***QSL INFO****

The QSL manager for NB9QV is Fred Neuenfeldt W6BSF. Please send a #10(4 1/8” X 9 ½”) SASE envelope to accommodate the larger than normal “USS COBIA” QSL card

***SPECIAL CERTIFICATE INFO****

For a certificate send a QSL card and $1.00. No envelope required. Send to K0EFV Tom Mc Nulty 4015 Independence Ave. Waterloo IA 50703

NB9QV is the callsign for the USS COBIA Amateur Radio Club aboard the WWII submarine USS COBIA SS-245 docked in the harbor adjacent to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. The Museum is located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin which is about 80 miles north of Milwaukee. Why Manitowoc? Because the shipyard in Manitowoc built 28 submarines during the war or about 10% of the total fleet.

The COBIA was launched on the 28th of November 1943 and was assigned the wartime callsign NBQV by the US Navy. The original wartime radio equipment, which provided all communications for her six war patrols in the Pacific Theater, has been fully restored and is used for various club events.

The radio shack has two RAK-6 and two RAL-6 receivers. A TBL-12 transmitter puts out 400W to the topside longwire antennas. The TBL runs on standard ships power which is 250VDC via a motor-generator set. There is also a complete TCS-8 setup. Thos gear allows the COBIA to transmit and receive on any frequency from 30KHz to 22Mhz. All operating frequencies are set by a LM-18 frequency meter.

The COBIA’s Radar system has been restored to full working order. The radar is linked to a mechanical computer which calculates a target’s course. It has a usable range of 40,000 yards(22 miles) and is now the oldest operational radar system in the world.

During the COBIA’s six war patrols she sank 13 Japanese vessels to account for a total of over 18,000 tons of Japanese shipping. On July 13,1944 she sank the 9,500 ton NISHU MARU carrying troops and tanks to reinforce Japanese defenders on IWO JIMA. The COBIA experienced her most exiciting encounter during her fourth war patrol in 1945 in a running surface gun battle with twi Japanese Sea trucks. The COBIA sent both to the bottom, but suffered her only casualty of the war, Ralph Clark Houston a 20mm gun loader. She was also responsible for rescuing 7 downed allied airmen. After the war the COBIA continued to serve in various missions until 1959 and then an additional eleven years as a training vessel for the Naval Reserve. Since her arrival in Manitowoc the COBIA has undergone an almost complete restoration inside and out to bring the submarine to her World War II fighting condition.

The “USS COBIA” is open for tour’s year round at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc,Wisconsin. Sleepovers on the sub are also available. Reference website: www.wisconsinmaritime.org for more information.