away and then remember to do it while you are out on the road.
Step Four: Drive your vehicle until your tank level reaches 1/4 full.
Step five: Drive into your service station to refill. Record the oddometer reading on your vehicle. Put in the recommended amount of additive before you start filling your gas tank. Record the amount of fuel you pumped into your vehicle on this visit, as shown on the gas pump. Once again, remember DO NOT TOP OFF your refill.
Step Six: Subtract the oddometer reading from Step Three from the oddometer reading you have recorded in Step Five. This will tell you how many miles you have driven with treated fuel since your last visit to the service station.
Step Seven: Divide the miles driven from Step Six by the amount of treated fuel pumped into your vehicle from Step Five. This will give you the miles per gallon using treated fuel for Run Three.
Run Four:
Repeat Steps One Through Seven. Compute the miles per gallon as described in Step Seven. If your technique is consistent, the results from Run Three and Run Four should approximate each other. These runs will show how your vehicle will perform with treated fuel in its everyday operation.
As soon as you have completed the testing of your vehicle with untreated fuel versus that with treated fuel, you should have a good idea about the performance of a fuel additive in your vehicle.
You can then calculate the gross savings that the additive will provide you as you operate your vehicle. Use 1000 miles as a good basis of comparison. Let's say you drive 1000 miles. Using untreated fuel, your vehicle should do 25 miles per gallon. Thus, your vehicle will consume 40 gallons of fuel. At $4.00 a gallon, your cost will be $160.00.
Using treated fuel, your vehicle should perform at 35 miles per gallon. Your vehicle will thus consume around 28.5 gallons of fuel for the 1000 miles of your comparison. At $4.00 a gallon, your cost will be lower than $120.00 for the same 1000 miles.
Your savings in this example will be about $40.00.
This example shows that treated versus untreated fuel can make a difference in the amount you can save operating your vehicle.
More precise calculations may show a bigger difference.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Ride, Captain, Ride
Ride, Captain, Ride Aboard Your Mystery Ship
World War II has amassed a collection of some of the most incredible tales from all of the combatants within this bloodiest of conflicts. Even today, stories and movies are being released. For the first time, movies are depicting things as they really existed, such as "Band of Brothers", "Das Boot", and "Saving Private Ryan." Some of the grimmest tales have yet to be written. One of the most incredible tales describes how the Allied forces almost let World War II get away, in favor of the Axis powers. By a skinteenth of an inch, Germany and her ally, Japan, almost were able to build the atomic bomb. It would have been equivalent to a "hail mary" play in the last minute of a football game.
Fortunately for the Allied powers, the Axis clock ran out.
This "hail mary" was played out by a German U-Boat captain who was the farthest thing away from being a Nazi. Moreover, his career on the high seas started out not with U-boats, but with his being the captain of a merchant vessel. The forces of war altered his identity to becoming a commerce raider, and later on in the war, becoming a U-boat captain.
U-234 was a type XB submarine, the largest class of German U-boat ever constructed. Of the eight that had been built, only U-234 and U-219 remained. The other six had paid a heavy price for their slow speed and lack of maneuverability (Helgason 1996). Kapitan-Lieutenant Johann "Dynamite" Fehler, who had previously served on the infamous raider "Atlantis," was in command of the U-234. In US Navy equivalent rank, he would be a Lieutenant Commander.
In addition to his crew, Fehler was responsible for an important group of passengers: monocled Lieutenant General Ulrich Kesssler of the Luftwaffe; Colonels Sandrat and Neishling, also of the Luftwaffe; civilian rocket and jet experts; and most mysterious of all, Lieutenant Commanders Hideo Tomonaga and Genzo Shoji of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Fehler’s mission was to transport personnel and materials to Japan to support its war against the Allies. The final days of the Reich might be at hand, but whatever assistance that could be provided Japan, would be provided. This was authorized by Hitler himself. With a mission of such importance, Fehler had to avoid any possible contact with Allied anti-U-boat patrols. The U-234 ran deep and was continuously submerged for two weeks after leaving Kristiansand.
The U-234's mission had not gone unnoticed by the Allies. Thanks to codebreaking and deciphering machines such as Ultra, the Allies were able to learn much about the U-234 and what she was up to. The Allied command knew what most of the U-234's cargo contained, and they knew positively that U-234 was not an attack submarine. To Allied planners and naval deployment commands, the U-234 had to be stopped and destroyed.
The U-234 was equipped with a snorkel, enabling it to stay underwater for a long period of time and run on its batteries. KPLT Fehler took no chances on having his U-boat fall prey to Allied depth charging attacks. He ordered his U-boat to run at maximum depth and to run as silently as possible. The U-234 could run at 900 feet below the surface while Allied depth charges could go no lower than 300 feet. Thus, Fehler and his crew were able to survive Allied depth-charging attacks, even though the Allies knew they might have the U-234 in their attack plan.
Only after making it through the English Channel into the Atlantic did Fehler feel sufficiently confident to surface for two hours each night. The attacking Allied destroyers and anti-sub killers had appeared to have gone away. Fehler's mission remained for him to set a course straight across the Atlantic and to round the tip of South America before heading across the Pacific towards Japan. This part of the journey would be as perilous as before, since American fleet units roamed all over the Pacific. Although American submarines patrolled the Pacific at will, this was no guarantee that a German U-boat could not get away with masquerading itself as an American sub.
In addition to her crew, the U-234 was carrying twelve passengers, including a German general, four German naval officers, civilian engineers and scientists, and two Japanese naval officers. The German personnel included General Ulrich Kessler of the Luftwaffe, who was to take over Luftwaffe liaison duties in Tokyo; Kai Nieschling, a Naval Fleet Judge Advocate who was to rid the German diplomatic corps in Japan of the remnants of the Richard Sorge spy ring; Dr. Heinz Schlicke, a specialist in radar, infra-red, and countermeasures and director of the Naval Test Fields in Kiel (later recruited by the USA in Operation Paperclip); and August Bringewalde, who was in charge of Me 262 production at Messerschmitt.[6]
The Japanese passengers were Lieutenant Commander Hideo Tomonaga of the Imperial Japanese Navy, a naval architect and submarine designer who had come to Germany in 1943 on Japanese submarine I-29, and Lieutenant Commander Shoji Genzo, an aircraft specialist and former naval attaché. The German crew never understood the Japanese language and customs. However, both Japanese passengers performed a Samurai ritual act which needed no further explanation to the crew. They placed their Samurai swords into the hands of KPLT Fehler. It was a custom which meant that into KPLT Fehler's hands were they placing their trust and their lives.
Although Fehler had a number of sinkings to his credit while in command of a German surface merchant ship disguised as a commerce raider, he had not sunk a single allied ship while in command of the U-234. The German submarine U-234 was a Type XB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine. During World War II, her first and only mission into hostile waters consisted of the attempted delivery of uranium, technological and administrative personnel and other German advanced weapons technology to the Empire of Japan. After verifying the validity of Germany's unconditional surrender, KPLT Fehler, his crew, and the submarine U-234 with all its contents surrendered to the United States on 14 May 1945.
Construction of the U-234
Originally constructed as a minelaying submarine, the U-234 was damaged during construction at Kiel in 1942. Following the loss of the U-233 in July 1944, it was decided not to use the U-234 as a mine layer. Instead, she was completed as a long-range cargo submarine with Japan missions in mind.
Selection of A Captain For The U-234
We go back to the Rock song, "Ride, Captain, Ride!" How true were the lyrics!
"Ride, captain ride upon your mystery ship
Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip
Ride captain ride upon your mystery ship
On your way to a world that others might have missed"
The captain was of course, KPLT Fehler
"Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip"
The passengers aboard the U-234 were truly amazing. Moreover, the First Officer Lt Ernst Pfaff not only was Fehler's friend, but Fehler's daughter-in law was engaged to Pfaff. The mix of Luftwaffe brass and two Japanese Navy officers added to the amazement. Fehler was only aware that he had as cargo materials and equipment for Japan. However, he had at the time no idea that some of his cargo could build an atomic bomb
"Ride, Captain, Ride, aboard your mystery ship"
KPLT Fehler had known that U-boat losses due to Allied anti-sub warfare in the Atlantic was turning the once hunters of the sea to becoming the hunted. Fehler was well aware of what he had to do to evade detection and the inevitable depth charge attack. Like many other U-boat commanders and even Admiral Karl Doenitz, he was totally unaware that his "mystery ship" was no longer a mystery at all. The Allied command knew about Fehler's mission and the cargo that the U-234 was carrying. In fact, the Allied command knew more about the cargo on U-234 than Fehler and nearly all of his crew, except Lt. Karl Ernst Pfaff. Lt.Pfaff oversaw the loading of U-234's cargo. Aside from the secret decoded German transmissions, Lt. Pfaff was the sole person that knew the U-234 was carrying over 500 kilograms of Uranium 235 to Japan.
"On your way to a world that others might have missed"
It is unlikely that KPLT Fehler or many of his crew had ever visited Japan. It is very likely to speculate that if the U-234 had ever landed in Japan, the crew would have been just as appalled at the damage caused by the B-29 raids over Japan as the B-17 and Lancaster raids over German cities. By 1945, it was the end of the ballgame for the Axis powers. As mentioned, the U-234 represented the "hail mary" play for the Axis. The clock was running out.
The U-234 Enters Wartime service
U-234 returned to the Germaniawerft yard at Kiel on 5 September 1944, to be refitted as a transport, instead of a minelayer. Apart from minor work, she had a snorkel added and 12 of her 30 mineshafts were fitted with special cargo containers the same diameter as the shafts and held in place by the mine release mechanisms. In addition, her keel was loaded with cargo, thought to be optical-grade glass and mercury, and her four upper-deck torpedo storage compartments (two on each side) were also occupied by cargo containers.
The U-234's Cargo
As World War II ground onward in the winter of 1944 and spring of 1945, it became painfully evident to Hitler that the Reich was on its last leg. The massive counter-offensive Hitler had launched in the Ardennes ("The Battle Of The Bulge") had been brought to a halt. The Allied armies had crossed the Rhine at Remagen, opening the way for other bridgeheads to be thrown across the Rhine. In the East, the Soviet Army had pressed forward to the Vistula River and was now preparing to launch its final assault on Germany. Germany was now facing the reality of the two front squeeze against its borders.
