u47.org

A few words of thanks

I started up this site way back in the summer of 2001 with little more than a concise write-up on Günther Prien, and a brief overview of the ten patrols undertaken by U-47 between September 1939 and March 1941. Since those early days the site has grown continually, and at times almost exponentially; it has been gradually transformed from a pet project into an historical resource that has received praise from the highest quarters. This rapid growth could only have been achieved through the help I have received from a number of people, and without wanting to indulge in an Oscars-style speech I felt it only right that I should thank everyone properly.

• My girlfriend Caroline, first for going through the English-language version of the site and picking out all of the errant typos, second for creating the "Snorting Bull" beer glasses, and third for creating "Bulli", the site's official mascot. Now I am bugging her to help me with the French-language version.
• Researcher and modeller Dougie Martindale, who provided has provided me with a wealth of information on the technical developments undertaken by U 47, as well as the excellent information on the Type VII U-boat and the Snorting Bull.
• Herr Peter Podlewski, who in addition to sending me an original wartime German-language edition of Mein Weg nach Scapa Flow, put aside plenty of his free (and given the amount of work, I'd guess a lot of not so free) time in translating the site into German with a dedication and passion that surpassed even my own. I can only hope that Frau Podlewski was not too annoyed at his having to sit at the computer typing away for days sipping from his "Snorting Bull" beer glass.
• Peter Smith for manufacturing the fantastic wood and glass scale model display cases that are now firmly in the u47.org marketplace, as well as a number of fantastic images of his creations.
• Peter Hofman for being one of my best customers, providing a load of excellent images for the soon-to-be-online Model Zone section of the site, and for offering to translate the site into Nederlands.

I would also like to thank a number of others who have helped me along the way - for various images I would like to thank Warcos, Ivan, Holger Dorn and Dilip Sarkar MBE; Allan F. Cameron for the highly interesting article concerning the reappearance of one of U-47's torpedoes in Scapa Flow; Captain Jerry Mason, USN for providing me with the official transcripts of Prien's log from the Scapa Flow operation, and Howard from ubootwaffe.net for allowing me to use some of the information on U-47's victims posted on his excellent site.