by James Scott
“Four escorts”: Silversides Report of Tenth War Patrol, June 11, 1944.
the 1,949-ton cargo ship Shoken Maru: JANAC, p. 43 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, p. 161.
“The explosion”: Eugene Malone interview with author, Aug. 8, 2009.
“Escorts were probably”: Silversides Report of Tenth War Patrol, June 11, 1946.
“Every 4th of July”: John S. Coye, Jr., unpublished memoir, p. 17.
Chapter 14. Tang
“There will be widows”: Don Sharp diary, June 30, 1944, BSMP.
Tang let out: Unless otherwise noted, information in this chapter is drawn from the following sources: Tang Report of Third War Patrol, July 14, 1944; Tang deck log; O’Kane, Clear the Bridge!, pp. 195–278. All dialogue comes from O’Kane’s book.
The submarine force’s steam-driven fish: William F. Halsey and J. Bryan III, Admiral Halsey’s Story (New York: Whittlesey House/McGraw-Hill, 1947), p. 23.
Other more crafty sailors: John Meyer interview with author, Nov. 6, 2009.
Tang radarman Floyd Caverly: Floyd Caverly interview with author, July 16, 2009; O’Kane, Clear the Bridge!, pp. 464–65.
“The troops had left”: O’Kane, Clear the Bridge!, p. 465.
“the most dramatic”: George F. Horne, “22 U.S. Fliers Rescued by a Submarine at Truk,” New York Times, May 18, 1944, p. 1.
A full-page photo: “U.S. Submarine Saves Airmen,” Life, May 29, 1944, p. 40.
Those patrols had supported: USSBS, The Campaigns of the Pacific War, pp. 181–82, 210–11; Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 321–27.
“Considerable important enemy”: Operational Order No. 198-44, June 7, 1944, Box 299, RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Plans, Orders and Related Documents, NARA.
Wahoo sank nine ships: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Blair, Silent Victory, pp. 682–83.
Known to most: William Leibold interview with author, July 8, 2009.
“Damaged battleship”: O’Kane, Clear the Bridge!, p. 217.
Frazee left: O’Kane states in his book that Frazee was joined by Darrell Rector. The deck log, however, shows it was Dante Cacciola.
Nagasaki, a congested: USSBS, Summary Report (Pacific War), p. 24.
American submarine skippers in 1944: USSBS, The War Against Japanese Transportation, 1941–1945, p. 134.
Thirty months of war: Unless otherwise noted, details on the failure of Japan’s antisubmarine strategy are drawn from: Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Operational History World War II, vol. 1, pp. 242–80.
Japanese technicians: Fuchida and Okumiya, Midway, pp. 93, 281–82; Gordon W. Prange with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon, Miracle at Midway (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982), p. 33.
Japanese forces in contrast: Interrogation of S. Kamide, Nov. 12, 1945, in USSBS, Interrogations of Japanese Officials, vol. 2, pp. 309–12.
“The Japanese Navy”: Interrogation of Paul Wenneker, Nov. 11, 1945, in USSBS, Interrogations of Japanese Officials, vol. 1, pp. 284–86.
Wahoo had encountered: O’Kane, Wahoo, pp. 89–91.
A postwar review: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, p. 169.
the latter taking down: Gregory F. Michno, Death on the Hellships: Prisoners at Sea in the Pacific War (Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2001), pp. 166–71.
“Tonight the fireworks started”: Don Sharp diary, June 24, 1944.
“The water is”: Don Sharp diary, June 27, 1944.
the Nikkin Maru: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, p. 171.
the 868-ton tanker Takatori Maru: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, p. 172.
the 6,886-ton freighter Asukazan Maru: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, p. 173.
the 6,932-ton Yamaoka Maru: Ibid.
“If I hadn’t been”: Don Sharp diary, July 4, 1944.
the 1,461-ton freighter Dori Maru: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, p. 174.
Chapter 15. Drum
“I don’t know where”: Slade Cutter letter to Esther Cutter, Dec. 11, 1941, NDL.
Lieutenant Commander Maurice Rindskopf: Drum Report of Tenth War Patrol, August 14, 1944.
“The Japanese”: Operational Order No. 215–44, June 23, 1944, Box 299, RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Plans, Orders and Related Documents, NARA.
On a New Year’s Day test trial: Maurice Rindskopf unpublished memoir, p. 82; Maurice Rindskopf interview with author, Aug. 28, 2009.
After fifty-two days: Drum Report of Ninth War Patrol, May 31, 1944.