Despite this, Hitler believed he was far from beaten. He was edified by the work on the V-2 rocket by Dr. Werner Von Braun. This could carry an explosive payload to Britain, and might even carry its destructive power across the Atlantic to US cities. Hitler could not foretell the future, where Dr. Von Braun would one day direct the US Space Program.
Hitler also kept close tabs on the German nuclear program. It was well within reason to anticipate that Germany could build an atomic bomb. Coupled with the striking power of Von Braun's rocketry, Germany could well achieve nuclear warfare capability. All it lacked was advanced nuclear engineering.
On the other side of the world, the Japanese were well on their way toward also building an atomic bomb. All they lacked was sufficient uranium oxide to complete the final stages of assembly and test of their own atomic bomb. If they could put together their own nuclear power with that of Nazi Germany, they could reverse the course of the war in the Pacific. To that end, the Japanese sent a delegation of political leaders and scientists to personally meet with Hitler. Their goal: to secure final German - Japanese cooperation to build an atomic bomb which could be used within Nazi Germany as well as to reverse the course of their setting sun.
It was indeed time for the "hail mary" play. In this role, KPLT Fehler would be the quarterback and his crew and passengers aboard the U-234 would be the team on the field. All they needed was a lot of luck, a bit more time, and the seamanship skills of Fehler.
The cargo to be carried by U-234 was determined by a special commission, the Marine Sonder Dienst Auslands, established towards the end of 1944, at which time the submarine's officers were informed that they were to make a special voyage to Japan. When loading was completed, the submarine's officers estimated that they were carrying 240 tons of cargo plus sufficient diesel fuel and provisions for a six- to nine-month voyage.
The cargo included technical drawings, examples of the newest electric torpedoes, one crated Me 262 jet aircraft, a Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb, and what was listed on the US Unloading Manifest as 560 kg of uranium oxide. As evidenced by Hirschfeld and Brooks in their 1997 book, Wolfgang Hirschfeld reportedly watched the loading into the boat's cylindrical mine shafts of about 50 lead cubes with 9 inches (230 mm) sides, and "U-235" painted on each. Aaccording to cables sent from the dockyard, these containers held "U-powder". However, according to author and historian Joseph M. Scalia, who discovered a formerly secret cable message at Portsmouth Navy Yard, the uranium oxide had been stored in gold-lined cylinders. This document is discussed in the book, "Hitler's Terror Weapons". The exact characteristics of the uranium remain unknown. it has been suggested by Scalia and historians Carl Boyd and Akihiko Yoshida that it may not have been weapons-grade material and was instead intended for use as a catalyst in the production of synthetic methanol for aviation fuel. From the U-234's officers, Lt. Pfaff oversaw the loading of the cargo. When the cargo had been loaded, U-234 carried out additional trials near Kiel, then returned to Kiel where her passengers came aboard.
The Final Voyage of the U-234
The U-234 sailed from Kiel for Kristiansand, Norway in the evening of 25 March 1945, accompanied by escort vessels and three Type XXIII coastal U-boats, arriving in Horten two days later. U-234 spent the next 8 days carrying out trials of her snorkel apparatus.
A wily fellow, KPLT Fehler realized that several other U-Boats had been sent to Japan with such war materiel but at a certain point in the Atlantic, they disappeared. Once at sea, Fehler disregarded the orders that told him which course to follow since he felt there might have been an ambush waiting for him - and he was right. The Allies had known of each U-Boat making a trip to Japan with special cargoes aboard, and a Royal Navy submarine was lying in wait for them. All of these special boats were sunk, except the U-234, whose skipper decided to go his own route.
The U-234's voyage started off badly. During these sea trials, the U-234 accidentally collided with a Type VIIC U-boat performing similar sea trials. Damage to both submarines was minor. Despite a diving and fuel oil tank being holed, U-234 was able to complete the sea trials. The only loss was that of precious time. The U-234 finally proceeded to Kristiansand, arriving on about 5 April. There, the U-234 underwent repairs and topped off her provisions and fuel.
When the U-234 finally departed Kristiansand for Japan on 15 April 1945, it was one day before the Soviets opened what was to become their final offensive destined to capture Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. The Americans, British, and Canadians had launched their own coordinated offensive through Germany's heartland and were nearing the Elbe River, the agreed-upon stopping place for the link-up of the Western Allies with the Soviet Red Army.
On the other side of the world, the US Army and US Marine Corps had invaded Okinawa and were experiencing the desperate attacks of Japan's suicide weapon, the Kamikaze. By the 15th of April, time was indeed running out for the "hail mary" play.
The U-234 ran submerged at snorkel depth for the first 16 days of its journey. The Allied Command had obtained the fully decoded messages about the U-234. The Allied anti-submarine forces struck some time after the U-234 managed to get out of the English Channel into the open waterways of the Atlantic. The U-234 dived close to sea bottom and was able to withstand all Allied depth charge attacks designed to either bring the U boat to the surface or else sink her.
The "Hail Mary" Play Comes To An End
Finally, the depth charge attacks appeared to subside. The U-234 attempted to surface, but after that they found that a severe Atlantic Ocean storm had moved in. This storm appeared to have driven off the Allied Command destroyers that were attacking the U-234. Fehler considered he was safe from further attack on the surface in the prevailing severe storm. From then on, the U-234 spent two hours running on the surface by night, and the remainder of the time submerged.
The voyage continued without any further incident. However, the first sign that world affairs were overtaking the voyage was when the German Navy's Goliath transmitter stopped transmitting, followed shortly thereafter by the Nauen station. KPLT Fehler did not know it, but Germany's naval HQ had fallen into Allied hands.
Then, on 4 May, the U-234 received a fragment of a broadcast from British and American radio stations announcing that Admiral Karl Döenitz had become Germany's head of state. Adolf Hitler had committed suicide in his bunker, together with his wife Eva Braun. Following the reported suicide of Adolf Hitler. U-234 finally surfaced on 10 May in the interests of better radio reception. On the surface, KPLT Fehler received Grossadmiral Döenitz's last order to the submarine force, ordering all U-boats to surface, hoist black flags, and surrender to Allied forces. Fehler suspected a trick and managed to contact another U-boat (U-873), whose captain convinced him that the message was authentic. The radio message was so stark and so shocking, KPLT Johann Heinrich Fehler wasn't about to take it on face value. He would have to test it out, make sure it was authentic, before deciding what his response would be.
At this point, Fehler was practically equidistant from British, Canadian and American ports. He decided not to continue his journey, and instead headed for the east coast of the United States. Fehler thought it likely that if they surrendered to Canadian or British forces, they would be imprisoned and it could be years before they were returned to Germany, and believed that the US, on the other hand, would probably just send them home.
Fehler consequently decided that he would surrender to US forces, but he radioed on 12 May that he intended to sail to Halifax, Nova Scotia to surrender to ensure Canadian units would not reach him first. U-234 then set course for Newport News, Virginia, Fehler took care to dispose of his Tunis radar detector, the new Kurier radio communication system, and all Enigma related documents and other classified papers.
On learning that the U-boat was to surrender, the two Japanese passengers were in a quandary over what to do. Germany was no longer at war with the Allied nations. Japan however, was still at war in the Pacific with all of the Allied nations, now including the Soviet Union. According to Samurai warrior code, a surrender was unthinkable. Moreover, they had placed their Samurai swords in the care of KPLT Fehler. Fehler explained to the Japanese that he had to surrender because he had to obey his high command just as they would have to follow theirs.
There was only one way out. Unwilling to be captured, Hideo Tomonaga and Genzo Shoji committed suicide. An officer later recalled, "They returned to their bunks where they took Luminol, a very powerful barbiturate, lay down and pulled the curtains and we knew they were killing themselves, and that was their right. They took more than 36 hours to die. Then we buried them at sea, as we would do for any one of our own."
The Capture of the U-234
The capture of the U-234, its cargo, and its crew is a tribute to the seamanship of KPLT Fehler. When U-234 signaled their position to the Allies an intention to surrender at a U.S. port, she was told by the Royal Canadian Navy that this was not acceptable - that she must head for Halifax and to radio their position to Halifax every hour. As ordered, Fehler sent a radio message to Halifax stating his speed at 8 knots and his position - the position he would have been in if he were indeed heading for Halifax at 8 knots. Instead, this crafty old sea captain was headed for the U.S. at maximum speed. Finally, the destroyer escort USS SUTTON came over the horizon and took control of the boat. Fehler related in subsequent interviews that the US Navy crew acted properly and respectfully, allowing the German crew to take down their flag with dignity and ceremony. Most of the German crew was taken aboard USS SUTTON with only a skeleton crew aboard to operate the boat with an American crew overseeing the move. The Royal Canadian Navy was rather shocked when they demanded a radio transmission from U-234 and got one instead from the American prize crew.
The difference between Fehler's reported course to Halifax and his true course was soon realized by US authorities who dispatched two destroyers to intercept U-234. On 14 May 1945 she was encountered south of the Grand Banks by the USS Sutton. Members of the Sutton's crew took command of the U-boat and sailed her to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where the U-805, U-873, and U-1228 had already surrendered.
News of the U-234's surrender with her high-ranking German passengers made the event a major news story. Reporters swarmed over the Navy Yard and went to sea in a small boat for a look at the submarine. The fact that she had a half ton of uranium oxide on board was covered up and remained classified. This was to last for the duration of the Cold War, now beginning to unfold between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.
A classified US intelligence summary of 19 May merely listed U-234's cargo as including "a/c [aircraft], drawings, arms, medical supplies, instruments, lead, mercury, caffeine, steels, optical glass and brass. The uranium subsequently disappeared, most likely finding its way to the Manhattan Project's Oak Ridge diffusion plant; it has been calculated that it would have yielded approximately 7.7 pounds (3.5 kg) of U-235 after processing, around 20% of what would have been required to arm a contemporary fission weapon.]
