The Flying Submarine
The German submarine had
Fallen behind in recent times,
And Churchill was already in his element
And said: I don‘t expect
Many more surprises,
There is nothing more to fear,
Now one could read it in the newspapers,
The joy came too early:
The U-boat war.
In the past few days, it seems that the German submarines have resurfaced. The American Secretary of the Navy issued a strong warning against underestimating the new German U-boat type. Unverifiable rumours even speak of an aircraft capable of moving underwater. We mention this with the utmost caution. The Germans, on their part, have reported sinking approximately 100,000 tons. – Het Laatste Nieuws
Once again, the German brain
Has invented something magnificent
“That must be its piece of heaven”
And it is a noose for London.
The cutting edge, le Dernier Cri,
A flying submarine,
I am shocked, whereas it I see:
Many NSB supporters
Becoming cheerful and uplifted
And already rejoicing
And saying: Greater Germany triumphs,
After years full of rain
Finally some rays of sunshine,
With these miraculous boats,
Born from the German brain,
We have made progress.
Such a miraculous thing traverses the sky,
A few seconds later
It spots an English ship.
Then it goes underwater.
And torpedoes the British boat,
And once that has sunk,
It continues its upward flight,
The British have drowned.
It‘s precisely like a flying fish,
And indeed a technical wonder,
And the British are in trouble,
They get a beating.
And when the Brit loses his ships,
He quickly will give up,
It‘s only a matter of time,
You’ll soon see.
We sail against England,
Even if it was a little late,
The enemy falls into our hands,
We fly underwater
And swim through the stratosphere,
The rules and laws
Of nature do no longer exist,
We make short work of it
And soon get free rein
For Stalin and the Russians,
How happy I am, how happy I am,
Now nothing will fail anymore.
People don’t understand how such a thing was possible,
Jules Verne was surpassed,
Right after that, I found the source
Of this Kraut’s dream.
May 14, 1958, by H.G. Wells (?)
“Here is the report from Agent 17 of the Secret Intelligence Service, Herr Pförtner. The New York-Liverpool tunnel is nearing completion. The coal mines in North Greenland are operating at full capacity. The mass production of large landing craft has begun.“ “Landing craft,“ the engineer interrupted his secretary, “these people think they are still living twelve years ago. Let them be, our flying submarines will know how to deal with that.“ – Het Laatste Nieuws
The wonder is a utopia
And not yet invented
And a product of fantasy
And Churchill in London
Is not worried at all
About these chimeras,
The Krauts have certainly
published it too early
And whether they will
Repeat their attempt in a decade
And see a chance for a new war …?
After criminally
Committing the same game
of brute violence twice
They will – I assume –
Not be given that chance again.
Did you notice an error in this transcription or translation, and would you like to send us a corrected version? Or have you created a lyrical translation that captures rhyme and rhythm of the original? Please feel free to send us your version. We appreciate voluntary support for this memorial project, and we regularly review the messages we receive.