By Rolf Stibbe
Much has been written about the application of ‘stealth technology’ in modern warfare, the rendering of a military vehicle virtually invisible to detection by radar systems. The advanced materials have been built into virtually everything, from revolutionary fighter aircraft, pilot-less drones, and warships. If we look back in time, we find that the origins of this unique form of ‘radar camouflage’ has its humble beginnings in Japan in the early 1940s. This author had a rare opportunity to speak with the one of Germany’s leading wartime scientists in the field of radar, infrared, and countermeasures, Dr. Heinz Schlicke, in the mid 1990s, and he shared his knowledge of some of the most secret Axis military projects dealing with stealth technology. In the closing weeks of the war, Dr. Schicke was lead commander of the secret voyage of a German U-boat submarine (U-234) directly to Japan, to transfer advanced military technology to the Japanese. Schicke was assigned directly to the military attache in Tokyo on his arrival. The story of this remarkable voyage to Japan encompasses the advent of modern stealth technology and delves into the realm of atomic energy.In March 1943, the German U-boat Arm under the command of Admiral Karl Doenitz had brought the Allied convoy system to the verge of collapse. A spirit of optimism prevailed at the OKM, Oberkommando der Marine (Headquarters of German Navy) in Berlin as reports of numerous sinkings were received over the teletype. Doenitz’s U-bootwaffe was engaged in the largest offensive of the North Atlantic against Allied convoys. The results were encouraging. During the first twenty days of March they had sent an estimated 141,000 tons of shipping to the bottom of the Atlantic with the loss of one U-boat. More good news surfaced that the Admiral’s B-dienst intelligence network had again broken the Allied naval codes and read each message with ease.
The excitement was abruptly curtailed on March 18th when Doenitz received word that Allied VLR (Very Long Range) aircraft had penetrated airspace in the eastern mid-Atlantic. Within days the OKM was flooded with communiques from a number of boats returning home with depth charge battle damage. The tide had turned virtually overnight, without warning, as the Admiral began to explore his options. In the months that followed, the U-boat losses soared, forcing Doenitz to recall his remaining U-boats back to their bases on May 24th. The situation deteriorated with each passing day as the puzzled OKM played the role of helpless bystander in the unfolding drama.
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