U-234 was taken to the Portsmouth, NH naval base where her secret cargo were quickly removed. What happened to the uranium aboard is a mystery to this day. Many feel that it was used in one of the bombs dropped by the USAAF on Japan but - strangely, all the files pertaining to that uranium have disappeared....................
AT first, the men on the submarine thought it was a trick. The radio message from the German High Command told them the war was over; they were to surrender to the nearest Allied authorities The message, issued under the auspices of Admiral Karl Doenitz, former German U-boat chief elevated to supreme commander after the death of Adolf Hitler, praised all U-boat crews for "fighting like lions" for more than six years and then informed them that the enemy's material superiority had driven Germany to defeat.
"We proudly remember our fallen comrades," Doenitz consoled. "Long live Germany!" He ordered surrender. U-234 immediately submerged. "They are trying to trick us," Fehler speculated, "they" being the enemy -- Britain, Canada, the United States.
Fehler knew all about tricks. As an officer aboard the German raider Atlantis, he'd become familiar with the ship's somewhat infamous means of surface deception. The Atlantis would disguise itself as a friendly ship and lure enemy ships to within range of its camouflaged guns before opening fire. The Atlantis had thus bagged 22 Allied ships before it was sunk by the British cruiser, Devonshire; in November 1941.
U-234 sent out a message of its own to a nearby U-boat, in a special code that only captains could send and decipher.
"We have received a very funny message," Fehler radioed. "Have we surrendered? Is it true?"
The reply was one word, "Ja!!" This convinced Fehler the message was no trick. His orders were to surface, to hoist a black flag on U-234's periscope, and to report his position to the Allies.
It wasn't over...not yet.
Fehler was a German officer which meant when he gave orders everybody snapped to. However, for whatever reasons, the man who had earned the nickname "Dynamite" for his job of scuttling captured vessels decided to exercise some democracy that day.
The democracy issue was how To surrender with A load Of uranium oxide aboard ship. The U-234 had a cargo that could blast US Cities -- 1,235 pounds of uranium oxide, destined for a Japanese atomic bomb program. However, nobody knew about the cargo except KPLT Fehler and his exec officer Lt. Karl Ernst Pfaff. The officers and crew therefore, were not thinking of uranium when they replied. "We have enough food to last us for years," remarked the boyish second officer, Lt. Pfaff. "I think we should go to the South Sea and find a deserted island with beautiful girls."
It had momentarily slipped Pfaff's mind that he was engaged to Fehler's sister-in-law. Fehler laughed. "That is wishful thinking," he told the 22-year-old Berliner who would never be his brother-in-law.
A pattern of responses emerged, the younger men tending to share Pfaff's compulsion to run from it all while the older ones just wanted to go home to their families and forget the war. Geography was a major factor in that U-234's position lay at the convergence of four Allied zones established for U-boat surrenders. Fehler could have surrendered to the enemy port of his choice. Britain, Gibraltar, Canada or the United States; or he could have attempted to return to Germany.
The latter would have been risky, Fehler knew, because the Russians -- no admirers of Hitlerite fighting men -- had been expanding naval operations in German waters. Neither he nor anybody on board wished to become a Soviet prisoner.
KPLT Fehler's Coice: He Picked Surrendering to the U.S.
Fehler surmised that if they surrendered to Canada or Great Britain, they would be taken prisoner, first in Canada, then England, and eventually France, and it could be many years before the men returned to their homes.
Fehler perceived Americans as "not warfaring people, not very military." At worst, he predicted they could be paraded through the streets of Washington DC, showcased so to speak as proof that real, live U boat crew members had been captured , and then sent home.
Fehler decided to turn U-234 into the gentle Americans. But he had to make sure the Canadians didn't get to him first. U-234 radioed authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that it was headed northwest, toward Halifax, at 8 knots (8 nautical miles an hour). In reality, U-234 was barrelling across the Atlantic at 16 knots on a more or less southwest course, to the port of Newport News, Va.
The discrepancy between Fehler's reported and actual course was soon recognized by U.S. authorities who dispatched two destroyers to intercept U-234, wherever it was.
One evening as it plowed the seas south of Newfoundland Banks, U-234 spotted a huge searchlight on the horizon. The destroyer Sutton approached and asked U-234 to identify itself. Crew members of the Sutton boarded and took charge, redirecting it to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard where three other U-boats, U-805, U-873 and U-1228, had surrendered within the last few days.
News of the surrender of the giant sub with its high-ranking Luftwaffe passengers turned the surrender into a major news event. Reporters swarmed over the Navy Yard and went to sea in a small boat for an earlier view of the prize.
But the big story -- the more than half a ton of uranium oxide on board -- was promptly covered up.
The United States military, in collaboration with worried officials of the top-secret Manhattan Project, had its own atomic program that would culminate in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August. Even after the war ended, documents reporting the uranium cargo on U-234 remained classified for the duration of the Cold War as America guarded all its atomic secrets from the new enemy: The Soviet Union.
The men of U-234 joined the officers and crews of the three subs that preceded them, as prisoners in the custody of the U.S. Navy. While at the Charles Street Jail in Boston, where they were being held while in transit to more permanent quarters, the commander of the U-boat U-873 slashed his wrists and was taken to a hospital where he died.
U-234 officers were taken to Washington, D.C. for interrogation. Second Officer Pfaff -- he who would rather have been on a South Sea island -- was taken to what he believed to be a top secret Navy installation in Virginia and into a room in which the cargo unloaded from U-234 was being stored.
Pfaff was ordered to oversee the opening of a metal container. The reluctant welder with the cutting torch pleaded with Pfaff not to let him die because he had a family. The military watchdogs stood back, out of harm's way. "He begged me not to let both of us get blown up," Pfaff said, I'and I assured him that I too did not want to die young. Why would these boxes be booby trapped? They were on their way to our ally (Japan). Why would we want to blow them up?"
When they saw that it was safe, the military came out of hiding. Pfaff said he was then asked to open the boxes -- little cigar-box shaped boxes, he recalled -- that contained the uranium oxide. A "tall, skinny fellow" wearing an "Eillot Ness" hat -- that is, a hat fashionable in the 1930s and 40s -- appeared. The only civilian in the room, he went about supervising the opening of the boxes. Who is that? Pfaff asked. Oppenheimer, somebody said.
"I had no earthly idea who Oppenheimer was," Pfaff said. But later, when the war finally ended, Pfaff, in a detention center in Louisiana, read news reports about atomic physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Los Alamos laboratory where the design and building of the first atomic bomb took place.
"I didn't know for sure that it was Oppenheimer in there," Pfaff said. "I had to take this man's word."
Japan's A-Bomb
Robert K Wilcox is an historian who has written about World War II, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. In 1985 Wilcox wrote a book,' "Japan's Secret War -- Japan's Race Against Time To Build Its : Own Atomic Bomb," that said the listing of 560 kilograms of uranium oxide for the "Jap Army" on U-234's manifest had elicited such concern with the War Department that it was kept from the public and subsequently became a classifted document.
The cargo was not officially revealed. But even if it had been, few Americans would have understood its significance. This was three months before the United States would drop the world's first two atomic bombs, unlocking the secrets of atomic fission to an incredulous world.
Wilcox cited the story of the U-234 as evidence that the Japanese may have been close to developing their own atom bomb and would not have hesitated to use it.As the recent public hand wringing over the Smithsonian's Enola Gay exhibit attests, the issue of whether the U.S. was morally justified in its atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki continues to generate controversy. Wilcox's publisher is reissuing his book in time for the 50th anniversary of those bombings this summer.
Lieutnant Pfaff Comes Back
Lt. Karl Ernst Pfaff was held in prisoner of war centers in Louisiana and Arkansas until early 1946 when he returned to Germany and married a girl from Heidelberg, not Fehler's sister-in-law.
"I had taken a liking to this country and to the American style," Pfaff said, and he immediately began planning his strategy: to return. He found his way to Montreal in 1951, and lived there 19 years, working for the Caterpillar Company. He lived in Memphis, Tenn., for another 19 years, and retired to Bellingham, Wash., four years ago.
'The war was a different part of my Life," Pfaff said in an interview. "something people don't understand. When the war was over and we had lost it, I had to do something and start another part of my life. I disappeared from the surface. Nobody, except my close friend Fehler, knew where I was."
After the war, Fehler acquired an international reputation for clearing waterways such as the Suez Canal of sunken ships. His career as a ship's captain endured, and he ran a supply ship for Kuwait at one time and a hospital ship to Saigon at another.
Pfaff and Fehler lost contact until 1991 when they met for the last time at a U-234 reunion in southern Germany. KPLT Fehler died at his home in Hamburg in 1992. U-234's reunions, like the reunions of all World War II veterans' groups, are attended by fewer people as the years go by. In 1985, there were 60 crew and wives; in 1991, there were 40.
This September Pfaff will be the highest officer attending the reunion of U-234. "There aren't many of us left, Pfaff, now 72, observed, and excused himself to go out and rake the lawn as he had promised his wife he would do.
More on the U-234
Return to Stories TOC
Fifty-three men had sailed up from Kristiansand Bay
Rolled off of their ship, and here's what they had to say
"We're callin' everyone to ride along to another shore
We can laugh our lives away and be free once more"
But no one heard them callin', no one came at all
'Cause they were too busy watchin' those old raindrops fall
As a storm was blowin' out on the peaceful sea
Fifty--three men sailed off into history
Ride, captain ride upon your mystery ship
Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip
Ride captain ride upon your mystery ship
On your way to a world that others might have missed
KPLT Fehler Was A Colorful Fellow, Wasn't He?
Captain Fehler, or "Hein" as he was known to his fellow officers was a merchant skipper before the war. When WW II began, he was a Naval Reserve officer in the Kriegsmarine. Fehler was activated when the war began. According to most descriptions of Fehler, he was the farthest thing away from being a Nazi. He was a professional "sea dog" and found a position to his liking. He became the Demolitions Officer aboard Schiff 16 - the famed raider "ATLANTIS", operating in the southern oceans. He earned his nickname of 'Dynamite' at this time, because everything he did - he tried to find some way to use explosives, sometimes to the exasperation of Captain Rogge, the Skipper of ATLANTIS.
