My second ship, the SM Surcouf was originally a Jass product, of 1984. I picked it up at a rather bargain price during the winter of 1985-6, and with a little help from Tom got busy fixing it up. Sort of. The result was quite primitive, in that it was designed as a surface runner, and I was barely able to cram enough junk in there as it was. Still, she carried a 25 round bow gun in her turret, and 4V worth of batteries, and I hoped that the Surcouf would be my ticket into the traditional Wednesday "Small Ship" battles.

I brought the Surcouf to the 1986 Nats as a secondary ship, for use in the Small Ship battle. She hadn't been very thoroughly tested before then, but I had hopes that all would work. As it was, she turned out slow, but that was okay, because she was a small target, and turned very, very well. I tested her out every day from Sunday through Tuesday, sailing her around after the main battles were done, and firing the bow gun at islands and such. Steve Milholland even brought his battleship Alabama around a few times to attempt to swamp the low lying ship with his wake. However, the little Surcouf just kept bouncing along. Things were looking good for my first small ship battle.

Wednesday at the 1986 Nats dawned bright and clear, and I was looking forward to the battle. Due to the preponderance of Allied small ships, I was assigned to the Axis side, along with Gerald Roberts' Noshiro, and James West's I-400 (another surface runner). The Allies consisted of Stan Watkins' O'Bannon, John Jass's Arethusa, and Marty Hayes' St. Louis. Battle began, and with some excitement, I lined the bow gun up on the Arethusa, and fired. The Surcouf's first shot in anger was also her first hit, as the low freeboard of the sub gave its rounds a flat, accurate trajectory. However, disaster loomed. During my tests, I had placed some electrical tape around the Surcouf's stern to hold the hull pieces together more tightly, but for some reason, I had neglected this important piece of tape before the battle began. As a result, when Stan and I passed stern to stern, somehow the seal at the stern of the Surcouf came loose, and she split open like a banana and sank. Thus, her first shot and hit were her only, as soggy radio components prevented participation in the next battle, and she was retired after that, because I decided that I would prefer a small ship that was a little more robust, like a light cruiser, maybe. As it was, I corrected the problem with the stern deck seal, but she was never to battle again... As far as I know, she and the I-400 were the last armed submarines to battle in our hobby.

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