References
Credit is given where credit is due. Of course, most of the credit goes to my father, Motor Machinist Mate 2nd Class, Andrew Stalma. Without him, none of this would have been possible. I thank the LORD daily, for giving me a father like him. When he was discharged from the Navy in 1948, he brought home with him all of the photos, stories, and details, excluding the references given below. We have spent a great deal of time together going over the details of what he can remember.
The information about Springer's war patrols came from MoMM 2/c Andrew Stalma, and orginal U.S. Navy patrol logs from the USS Springer, which were supplied courtesy of The USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The patrol reports were a great help, as they confirmed, and helped place many of the details that my father related to me.
Bits and pieces of Springer's technical facts came from the following references;
HELLIONS OF THE DEEP
By; Robert Gannon
SUBMARINE OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR II
By; Theodore Roscoe
U.S. SUBMARINES THROUGH 1945
By; Norman Friedman
USS PAMPANITO SUBMARINE MUSEUM
The U.S. Navy Balao class submarine blueprints were supplied by the Floating Drydock. I have retouched them to make them more legible.
The names of the Japanese ships that Springer was responsible for sinking, were supplied courtesy of the Naihon Kaigun web site, with reference from the following two books;
Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1862-1945
Jentschura, Jung & Mickel
Warship Losses of World War II
David Brown
I want to thank the people who run the USS Requin Submarine museum in Pittsburgh PA., for letting me take my time and get a first hand view of what the inside of a WWII submarine actually looks like.
I also want to thank all of the friends that I have met in the months that it took to research and build Final Trim. You supplied me much needed information to fill in the gaps. You know who you are!
FINAL TRIM
Ronald D. Stalma