Not only did: Maurice Rindskopf unpublished memoir, pp. 81–84; Maurice Rindskopf interviews with author, Aug. 28, 2009, and Sept. 4, 2009.
In a June 23 ceremony: Drum Report of Tenth War Patrol, August 14, 1944; Maurice Rindskopf interview with author, Sept. 4, 2009.
Drum’s first skipper: Maurice Rindskopf interview with author, March 3, 2011.
Postwar records: JANAC, p. 12 of the appendix.
Drum’s 1,000th dive: Drum Report of Tenth War Patrol, August 14, 1944.
weathered by more than: This is based on data recorded in Drum’s first nine war patrols.
The former Drum engineering: Mooney et al., eds., Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, vol. 6, p. 120.
Drum’s original communication officer: Ibid., pp. 467–68; Naval History Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, United States Submarine Losses: World War II, p. 114.
Unlike Drum’s older: Background on Rindskopf’s leadership is drawn from author interviews with Verner Utke-Ramsing (Aug. 20, 2009, and Oct. 30, 2009), Eugene Pridonoff (Aug. 31, 2009), Robert White (Nov. 5, 2009), Donald Kronholm (Jan. 8, 2010), George Schaedler (Oct. 29, 2009), John Meyer (Nov. 6, 2009), and Phillip Williamson (Sept. 2, 2009).
“He never appeared”: Robert White interview with author, Nov. 5, 2009.
The skipper had dreaded: Maurice Rindskopf unpublished memoir, p. 84.
The Japanese fleet: Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Operational History World War II, vol. 1, pp. 209–10.
Japanese naval leaders: Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 330–31.
But Japan misjudged: USSBS, The Campaigns of the Pacific War, p. 213.
America had grown: Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 333–34.
In preparation for: Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Operational History World War II, vol. 1, pp. 211–18.
Admiral Raymond Spruance: Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 331–36.
“Our air will first”: Ibid., p. 336.
The sun rose: USSBS, The Campaigns of the Pacific War, p. 214; Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 338–43.
Unlike at Midway: Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Operational History World War II, vol. 1, pp. 209, 219–21.
Albacore skipper: Albacore Report of Ninth War Patrol, July 16, 1944.
“Great Phoenix”: Mark Stille, Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carriers, 1921–45 (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2005), pp. 35–36; Morison, The Two-Ocean War, p. 339.
One torpedo tore: Morison, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. 8, New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944–August 1944, pp. 281–82.
Cavalla skipper: Cavalla Report of First War Patrol, Aug. 3, 1944.
The carrier’s bow settled: Stille, Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carriers, 1921–45, p. 20.
The battle continued: Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 342–45; USSBS, The Campaigns of the Pacific War, pp. 214–15, 243–44.
America had guaranteed: USSBS, The Campaigns of the Pacific War, p. 218.
The most excitement: Drum Report of Tenth War Patrol, August 14, 1944.
Nervous sailors: Ibid.; John Meyer interview with author, Nov. 13, 2009; Robert White interview with author, Oct. 27, 2009.
Submarines would fight: Duff, Medical Study of the Experience of Submariners as Recorded in 1,471 Submarine
Patrol Reports in World War II, pp. 2, 27–30.
Drum battle-surfaced: Drum Report of Tenth War Patrol, August 14, 1944; Maurice Rindskopf unpublished memoir, pp. 84–85; Maurice Rindskopf interview with author, Sept 4, 2009; John Meyer interviews with author, Nov. 6, 2009, and Nov. 13, 2009; Donald Kronholm interview with author, Jan. 8, 2010.
“That was a first time”: John Meyer interview with author, Nov. 13, 2009.
Balao zeroed in: Balao Report of Sixth War Patrol, August 22, 1944.
“Captain”: John Meyer interview with author, Nov. 13, 2009.
Ralph McFadden: Ralph McFadden interviews with author, Oct. 28, 2009, and Jan. 6, 2010.
Chono confessed: Drum Report of Tenth War Patrol, August 14, 1944; Alden and McDonald, p. 184.
The crew rotated: Ron Thibideau interviews with author, Nov. 5, 2009, and Nov. 12, 2009, John Meyer interview with author, Nov. 13, 2009; Hubert Wheeler interview with author, Nov. 3, 2009; Robert White interview with author, Oct. 27, 2009.
“Top notch chow hounds”: Hubert Wheeler undated letter to parents.
“Fuck the Marines”: John Meyer interview with author, Nov 13, 2009.
Chapter 16. Tang
“Goodnight my sweetest”: Eugene Malone letter to parents, Dec. 1, 1943.