During one stop at an old abandoned whaling station in the Kergulan Islands, Captain Rogge sent Fehler and a party ashore to find an easier way to fill their water tanks from the waterfall and stream ashore. Fehler immediately began to formulate a plan to blow something up to divert the flow of the water. Rogge asked if it wouldn't be simpler to merely rig a giant funnel of sorts connected to the ship's fire hoses, and bring the water to the ship that way.
During another action, after the crew of ATLANTIS had stopped a British ship and gotten the crew and foodstuffs on board ATLANTIS, Fehler sent his men to the lifeboats while he set the timer fuse for the explosives to sink the ship. As he was headed for the lifeboat, he noticed a number of crates of fine wine, so as the fuse continued to burn, Fehler calmly handed the cases of wine to his men in the lifeboats.....as Captain Rogge nervously watched,
When ATLANTIS was scuttled after being discovered by a British cruiser, the entire crew went to PYTHON, another raider operating in the southern oceans. When she too, was discovered by a British cruiser and scuttled, the crews of two large ships were left in the waters of the Atlantic, thousands of miles from a friendly port. Captain K-F Merten called other U-Boats to the scene and they all towed a great number of lifeboats all the way from the southern Atlantic back to the French coast - and all the while, Fehler was chasing about in these strings of lifeboats in a power launch, distributing the rations of food to the men.
Fehler was a colorful man, and was ever so quick to grant interviews at his home in Hamburg in 1988. Fehler was never lacking for all the charisma he had as a U-boat captain. He had one sea story after another, and he had a great deal of information about the war that could not be found anywhere else. He was never at a loss for surprises. During one interview, he was well into his 80's. A young man of 16 came through the study where he was holding court. "Your grandson?" he was asked. No, he said, it was his son! Truly an incredible guy.
World War II has amassed a collection of some of the most incredible tales from all of the combatants within this bloodiest of conflicts. Even today, stories and movies are being released. For the first time, movies are depicting things as they really existed, such as "Band of Brothers", "Das Boot", and "Saving Private Ryan." Some of the grimmest tales have yet to be written. One of the most incredible tales describes how the Allied forces almost let World War II get away, in favor of the Axis powers. By a skinteenth of an inch, Germany and her ally, Japan, almost were able to build the atomic bomb. It would have been equivalent to a "hail mary" play in the last minute of a football game.
Fortunately for the Allied powers, the Axis clock ran out.
This "hail mary" was played out by a German U-Boat captain who was the farthest thing away from being a Nazi. Moreover, his career on the high seas started out not with U-boats, but with his being the captain of a merchant vessel. The forces of war altered his identity to becoming a commerce raider, and later on in the war, becoming a U-boat captain.
U-234 was a type XB submarine, the largest class of German U-boat ever constructed. Of the eight that had been built, only U-234 and U-219 remained. The other six had paid a heavy price for their slow speed and lack of maneuverability (Helgason 1996). Kapitan-Lieutenant Johann "Dynamite" Fehler, who had previously served on the infamous raider "Atlantis," was in command of the U-234. In US Navy equivalent rank, he would be a Lieutenant Commander.
In addition to his crew, Fehler was responsible for an important group of passengers: monocled Lieutenant General Ulrich Kesssler of the Luftwaffe; Colonels Sandrat and Neishling, also of the Luftwaffe; civilian rocket and jet experts; and most mysterious of all, Lieutenant Commanders Hideo Tomonaga and Genzo Shoji of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Fehler’s mission was to transport personnel and materials to Japan to support its war against the Allies. The final days of the Reich might be at hand, but whatever assistance that could be provided Japan, would be provided. This was authorized by Hitler himself. With a mission of such importance, Fehler had to avoid any possible contact with Allied anti-U-boat patrols. The U-234 ran deep and was continuously submerged for two weeks after leaving Kristiansand.
The U-234's mission had not gone unnoticed by the Allies. Thanks to codebreaking and deciphering machines such as Ultra, the Allies were able to learn much about the U-234 and what she was up to. The Allied command knew what most of the U-234's cargo contained, and they knew positively that U-234 was not an attack submarine. To Allied planners and naval deployment commands, the U-234 had to be stopped and destroyed.
The U-234 was equipped with a snorkel, enabling it to stay underwater for a long period of time and run on its batteries. KPLT Fehler took no chances on having his U-boat fall prey to Allied depth charging attacks. He ordered his U-boat to run at maximum depth and to run as silently as possible. The U-234 could run at 900 feet below the surface while Allied depth charges could go no lower than 300 feet. Thus, Fehler and his crew were able to survive Allied depth-charging attacks, even though the Allies knew they might have the U-234 in their attack plan.
Only after making it through the English Channel into the Atlantic did Fehler feel sufficiently confident to surface for two hours each night. The attacking Allied destroyers and anti-sub killers had appeared to have gone away. Fehler's mission remained for him to set a course straight across the Atlantic and to round the tip of South America before heading across the Pacific towards Japan. This part of the journey would be as perilous as before, since American fleet units roamed all over the Pacific. Although American submarines patrolled the Pacific at will, this was no guarantee that a German U-boat could not get away with masquerading itself as an American sub.
In addition to her crew, the U-234 was carrying twelve passengers, including a German general, four German naval officers, civilian engineers and scientists, and two Japanese naval officers. The German personnel included General Ulrich Kessler of the Luftwaffe, who was to take over Luftwaffe liaison duties in Tokyo; Kai Nieschling, a Naval Fleet Judge Advocate who was to rid the German diplomatic corps in Japan of the remnants of the Richard Sorge spy ring; Dr. Heinz Schlicke, a specialist in radar, infra-red, and countermeasures and director of the Naval Test Fields in Kiel (later recruited by the USA in Operation Paperclip); and August Bringewalde, who was in charge of Me 262 production at Messerschmitt.[6]
The Japanese passengers were Lieutenant Commander Hideo Tomonaga of the Imperial Japanese Navy, a naval architect and submarine designer who had come to Germany in 1943 on Japanese submarine I-29, and Lieutenant Commander Shoji Genzo, an aircraft specialist and former naval attaché. The German crew never understood the Japanese language and customs. However, both Japanese passengers performed a Samurai ritual act which needed no further explanation to the crew. They placed their Samurai swords into the hands of KPLT Fehler. It was a custom which meant that into KPLT Fehler's hands were they placing their trust and their lives.
Although Fehler had a number of sinkings to his credit while in command of a German surface merchant ship disguised as a commerce raider, he had not sunk a single allied ship while in command of the U-234. The German submarine U-234 was a Type XB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine. During World War II, her first and only mission into hostile waters consisted of the attempted delivery of uranium, technological and administrative personnel and other German advanced weapons technology to the Empire of Japan. After verifying the validity of Germany's unconditional surrender, KPLT Fehler, his crew, and the submarine U-234 with all its contents surrendered to the United States on 14 May 1945.
Construction of the U-234
Originally constructed as a minelaying submarine, the U-234 was damaged during construction at Kiel in 1942. Following the loss of the U-233 in July 1944, it was decided not to use the U-234 as a mine layer. Instead, she was completed as a long-range cargo submarine with Japan missions in mind.
Selection of A Captain For The U-234
We go back to the Rock song, "Ride, Captain, Ride!" How true were the lyrics!
"Ride, captain ride upon your mystery ship
Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip
Ride captain ride upon your mystery ship
On your way to a world that others might have missed"
The captain was of course, KPLT Fehler
"Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip"
The passengers aboard the U-234 were truly amazing. Moreover, the First Officer Lt Ernst Pfaff not only was Fehler's friend, but Fehler's daughter-in law was engaged to Pfaff. The mix of Luftwaffe brass and two Japanese Navy officers added to the amazement. Fehler was only aware that he had as cargo materials and equipment for Japan. However, he had at the time no idea that some of his cargo could build an atomic bomb
"Ride, Captain, Ride, aboard your mystery ship"
KPLT Fehler had known that U-boat losses due to Allied anti-sub warfare in the Atlantic was turning the once hunters of the sea to becoming the hunted. Fehler was well aware of what he had to do to evade detection and the inevitable depth charge attack. Like many other U-boat commanders and even Admiral Karl Doenitz, he was totally unaware that his "mystery ship" was no longer a mystery at all. The Allied command knew about Fehler's mission and the cargo that the U-234 was carrying. In fact, the Allied command knew more about the cargo on U-234 than Fehler and nearly all of his crew, except Lt. Karl Ernst Pfaff. Lt.Pfaff oversaw the loading of U-234's cargo. Aside from the secret decoded German transmissions, Lt. Pfaff was the sole person that knew the U-234 was carrying over 500 kilograms of Uranium 235 to Japan.
"On your way to a world that others might have missed"
It is unlikely that KPLT Fehler or many of his crew had ever visited Japan. It is very likely to speculate that if the U-234 had ever landed in Japan, the crew would have been just as appalled at the damage caused by the B-29 raids over Japan as the B-17 and Lancaster raids over German cities. By 1945, it was the end of the ballgame for the Axis powers. As mentioned, the U-234 represented the "hail mary" play for the Axis. The clock was running out.
The U-234 Enters Wartime service
U-234 returned to the Germaniawerft yard at Kiel on 5 September 1944, to be refitted as a transport, instead of a minelayer. Apart from minor work, she had a snorkel added and 12 of her 30 mineshafts were fitted with special cargo containers the same diameter as the shafts and held in place by the mine release mechanisms. In addition, her keel was loaded with cargo, thought to be optical-grade glass and mercury, and her four upper-deck torpedo storage compartments (two on each side) were also occupied by cargo containers.
The U-234's Cargo
As World War II ground onward in the winter of 1944 and spring of 1945, it became painfully evident to Hitler that the Reich was on its last leg. The massive counter-offensive Hitler had launched in the Ardennes ("The Battle Of The Bulge") had been brought to a halt. The Allied armies had crossed the Rhine at Remagen, opening the way for other bridgeheads to be thrown across the Rhine. In the East, the Soviet Army had pressed forward to the Vistula River and was now preparing to launch its final assault on Germany. Germany was now facing the reality of the two front squeeze against its borders.