O’Kane hustled: Unless otherwise noted, information in this chapter is drawn from the following sources: Tang Report of Fifth War Patrol, Sept. 10, 1945, completed after O’Kane’s release from a Japanese prisoner of war camp; O’Kane, Clear the Bridge!, pp. 367–456. All dialogue comes from O’Kane’s book.
postwar analysis: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Blair, Silent Victory, p. 988.
“This patrol was”: Charles A. Lockwood, Jr., to the Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet, July 24, 1944.
“I want to tell you”: O’Kane, Clear the Bridge!, p. 301.
Despite malfunctioning torpedoes: Tang Report of Fourth War Patrol, Sept. 3, 1944; JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, pp. 189, 195–96.
Tang’s fourth patrol: Murray Frazee, Jr., unpublished memoir, pp. 55–56.
“Going to sea”: Murray Frazee, Jr., letter to Richard O’Kane, Nov. 6, 1986, Dudley Morton Family Papers, BSMP.
“O’Kane liked to run”: Murray Frazee, Jr., “We Never Looked Back,” Naval History, July–August 1994, pp. 47–51.
Allied forces had carved: Charles R. Anderson, Leyte, in the series The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II, Center of Military History Publication 72-27 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994), p. 3.
The September 15 invasions: Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 421–28; Blair, Silent Victory, p. 693; USSBS, The Campaigns of the Pacific War, pp. 282–83.
Japan’s only hope: USSBS, The Campaigns of the Pacific War, pp. 280–81; Edward J. Drea, In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998), pp. 128–29; Senji Yuso Sendan Shi.
The undersea service planned: Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Operational History World War II, vol. 1, pp. 225–26; Roscoe, United States Submarine Operations in World War II, p. 410.
Lockwood intended to: Lockwood, Sink ’Em All, pp. 225–26; Roscoe, United States Submarine Operations in World War II, p. 410; Operational Order No. 326–44, Sept. 24, 1944, Box 299, RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Plans, Orders and Related Documents, NARA.
Lieutenant Lawrence Savadkin: Lawrence Savadkin oral history interview with the Navy, Jan. 30, 1946, Box 24, RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, World War II Oral Histories, 1942–1946, NARA; O’Kane, Clear the Bridge!, pp. 201, 432; “Athlete on Missing Submarine,” New York Times, Feb. 7, 1945, p. 12; Barbara Lane interview with author, Dec. 19, 2010.
“There was still”: Lawrence Savadkin oral history interview with the Navy, Jan. 30, 1946.
The 1,658-ton Joshu Go: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, p. 215.
the 711-ton Oita Maru: Ibid.
“We could work”: Lawrence Savadkin oral history interview with the Navy, Jan. 30, 1946.
The 1,944-ton Tatsuju Maru: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, pp. 220–21; Senji Yuso Sendan Shi. Alden and McDonald report that the Japanese towed Toun Maru to Formosa, but repairs proved impossible, resulting in the breakup of the ship. Sources are mixed as to whether Kori Go actually sank. JANAC does not record the loss, though Alden and McDonald report that some sources do. Alden and McDonald conclude the ship was likely damaged in the collision that O’Kane witnessed.
“It was the biggest”: Lawrence Savadkin oral history interview with the Navy, Jan. 30, 1946.
the 6,956-ton Ebara Maru: JANAC, p. 48 of the appendix; Alden and McDonald, p. 223; Senji Yuso Sendan Shi. The final attacks of Tang are difficult to decipher with total accuracy. O’Kane claimed more sinkings than Japanese and postwar accounts record. Both JANAC and Alden and McDonald report two ships destroyed. I have tried to balance the various accounts as best possible.
Cooks thawed turkeys: Cindy Adams, “Tang Survivors Recall World War II Ordeal,” Patrol, Sept. 5, 1980, pp. 4–6.
Several sailors: Jesse B. DaSilva, “Survivor of the Mighty Tang,” American Submariner, July–September 2001, pp. 16–18.
“Let’s head”: Duff, Medical Study of the Experiences of Submariners as Recorded in 1,471 Submarine Patrol Reports in World War II, p. 251.
O’Kane and Leibold watched: William Leibold interview with author, July 10, 2009.
The torpedo’s dual: ComdtNY Mare Island to Senior Member, Board of Inspection and Survey, Nov. 19, 1943, Synopsis of Machinery and Hull Data for SS306, Box 2134, RG 19, Bureau of Ships General Correspondence, 1940–1945, NARA; Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, Submarine Report: Depth Charge, Bomb, Mine, Torpedo and Gunfire Damage Including Losses in Action 7 December, 1941 to 15 August, 1945, vol. 1, 1 January 1949, p. 112.