Despite this, Hitler believed he was far from beaten. He was edified by the work on the V-2 rocket by Dr. Werner Von Braun. This could carry an explosive payload to Britain, and might even carry its destructive power across the Atlantic to US cities. Hitler could not foretell the future, where Dr. Von Braun would one day direct the US Space Program.
Hitler also kept close tabs on the German nuclear program. It was well within reason to anticipate that Germany could build an atomic bomb. Coupled with the striking power of Von Braun's rocketry, Germany could well achieve nuclear warfare capability. All it lacked was advanced nuclear engineering.
On the other side of the world, the Japanese were well on their way toward also building an atomic bomb. All they lacked was sufficient uranium oxide to complete the final stages of assembly and test of their own atomic bomb. If they could put together their own nuclear power with that of Nazi Germany, they could reverse the course of the war in the Pacific. To that end, the Japanese sent a delegation of political leaders and scientists to personally meet with Hitler. Their goal: to secure final German - Japanese cooperation to build an atomic bomb which could be used within Nazi Germany as well as to reverse the course of their setting sun.
It was indeed time for the "hail mary" play. In this role, KPLT Fehler would be the quarterback and his crew and passengers aboard the U-234 would be the team on the field. All they needed was a lot of luck, a bit more time, and the seamanship skills of Fehler.
The cargo to be carried by U-234 was determined by a special commission, the Marine Sonder Dienst Auslands, established towards the end of 1944, at which time the submarine's officers were informed that they were to make a special voyage to Japan. When loading was completed, the submarine's officers estimated that they were carrying 240 tons of cargo plus sufficient diesel fuel and provisions for a six- to nine-month voyage.
The cargo included technical drawings, examples of the newest electric torpedoes, one crated Me 262 jet aircraft, a Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb, and what was listed on the US Unloading Manifest as 560 kg of uranium oxide. As evidenced by Hirschfeld and Brooks in their 1997 book, Wolfgang Hirschfeld reportedly watched the loading into the boat's cylindrical mine shafts of about 50 lead cubes with 9 inches (230 mm) sides, and "U-235" painted on each. Aaccording to cables sent from the dockyard, these containers held "U-powder". However, according to author and historian Joseph M. Scalia, who discovered a formerly secret cable message at Portsmouth Navy Yard, the uranium oxide had been stored in gold-lined cylinders. This document is discussed in the book, "Hitler's Terror Weapons". The exact characteristics of the uranium remain unknown. it has been suggested by Scalia and historians Carl Boyd and Akihiko Yoshida that it may not have been weapons-grade material and was instead intended for use as a catalyst in the production of synthetic methanol for aviation fuel. From the U-234's officers, Lt. Pfaff oversaw the loading of the cargo. When the cargo had been loaded, U-234 carried out additional trials near Kiel, then returned to Kiel where her passengers came aboard.
The Final Voyage of the U-234
The U-234 sailed from Kiel for Kristiansand, Norway in the evening of 25 March 1945, accompanied by escort vessels and three Type XXIII coastal U-boats, arriving in Horten two days later. U-234 spent the next 8 days carrying out trials of her snorkel apparatus.
A wily fellow, KPLT Fehler realized that several other U-Boats had been sent to Japan with such war materiel but at a certain point in the Atlantic, they disappeared. Once at sea, Fehler disregarded the orders that told him which course to follow since he felt there might have been an ambush waiting for him - and he was right. The Allies had known of each U-Boat making a trip to Japan with special cargoes aboard, and a Royal Navy submarine was lying in wait for them. All of these special boats were sunk, except the U-234, whose skipper decided to go his own route.
The U-234's voyage started off badly. During these sea trials, the U-234 accidentally collided with a Type VIIC U-boat performing similar sea trials. Damage to both submarines was minor. Despite a diving and fuel oil tank being holed, U-234 was able to complete the sea trials. The only loss was that of precious time. The U-234 finally proceeded to Kristiansand, arriving on about 5 April. There, the U-234 underwent repairs and topped off her provisions and fuel.
When the U-234 finally departed Kristiansand for Japan on 15 April 1945, it was one day before the Soviets opened what was to become their final offensive destined to capture Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. The Americans, British, and Canadians had launched their own coordinated offensive through Germany's heartland and were nearing the Elbe River, the agreed-upon stopping place for the link-up of the Western Allies with the Soviet Red Army.
On the other side of the world, the US Army and US Marine Corps had invaded Okinawa and were experiencing the desperate attacks of Japan's suicide weapon, the Kamikaze. By the 15th of April, time was indeed running out for the "hail mary" play.
The U-234 ran submerged at snorkel depth for the first 16 days of its journey. The Allied Command had obtained the fully decoded messages about the U-234. The Allied anti-submarine forces struck some time after the U-234 managed to get out of the English Channel into the open waterways of the Atlantic. The U-234 dived close to sea bottom and was able to withstand all Allied depth charge attacks designed to either bring the U boat to the surface or else sink her.
The "Hail Mary" Play Comes To An End
Finally, the depth charge attacks appeared to subside. The U-234 attempted to surface, but after that they found that a severe Atlantic Ocean storm had moved in. This storm appeared to have driven off the Allied Command destroyers that were attacking the U-234. Fehler considered he was safe from further attack on the surface in the prevailing severe storm. From then on, the U-234 spent two hours running on the surface by night, and the remainder of the time submerged.
The voyage continued without any further incident. However, the first sign that world affairs were overtaking the voyage was when the German Navy's Goliath transmitter stopped transmitting, followed shortly thereafter by the Nauen station. KPLT Fehler did not know it, but Germany's naval HQ had fallen into Allied hands.
Then, on 4 May, the U-234 received a fragment of a broadcast from British and American radio stations announcing that Admiral Karl Döenitz had become Germany's head of state. Adolf Hitler had committed suicide in his bunker, together with his wife Eva Braun. Following the reported suicide of Adolf Hitler. U-234 finally surfaced on 10 May in the interests of better radio reception. On the surface, KPLT Fehler received Grossadmiral Döenitz's last order to the submarine force, ordering all U-boats to surface, hoist black flags, and surrender to Allied forces. Fehler suspected a trick and managed to contact another U-boat (U-873), whose captain convinced him that the message was authentic. The radio message was so stark and so shocking, KPLT Johann Heinrich Fehler wasn't about to take it on face value. He would have to test it out, make sure it was authentic, before deciding what his response would be.
At this point, Fehler was practically equidistant from British, Canadian and American ports. He decided not to continue his journey, and instead headed for the east coast of the United States. Fehler thought it likely that if they surrendered to Canadian or British forces, they would be imprisoned and it could be years before they were returned to Germany, and believed that the US, on the other hand, would probably just send them home.
Fehler consequently decided that he would surrender to US forces, but he radioed on 12 May that he intended to sail to Halifax, Nova Scotia to surrender to ensure Canadian units would not reach him first. U-234 then set course for Newport News, Virginia, Fehler took care to dispose of his Tunis radar detector, the new Kurier radio communication system, and all Enigma related documents and other classified papers.
On learning that the U-boat was to surrender, the two Japanese passengers were in a quandary over what to do. Germany was no longer at war with the Allied nations. Japan however, was still at war in the Pacific with all of the Allied nations, now including the Soviet Union. According to Samurai warrior code, a surrender was unthinkable. Moreover, they had placed their Samurai swords in the care of KPLT Fehler. Fehler explained to the Japanese that he had to surrender because he had to obey his high command just as they would have to follow theirs.
There was only one way out. Unwilling to be captured, Hideo Tomonaga and Genzo Shoji committed suicide. An officer later recalled, "They returned to their bunks where they took Luminol, a very powerful barbiturate, lay down and pulled the curtains and we knew they were killing themselves, and that was their right. They took more than 36 hours to die. Then we buried them at sea, as we would do for any one of our own."
The Capture of the U-234
The capture of the U-234, its cargo, and its crew is a tribute to the seamanship of KPLT Fehler. When U-234 signaled their position to the Allies an intention to surrender at a U.S. port, she was told by the Royal Canadian Navy that this was not acceptable - that she must head for Halifax and to radio their position to Halifax every hour. As ordered, Fehler sent a radio message to Halifax stating his speed at 8 knots and his position - the position he would have been in if he were indeed heading for Halifax at 8 knots. Instead, this crafty old sea captain was headed for the U.S. at maximum speed. Finally, the destroyer escort USS SUTTON came over the horizon and took control of the boat. Fehler related in subsequent interviews that the US Navy crew acted properly and respectfully, allowing the German crew to take down their flag with dignity and ceremony. Most of the German crew was taken aboard USS SUTTON with only a skeleton crew aboard to operate the boat with an American crew overseeing the move. The Royal Canadian Navy was rather shocked when they demanded a radio transmission from U-234 and got one instead from the American prize crew.
The difference between Fehler's reported course to Halifax and his true course was soon realized by US authorities who dispatched two destroyers to intercept U-234. On 14 May 1945 she was encountered south of the Grand Banks by the USS Sutton. Members of the Sutton's crew took command of the U-boat and sailed her to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where the U-805, U-873, and U-1228 had already surrendered.
News of the U-234's surrender with her high-ranking German passengers made the event a major news story. Reporters swarmed over the Navy Yard and went to sea in a small boat for a look at the submarine. The fact that she had a half ton of uranium oxide on board was covered up and remained classified. This was to last for the duration of the Cold War, now beginning to unfold between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.
A classified US intelligence summary of 19 May merely listed U-234's cargo as including "a/c [aircraft], drawings, arms, medical supplies, instruments, lead, mercury, caffeine, steels, optical glass and brass. The uranium subsequently disappeared, most likely finding its way to the Manhattan Project's Oak Ridge diffusion plant; it has been calculated that it would have yielded approximately 7.7 pounds (3.5 kg) of U-235 after processing, around 20% of what would have been required to arm a contemporary fission weapon.]
U-234 was taken to the Portsmouth, NH naval base where her secret cargo were quickly removed. What happened to the uranium aboard is a mystery to this day. Many feel that it was used in one of the bombs dropped by the USAAF on Japan but - strangely, all the files pertaining to that uranium have disappeared....................
AT first, the men on the submarine thought it was a trick. The radio message from the German High Command told them the war was over; they were to surrender to the nearest Allied authorities The message, issued under the auspices of Admiral Karl Doenitz, former German U-boat chief elevated to supreme commander after the death of Adolf Hitler, praised all U-boat crews for "fighting like lions" for more than six years and then informed them that the enemy's material superiority had driven Germany to defeat.
"We proudly remember our fallen comrades," Doenitz consoled. "Long live Germany!" He ordered surrender. U-234 immediately submerged. "They are trying to trick us," Fehler speculated, "they" being the enemy -- Britain, Canada, the United States.
Fehler knew all about tricks. As an officer aboard the German raider Atlantis, he'd become familiar with the ship's somewhat infamous means of surface deception. The Atlantis would disguise itself as a friendly ship and lure enemy ships to within range of its camouflaged guns before opening fire. The Atlantis had thus bagged 22 Allied ships before it was sunk by the British cruiser, Devonshire; in November 1941.
U-234 sent out a message of its own to a nearby U-boat, in a special code that only captains could send and decipher.
"We have received a very funny message," Fehler radioed. "Have we surrendered? Is it true?"
The reply was one word, "Ja!!" This convinced Fehler the message was no trick. His orders were to surface, to hoist a black flag on U-234's periscope, and to report his position to the Allies.
It wasn't over...not yet.
Fehler was a German officer which meant when he gave orders everybody snapped to. However, for whatever reasons, the man who had earned the nickname "Dynamite" for his job of scuttling captured vessels decided to exercise some democracy that day.
The democracy issue was how To surrender with A load Of uranium oxide aboard ship. The U-234 had a cargo that could blast US Cities -- 1,235 pounds of uranium oxide, destined for a Japanese atomic bomb program. However, nobody knew about the cargo except KPLT Fehler and his exec officer Lt. Karl Ernst Pfaff. The officers and crew therefore, were not thinking of uranium when they replied. "We have enough food to last us for years," remarked the boyish second officer, Lt. Pfaff. "I think we should go to the South Sea and find a deserted island with beautiful girls."
It had momentarily slipped Pfaff's mind that he was engaged to Fehler's sister-in-law. Fehler laughed. "That is wishful thinking," he told the 22-year-old Berliner who would never be his brother-in-law.
A pattern of responses emerged, the younger men tending to share Pfaff's compulsion to run from it all while the older ones just wanted to go home to their families and forget the war. Geography was a major factor in that U-234's position lay at the convergence of four Allied zones established for U-boat surrenders. Fehler could have surrendered to the enemy port of his choice. Britain, Gibraltar, Canada or the United States; or he could have attempted to return to Germany.
The latter would have been risky, Fehler knew, because the Russians -- no admirers of Hitlerite fighting men -- had been expanding naval operations in German waters. Neither he nor anybody on board wished to become a Soviet prisoner.
KPLT Fehler's Coice: He Picked Surrendering to the U.S.
Fehler surmised that if they surrendered to Canada or Great Britain, they would be taken prisoner, first in Canada, then England, and eventually France, and it could be many years before the men returned to their homes.
Fehler perceived Americans as "not warfaring people, not very military." At worst, he predicted they could be paraded through the streets of Washington DC, showcased so to speak as proof that real, live U boat crew members had been captured , and then sent home.
Fehler decided to turn U-234 into the gentle Americans. But he had to make sure the Canadians didn't get to him first. U-234 radioed authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that it was headed northwest, toward Halifax, at 8 knots (8 nautical miles an hour). In reality, U-234 was barrelling across the Atlantic at 16 knots on a more or less southwest course, to the port of Newport News, Va.
The discrepancy between Fehler's reported and actual course was soon recognized by U.S. authorities who dispatched two destroyers to intercept U-234, wherever it was.
One evening as it plowed the seas south of Newfoundland Banks, U-234 spotted a huge searchlight on the horizon. The destroyer Sutton approached and asked U-234 to identify itself. Crew members of the Sutton boarded and took charge, redirecting it to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard where three other U-boats, U-805, U-873 and U-1228, had surrendered within the last few days.
News of the surrender of the giant sub with its high-ranking Luftwaffe passengers turned the surrender into a major news event. Reporters swarmed over the Navy Yard and went to sea in a small boat for an earlier view of the prize.
But the big story -- the more than half a ton of uranium oxide on board -- was promptly covered up.
The United States military, in collaboration with worried officials of the top-secret Manhattan Project, had its own atomic program that would culminate in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August. Even after the war ended, documents reporting the uranium cargo on U-234 remained classified for the duration of the Cold War as America guarded all its atomic secrets from the new enemy: The Soviet Union.
The men of U-234 joined the officers and crews of the three subs that preceded them, as prisoners in the custody of the U.S. Navy. While at the Charles Street Jail in Boston, where they were being held while in transit to more permanent quarters, the commander of the U-boat U-873 slashed his wrists and was taken to a hospital where he died.
U-234 officers were taken to Washington, D.C. for interrogation. Second Officer Pfaff -- he who would rather have been on a South Sea island -- was taken to what he believed to be a top secret Navy installation in Virginia and into a room in which the cargo unloaded from U-234 was being stored.
Pfaff was ordered to oversee the opening of a metal container. The reluctant welder with the cutting torch pleaded with Pfaff not to let him die because he had a family. The military watchdogs stood back, out of harm's way. "He begged me not to let both of us get blown up," Pfaff said, I'and I assured him that I too did not want to die young. Why would these boxes be booby trapped? They were on their way to our ally (Japan). Why would we want to blow them up?"
When they saw that it was safe, the military came out of hiding. Pfaff said he was then asked to open the boxes -- little cigar-box shaped boxes, he recalled -- that contained the uranium oxide. A "tall, skinny fellow" wearing an "Eillot Ness" hat -- that is, a hat fashionable in the 1930s and 40s -- appeared. The only civilian in the room, he went about supervising the opening of the boxes. Who is that? Pfaff asked. Oppenheimer, somebody said.
"I had no earthly idea who Oppenheimer was," Pfaff said. But later, when the war finally ended, Pfaff, in a detention center in Louisiana, read news reports about atomic physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Los Alamos laboratory where the design and building of the first atomic bomb took place.
"I didn't know for sure that it was Oppenheimer in there," Pfaff said. "I had to take this man's word."
Japan's A-Bomb
Robert K Wilcox is an historian who has written about World War II, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. In 1985 Wilcox wrote a book,' "Japan's Secret War -- Japan's Race Against Time To Build Its : Own Atomic Bomb," that said the listing of 560 kilograms of uranium oxide for the "Jap Army" on U-234's manifest had elicited such concern with the War Department that it was kept from the public and subsequently became a classifted document.
The cargo was not officially revealed. But even if it had been, few Americans would have understood its significance. This was three months before the United States would drop the world's first two atomic bombs, unlocking the secrets of atomic fission to an incredulous world.
Wilcox cited the story of the U-234 as evidence that the Japanese may have been close to developing their own atom bomb and would not have hesitated to use it.As the recent public hand wringing over the Smithsonian's Enola Gay exhibit attests, the issue of whether the U.S. was morally justified in its atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki continues to generate controversy. Wilcox's publisher is reissuing his book in time for the 50th anniversary of those bombings this summer.
Lieutnant Pfaff Comes Back
Lt. Karl Ernst Pfaff was held in prisoner of war centers in Louisiana and Arkansas until early 1946 when he returned to Germany and married a girl from Heidelberg, not Fehler's sister-in-law.
"I had taken a liking to this country and to the American style," Pfaff said, and he immediately began planning his strategy: to return. He found his way to Montreal in 1951, and lived there 19 years, working for the Caterpillar Company. He lived in Memphis, Tenn., for another 19 years, and retired to Bellingham, Wash., four years ago.
'The war was a different part of my Life," Pfaff said in an interview. "something people don't understand. When the war was over and we had lost it, I had to do something and start another part of my life. I disappeared from the surface. Nobody, except my close friend Fehler, knew where I was."
After the war, Fehler acquired an international reputation for clearing waterways such as the Suez Canal of sunken ships. His career as a ship's captain endured, and he ran a supply ship for Kuwait at one time and a hospital ship to Saigon at another.
Pfaff and Fehler lost contact until 1991 when they met for the last time at a U-234 reunion in southern Germany. KPLT Fehler died at his home in Hamburg in 1992. U-234's reunions, like the reunions of all World War II veterans' groups, are attended by fewer people as the years go by. In 1985, there were 60 crew and wives; in 1991, there were 40.
This September Pfaff will be the highest officer attending the reunion of U-234. "There aren't many of us left, Pfaff, now 72, observed, and excused himself to go out and rake the lawn as he had promised his wife he would do.
More on the U-234
Return to Stories TOC
Fifty-three men had sailed up from Kristiansand Bay
Rolled off of their ship, and here's what they had to say
"We're callin' everyone to ride along to another shore
We can laugh our lives away and be free once more"
But no one heard them callin', no one came at all
'Cause they were too busy watchin' those old raindrops fall
As a storm was blowin' out on the peaceful sea
Fifty--three men sailed off into history
Ride, captain ride upon your mystery ship
Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip
Ride captain ride upon your mystery ship
On your way to a world that others might have missed
KPLT Fehler Was A Colorful Fellow, Wasn't He?
Captain Fehler, or "Hein" as he was known to his fellow officers was a merchant skipper before the war. When WW II began, he was a Naval Reserve officer in the Kriegsmarine. Fehler was activated when the war began. According to most descriptions of Fehler, he was the farthest thing away from being a Nazi. He was a professional "sea dog" and found a position to his liking. He became the Demolitions Officer aboard Schiff 16 - the famed raider "ATLANTIS", operating in the southern oceans. He earned his nickname of 'Dynamite' at this time, because everything he did - he tried to find some way to use explosives, sometimes to the exasperation of Captain Rogge, the Skipper of ATLANTIS.