Chapter 17. Silversides
“If we make it”: Don Sharp diary, July 8, 1944.
The prolonged blast: Silversides Report of Eleventh War Patrol, Nov. 23, 1944.
In just forty-six days: JANAC, p. 43 of the appendix; Blair, Silent Victory, p. 988.
“The tenth war patrol”: C. A. Lockwood, Jr., to the Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet, June 19, 1944.
The rust-streaked submarine: These figures are drawn from the first ten patrol reports.
Coye flew to New York: John S. Coye, Jr., unpublished memoir, p. 18.
Allied forces: Drew Middleton, “Enemy Route Grows,” New York Times, Aug. 27, 1944, p. 1; Drew Middleton, “U.S. Tanks Race On,” New York Times, Aug. 30, 1944, p. 1; “Battle of Europe,” New York Times, Aug. 6, 1944, p. E1.
Bombers and fighters: “2,200 U.S. Planes Smash at Germany, New York Times, Oct. 3, 1944, p. 4; Richard J. H. Johnston, “2,000 U.S. Planes Rip Reich Targets,” New York Times, Aug. 6, 1944, p. 25; David Anderson, “Big Bombers Strike Destroys Nazi Oil,” New York Times, June 19, 1944, p. 5; Sydney Gruson, “3,000 U.S. Planes Rock Nazi Targets,” New York Times, Aug. 1, 1944, p. 8.
Virginia representative: “Oct. 1 ‘Tentative’ Date for Nazi Defeat; War in Pacific ‘at Least Until End of ’45,’ ” New York Times, Aug. 26, 1944, p. 2.
American lawmakers: C. P. Trussell, “Transition Problems Crowd Upon Congress,” New York Times, Aug. 6, 1944, p. E6; “Congress Bogged Down by Disputes over Legislation to Shift Nation from War to Peacetime Production,” Wall Street Journal, Aug. 21, 1944, p. 10; John F. Fennelly, “The Shift from War to Peace Economy,” New York Times, Sept. 3, 1944, p. SM11.
The Office of War Information: “Long Pacific War Seen by the OWI,” New York Times, Sept. 28, 1944, p. 13.
“The United States Navy”: “Forrestal Sees Long, Hard Fight with Japs,” Lewiston Evening Journal, Sept. 6, 1944, p. 1; “Tougher Japan in Air Is Seen by Forrestal,” New York Times, Sept. 7, 1944, p. 13.
“The news over the radio”: Eugene Malone undated letter to Anna Maria Ives.
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sp; The three subs: Coordinated Patrol Report, 24 September–3 November 1944, Box 98, RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Plans, Orders and Related Documents, NARA.
The Germans: David T. Zabecki, ed., World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia (New York: Grand Publishing, 1999), p. 1086.
The United States in contrast: Lockwood, Sink ’Em All, pp. 35–36, 122–24.
Submarines in the first six months: USSBS, The War Against Japanese Transportation, 1941–1945, pp. 36–41, 47, 134.
“The total area”: The Reminiscences of Rear Admiral John S. Coye, Jr., p. 104.
Working in tandem: Ibid., pp. 104–7.
“It has its advantages”: Ibid., p. 166.
The three submarines arrived: Silversides Report of Eleventh War Patrol, Nov. 23, 1944; Coordinated Patrol Report, 24 September–3 November 1944.
Carrier pilots flew: Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 428–29.
While it still boasted: Hastings, Retribution, pp. 132–33.
Similar to the Battle of Midway: USSBS, The Campaigns of the Pacific War, pp. 280–84; Morison, The Two-Ocean War, pp. 436–39; Hastings, Retribution, pp. 133–34; James D. Hornfischer, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour (New York: Bantam, 2004), pp. 94–97.
The skippers: Darter Report of Fourth War Patrol, Nov. 5, 1944; Dace Report of Fifth War Patrol, Nov. 6, 1944; Kennedy, ed., The Library of Congress World War II Companion, p. 596.
“We have radar contact”: Darter Report of Fourth War Patrol, Nov. 5, 1944.
“Whipped periscope”: Ibid.
Four torpedo hits: Dull, A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1941–1945), pp. 315–16.
Two more torpedoes: Ibid.; Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Operational History World War II, vol. 1, p. 227.
“Darter is really having”: Dace Report of Fifth War Patrol, Nov. 6, 1944.
“This is really”: Ibid.
Claggett fired six torpedoes: Ibid.; Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Operational History World War II, vol. 1, p. 227.