During one stop at an old abandoned whaling station in the Kergulan Islands, Captain Rogge sent Fehler and a party ashore to find an easier way to fill their water tanks from the waterfall and stream ashore. Fehler immediately began to formulate a plan to blow something up to divert the flow of the water. Rogge asked if it wouldn't be simpler to merely rig a giant funnel of sorts connected to the ship's fire hoses, and bring the water to the ship that way.
During another action, after the crew of ATLANTIS had stopped a British ship and gotten the crew and foodstuffs on board ATLANTIS, Fehler sent his men to the lifeboats while he set the timer fuse for the explosives to sink the ship. As he was headed for the lifeboat, he noticed a number of crates of fine wine, so as the fuse continued to burn, Fehler calmly handed the cases of wine to his men in the lifeboats.....as Captain Rogge nervously watched,
When ATLANTIS was scuttled after being discovered by a British cruiser, the entire crew went to PYTHON, another raider operating in the southern oceans. When she too, was discovered by a British cruiser and scuttled, the crews of two large ships were left in the waters of the Atlantic, thousands of miles from a friendly port. Captain K-F Merten called other U-Boats to the scene and they all towed a great number of lifeboats all the way from the southern Atlantic back to the French coast - and all the while, Fehler was chasing about in these strings of lifeboats in a power launch, distributing the rations of food to the men.
Fehler was a colorful man, and was ever so quick to grant interviews at his home in Hamburg in 1988. Fehler was never lacking for all the charisma he had as a U-boat captain. He had one sea story after another, and he had a great deal of information about the war that could not be found anywhere else. He was never at a loss for surprises. During one interview, he was well into his 80's. A young man of 16 came through the study where he was holding court. "Your grandson?" he was asked. No, he said, it was his son! Truly an incredible guy.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Is Your Pet Susceptible To Second Hand Smoke?
Is Your Dog or Cat Suffering From Your Smoking Habits?
For Elizabeth, the first sign of concern came when her 7-year-old terrier Mike, appeared dizzy. His regular vet said everything was fine, but Elizabeth insisted Mike be seen by a neurologist. After an MRI scan, he found a tumor in Mike's inner ear. An operation followed, and for the next month, Elizabeth took Mike on a four-hour round-trip trek every day from her home in Greenwich, Connecticut to a specialty hospital in Boston for radiation therapy.
The total bill for the tests, blood work, surgery and radiation came to a sticker shock $14,000. This was not surprising in this age of sky-high medical costs, except for two very disturbing things. Mike is a Welch Terrier. Secondly, both Elizabeth and her boyfriend Ramon are very heavy smokers. Elizabeth goes through two packs of cigarettes a day. When Ramon comes over to her apartment, he smokes like a chimney. The second hand smoke generated in Elizabeth's apartment is so dense you could cut it with a knife.
After another surgery for Mike for another supposedly unrelated illness, the total cost of Mike's veterinary care has approached $20,000. Today Mike is a healthy, happy, little dog. However, Mike has a new nickname: "20K." More frightening for Elizabeth is neither she or her boyfriend have stopped smoking.
It's no secret that Americans love their pets, but it is also no secret Americans love to smoke cigarettes even more. But in these days, all that love for pets is leading to an unprecedented level of expense for millions of dog and cat owners, who are only now beginning to understand the concept of sticker shock. Caught up in a wave of new medical options and lured by an increasingly sophisticated cadre of veterinarians, pet orwners across the country are coughing up thousands -- and even tens of thousands -- of dollars to treat pet illnesses that would have gone undiagnosed or untreated just a few years ago. And then doing it again if they have to.
Of course, pet owners do not have the foggiest notion why their pets are getting sick from cancer and have to be put to sleep with an incurable disease. Most veterinarians have the animals' best interest in mind. But that doesn't make it any easier: With health insurance covering the humans in many families, it is not unusual for pet owners to spend far more money on health care for their cats and dogs than for their sons and daughters. Even the Great Recession failed to take a bite out of Fido's health care tab. According to reports by a number of market research companies, Americans spent $20 billion on veterinary bills in 2010, representing an 8.5% increase from a year earlier and more than double the amount spent just a decade ago.
So why is your pet dog or cat coming down with incurable forms of cancer, heart disease, and other maladies which turns your bank account inside out, and ultimately results in your having to put your beloved pet to sleep? The answer is you. Yes, I mean YOU!!
It is your habit of smoking. You had better hear the wake up call. If you want to enjoy your cat or dog for a long life, enriched with love that only a pet can provide, you had better give up your cigarettes. Your pet did not ask to be brought into your household, only to be poisoned to death. Your pet has given you many days of love and happiness. Its only reward is euthanasia.
Of all the compelling reasons to quit smoking, this one should make pet lovers sit up and take notice: there's ample scientific evidence to suggest that secondhand cigarette smoke can cause cancer in companion animals.
What is worse is that your furry friends just don't just inhale smoke. The smoke particles are also trapped in their fur and ingested when they groom themselves with their tongues. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that dogs in smoking households had a 60 percent greater risk of lung cancer. A different study published in the same journal showed that long-nosed dogs, such as collies or greyhounds, were twice as likely to develop nasal cancer if they lived with smokers.
And in yet another study, vets from Tufts University found that cats whose owners smoked were three times as likely to develop lymphoma, the most common feline cancer.
So - short of kicking the habit - a cat owner named Mary Ellen has opted to getting stuck with a huge vet bill. She and her husband take three of their cats to the vet at least twice a year for checkups; the fourth, Barney, goes every three months. This is madness. Mary Ellen and her husband will not give up their cats, and they will not give up smoking either. It is an ugly contest.....who in their household will come down with cancer first?
The answer is up to you.....give up smoking or else give up your cat or dog.
For Elizabeth, the first sign of concern came when her 7-year-old terrier Mike, appeared dizzy. His regular vet said everything was fine, but Elizabeth insisted Mike be seen by a neurologist. After an MRI scan, he found a tumor in Mike's inner ear. An operation followed, and for the next month, Elizabeth took Mike on a four-hour round-trip trek every day from her home in Greenwich, Connecticut to a specialty hospital in Boston for radiation therapy.
The total bill for the tests, blood work, surgery and radiation came to a sticker shock $14,000. This was not surprising in this age of sky-high medical costs, except for two very disturbing things. Mike is a Welch Terrier. Secondly, both Elizabeth and her boyfriend Ramon are very heavy smokers. Elizabeth goes through two packs of cigarettes a day. When Ramon comes over to her apartment, he smokes like a chimney. The second hand smoke generated in Elizabeth's apartment is so dense you could cut it with a knife.
After another surgery for Mike for another supposedly unrelated illness, the total cost of Mike's veterinary care has approached $20,000. Today Mike is a healthy, happy, little dog. However, Mike has a new nickname: "20K." More frightening for Elizabeth is neither she or her boyfriend have stopped smoking.
It's no secret that Americans love their pets, but it is also no secret Americans love to smoke cigarettes even more. But in these days, all that love for pets is leading to an unprecedented level of expense for millions of dog and cat owners, who are only now beginning to understand the concept of sticker shock. Caught up in a wave of new medical options and lured by an increasingly sophisticated cadre of veterinarians, pet orwners across the country are coughing up thousands -- and even tens of thousands -- of dollars to treat pet illnesses that would have gone undiagnosed or untreated just a few years ago. And then doing it again if they have to.
Of course, pet owners do not have the foggiest notion why their pets are getting sick from cancer and have to be put to sleep with an incurable disease. Most veterinarians have the animals' best interest in mind. But that doesn't make it any easier: With health insurance covering the humans in many families, it is not unusual for pet owners to spend far more money on health care for their cats and dogs than for their sons and daughters. Even the Great Recession failed to take a bite out of Fido's health care tab. According to reports by a number of market research companies, Americans spent $20 billion on veterinary bills in 2010, representing an 8.5% increase from a year earlier and more than double the amount spent just a decade ago.
So why is your pet dog or cat coming down with incurable forms of cancer, heart disease, and other maladies which turns your bank account inside out, and ultimately results in your having to put your beloved pet to sleep? The answer is you. Yes, I mean YOU!!
It is your habit of smoking. You had better hear the wake up call. If you want to enjoy your cat or dog for a long life, enriched with love that only a pet can provide, you had better give up your cigarettes. Your pet did not ask to be brought into your household, only to be poisoned to death. Your pet has given you many days of love and happiness. Its only reward is euthanasia.
Of all the compelling reasons to quit smoking, this one should make pet lovers sit up and take notice: there's ample scientific evidence to suggest that secondhand cigarette smoke can cause cancer in companion animals.
What is worse is that your furry friends just don't just inhale smoke. The smoke particles are also trapped in their fur and ingested when they groom themselves with their tongues. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that dogs in smoking households had a 60 percent greater risk of lung cancer. A different study published in the same journal showed that long-nosed dogs, such as collies or greyhounds, were twice as likely to develop nasal cancer if they lived with smokers.
And in yet another study, vets from Tufts University found that cats whose owners smoked were three times as likely to develop lymphoma, the most common feline cancer.
So - short of kicking the habit - a cat owner named Mary Ellen has opted to getting stuck with a huge vet bill. She and her husband take three of their cats to the vet at least twice a year for checkups; the fourth, Barney, goes every three months. This is madness. Mary Ellen and her husband will not give up their cats, and they will not give up smoking either. It is an ugly contest.....who in their household will come down with cancer first?
The answer is up to you.....give up smoking or else give up your cat or dog.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
The Evils Of Distracted Driving
Finally, there is a solution to the problem of texting while driving. We call it "distracted driving". Any way you call it, it means trouble. Last year over 8000 people were killed trying to use a hand held device while driving at the same time. Texting while driving has been outlawed in 39 states so far this year. More are expected to follow.
The solution to the problem is named "KyLee". Using "KyLee", you can drive your car and pay full attention to the road and to your driving. You never have to worry about getting into an accident or getting arrested for distracted driving.
For more information, please go to http://www.quikcomm.com and please check this one out. The cost for "KyLee is minimal. However, KyLee can save your life. It can prevent you from getting socked with a stiff fine, a loss of your driver's license, or possibly even jail time. You owe it to yourself and your family to read this article and please contact us. If you don't heed this wake up call, sooner or later, your habit of texting while driving is going to creep up on you and it will be too late for you to do anything about it except face the judge in the courtroom.
Picture this scenario and you may never pick up a hand held device ever again. As a matter of fact, you may never be able to live with yourself at all. For what is about to happen to you is a scenario crafted by the devil himself.
Here is the picture. You are driving along a neighborhood street. It is a beautiful midsummer day. You haven't a care in the world. You are just cruising along on your way home after having had a great day at the office. You are blissfully unaware that an unfortunate event is about to strike. Your life is about to change in the next couple of minutes and you will never be the same again.
As you drive along, your hand held mobile device rings. It is your business partner John. You dig into your pocket to fetch the device. Your attention begins to drift, all the while as you are trying to drive your car. John has an important message for you. He needs your input to answer some questions. You try to concentrate on watching the road and driving your car, while at the same time trying to compose a text reply to John over your hand held device.
Like hundreds of thousands of your fellow motorists, you have chosen to violate your state's anti-texting law. You begin to text out a reply to John. It isn't easy.
It is agonizing. The type keyboard is too small. You can barely see the letters. You cannot shift to numbers or capital letters.
All of this madness breaks loose upon you while at the same time, you are trying to drive your car. Is this what they call "distracted driving?"
Suddenly out of nowhere, a red ball bounces into the road right in front of your car. A child comes running immediately afterwards. You cannot drop your hand held device and slam on the brakes fast enough. Your reflexes just cannot do it. You feel this terrible thud against your car. You scream out, "Oh my God, I've hit her !" You are paralyed with fear. You hear a scream, "MOMMY !".
You bolt out of your car to see a child's lifeless body in front of you. You fall completely apart. This happened all because of your stubborn insistence that you have the right to do texting over a hand held device.
Seconds later you hear the wail of sirens and see endless flashing red and blue lights. An emergency medical team hovers over the child's lifeless body while the police orders you back out of your car.
It didn't take the police long to find what they were looking for. This police officer knew how to handle evidence. She remarked,"It looks like you were trying to text out a message while you were driving. This is your cell phone, is it not?" She turned to her partner,
"Tony. Read him his rights."
Then, to you, she said, "Sir, we are placing you under arrest. We are taking you to headquarters where you will be booked and charged with involuntary manslaughter. I must inform you this is a felony offense. You will have the opportunity to contact your
attorney when we arrive at headquarters. We are impounding your car and all its contents. I suggest you remember your rights. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand what I have just said?". She commanded her
partner, "Tony, put the cuffs on him and get him into the back of the squad car." She continued, "We are charging you with involuntary manslaughter in the death of the girl who is the victim in this case".
The police officers were pushing you violently into the back of their squad car. The mother of the child came bolting out of the house and was screaming, "YOU KILLED MY BABY!" The cops were really shaking you violently and all you could hear was a woman screaming, "JEFF! JEFF! WAKE UP!" PLEASE!"
You suddenly woke up in a daze. This was Lee Ann, your wife that was screaming. You came to your senses and realized you were not in your car. You were not out on the street. There was no dead little girl in front of your car. There were no cops placing you under arrest. You did not kill any child. There was no screaming mother saying "YOU KILLED MY BABY!" There was only Lee Ann, your wife, that was screaming at you to wake up.
It was only a nightmare. It was perhaps the worst nightmare you will ever have. Thank The Lord you didn't kill an innocent little girl. The only screaming was from Lee Ann, your wife, pleading with you to wake up.
But what is this in your hand?. It is your hand held device. Were you trying to send a text message in your sleep?
You had better heed this wake up call. It was your good fortune that this was only a horrible dream. The next time might be the real thing.
Look at this video. Better still, have your wife and kids look at it with you.
Distracted driving is the number one killer on our highways, roadways, and streets today.
There are any number of ways that you can take action against distracted driving. You can join the Citizens Against Distracted Driving (CADD). You can access articles published by the US Department Of Transportation (USDOT) and read what they have to say. You can contact the Driver Education Foundation of America (DEFA) and join many of their programs.
You must stop and take action. Not tomorrow, not the next day, not when you feel you'll get around to it. But NOW!! If you don't, you may find the judge hearing your arrest case, sentencing you to a jail term or many hours of community service to educate others about distracted driving.
You could prevent this from ever happening to you by enrolling in FDI Voice and letting "KyLee" handle your messages....all while your hands are on the steering wheel and your attention is on the road. For further information on FDI Voice, please go to http://quikcomm.com.
Your family will love you for it, and who knows....there might even be an innocent little girl with a red ball that will owe her life to your wise decision to put your hand held device away and talk hands free.
Presented by Bob Carper
Systems developer and consultant
Programs to end distracted driving
FDIpro99@gmail.com
The solution to the problem is named "KyLee". Using "KyLee", you can drive your car and pay full attention to the road and to your driving. You never have to worry about getting into an accident or getting arrested for distracted driving.
For more information, please go to http://www.quikcomm.com and please check this one out. The cost for "KyLee is minimal. However, KyLee can save your life. It can prevent you from getting socked with a stiff fine, a loss of your driver's license, or possibly even jail time. You owe it to yourself and your family to read this article and please contact us. If you don't heed this wake up call, sooner or later, your habit of texting while driving is going to creep up on you and it will be too late for you to do anything about it except face the judge in the courtroom.
Picture this scenario and you may never pick up a hand held device ever again. As a matter of fact, you may never be able to live with yourself at all. For what is about to happen to you is a scenario crafted by the devil himself.
Here is the picture. You are driving along a neighborhood street. It is a beautiful midsummer day. You haven't a care in the world. You are just cruising along on your way home after having had a great day at the office. You are blissfully unaware that an unfortunate event is about to strike. Your life is about to change in the next couple of minutes and you will never be the same again.
As you drive along, your hand held mobile device rings. It is your business partner John. You dig into your pocket to fetch the device. Your attention begins to drift, all the while as you are trying to drive your car. John has an important message for you. He needs your input to answer some questions. You try to concentrate on watching the road and driving your car, while at the same time trying to compose a text reply to John over your hand held device.
Like hundreds of thousands of your fellow motorists, you have chosen to violate your state's anti-texting law. You begin to text out a reply to John. It isn't easy.
It is agonizing. The type keyboard is too small. You can barely see the letters. You cannot shift to numbers or capital letters.
All of this madness breaks loose upon you while at the same time, you are trying to drive your car. Is this what they call "distracted driving?"
Suddenly out of nowhere, a red ball bounces into the road right in front of your car. A child comes running immediately afterwards. You cannot drop your hand held device and slam on the brakes fast enough. Your reflexes just cannot do it. You feel this terrible thud against your car. You scream out, "Oh my God, I've hit her !" You are paralyed with fear. You hear a scream, "MOMMY !".
You bolt out of your car to see a child's lifeless body in front of you. You fall completely apart. This happened all because of your stubborn insistence that you have the right to do texting over a hand held device.
Seconds later you hear the wail of sirens and see endless flashing red and blue lights. An emergency medical team hovers over the child's lifeless body while the police orders you back out of your car.
It didn't take the police long to find what they were looking for. This police officer knew how to handle evidence. She remarked,"It looks like you were trying to text out a message while you were driving. This is your cell phone, is it not?" She turned to her partner,
"Tony. Read him his rights."
Then, to you, she said, "Sir, we are placing you under arrest. We are taking you to headquarters where you will be booked and charged with involuntary manslaughter. I must inform you this is a felony offense. You will have the opportunity to contact your
attorney when we arrive at headquarters. We are impounding your car and all its contents. I suggest you remember your rights. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand what I have just said?". She commanded her
partner, "Tony, put the cuffs on him and get him into the back of the squad car." She continued, "We are charging you with involuntary manslaughter in the death of the girl who is the victim in this case".
The police officers were pushing you violently into the back of their squad car. The mother of the child came bolting out of the house and was screaming, "YOU KILLED MY BABY!" The cops were really shaking you violently and all you could hear was a woman screaming, "JEFF! JEFF! WAKE UP!" PLEASE!"
You suddenly woke up in a daze. This was Lee Ann, your wife that was screaming. You came to your senses and realized you were not in your car. You were not out on the street. There was no dead little girl in front of your car. There were no cops placing you under arrest. You did not kill any child. There was no screaming mother saying "YOU KILLED MY BABY!" There was only Lee Ann, your wife, that was screaming at you to wake up.
It was only a nightmare. It was perhaps the worst nightmare you will ever have. Thank The Lord you didn't kill an innocent little girl. The only screaming was from Lee Ann, your wife, pleading with you to wake up.
But what is this in your hand?. It is your hand held device. Were you trying to send a text message in your sleep?
You had better heed this wake up call. It was your good fortune that this was only a horrible dream. The next time might be the real thing.
Look at this video. Better still, have your wife and kids look at it with you.
Distracted driving is the number one killer on our highways, roadways, and streets today.
There are any number of ways that you can take action against distracted driving. You can join the Citizens Against Distracted Driving (CADD). You can access articles published by the US Department Of Transportation (USDOT) and read what they have to say. You can contact the Driver Education Foundation of America (DEFA) and join many of their programs.
You must stop and take action. Not tomorrow, not the next day, not when you feel you'll get around to it. But NOW!! If you don't, you may find the judge hearing your arrest case, sentencing you to a jail term or many hours of community service to educate others about distracted driving.
You could prevent this from ever happening to you by enrolling in FDI Voice and letting "KyLee" handle your messages....all while your hands are on the steering wheel and your attention is on the road. For further information on FDI Voice, please go to http://quikcomm.com.
Your family will love you for it, and who knows....there might even be an innocent little girl with a red ball that will owe her life to your wise decision to put your hand held device away and talk hands free.
Presented by Bob Carper
Systems developer and consultant
Programs to end distracted driving
FDIpro99@gmail.com
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