No other force was competing for the ships sunk on Tang’s third patrol. However, a controversy that arose between the Japanese and the committee perhaps demonstrates the impossibility of objectively piecing together at a later date what actually happened in the heat of battle. Tang reported sinking one freighter and one tanker in the first attack north of the Koshiki Strait, though Steward’s Mate Walker had remained adamant that “there was more.” After the war, the Japanese confirmed Walker’s observation, reporting that they had indeed lost a tanker and three freighters. The committee disagreed with the Japanese, assessing their losses in this attack as two freighters and two passenger-cargomen. Needless to say, thus it was recorded. Now, however, it is clear why Tang could find nothing to chase other than a destroyer that turned out to be chasing her, and surely a convoy of four ships sunk by a single salvo of six torpedoes must rank as the most devastating submarine salvo in history.
With the extra two sinkings, bringing the total to ten ships, officially this patrol ranked first among U.S. submarine patrols in number of ships sent to Davy Jones’s locker. On another pleasant note, Wahoo picked up another ship for her Yellow Sea patrol, the one following my 29 cribbage hand, which she had reported only damaged. She thus came in a close second, only one ship behind.
At the time of her loss, Tang was tied with Tautog, who sank her first ship in April of 1942 under J. H. Willingham’s command and then continued her successful patrols with Barney Sieglaff and Tom Baskett as skippers. Tom’s two ships in January, 1945, took Tautog out in front as the top ranking submarine with 26 ships officially credited, but Tang remained in second place with her official 24 sinkings. In tonnage, Tang placed fourth, next to Gene Fluckey’s Barb, but in sinking rate—one enemy ship sunk every 11 days—she was second to none.
Victory
Tang was only one of more than 250 U.S. submarines participating in the overall war effort, many of whom have brave stories we will never know. But just as with boats who lived to see victory, Tang’s story can be complete only upon unveiling the results for which she and all other submarines fought.
Within the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the great battles and landings—Coral Sea, Midway, Savo Island, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, the Philippine Sea—though some were far from victories, received the kudos of the time and occupied the prominent places in the news of the day and in the histories to follow. It is quite understandable that this should be the case, for each operation and most of the ensuing battles followed months of preparatory planning and buildup, and involved tens of thousands of men and hundreds of ships. Their exalted place in history is not disputed.
Months before the war began, however, submarines were already on patrol. The order on the night of Pearl Harbor to conduct unrestricted submarine warfare was merely a transition; now one could hit the plunger without first being attacked. Submarine warfare continued relentlessly as new submarines joined in the battle. There were no slack periods for planning and buildup, only the three weeks or so for refit, and then the departing submarine was on its way for two more months of seeking out the enemy in his own yard. Every man knew his boat would attack and that there would be counterattacks.
Our submarines sent millions of tons of shipping to the bottom, the effort reaching a crescendo in 1944. But publicity was avoided, for the boats’ safety and the effectiveness of their patrols continued to demand secrecy. By the time of the last sinking, on August 14, 1945, the 288th U.S. submarine had been commissioned. Over 250 had made antishipping patrols or participated in 300 special missions, and at least 185 submarines had each sunk one or more enemy ships. The loss of over 1,100 merchant ships and over 200 warships to submarine torpedoes had been devastating to the Empire and the Imperial fleet. When questioned after the war, Japanese admirals and generals alike placed losses to U.S. submarines first in the factors leading to the fall of the Empire. Exclusive of the valiant effort by British submarines, our boats sank over 5 million tons of merchant shipping, or half again the tonnage of all other forces combined. In warships, U.S. submarine sinkings of over 600,000 tons were barely exceeded by U.S. naval air. Surely this was a remarkable achievement for a force manned by under two percent of the navy’s personnel.
These results were not accomplished without penalty. From the four boats who grounded in operations against the enemy, all hands were miraculously saved. All but four survived the first Sealion, destroyed at Cavite in the Philippines. Twenty-four men were saved from the R-12, lost in training off Key West. Eight survivors from Flier were eventually rescued. Three survived the S-26, sunk en route to patrol from Panama. From seven other submarines, including Tang, a total of 168 hands were repatriated from prison after the war. Sadly, there were no survivors from 37 more boats, which brought our total losses to 52 submarines.
As submariners are wont to say, 3,505 shipmates are still on patrol. Our submariners thus suffered the highest casualty rate in the armed forces, six times that of the surface navy, and yet young men were in line hoping for a billet in the more daring boats.
The total destruction and loss of life on both sides may seem appalling, but this was total war waged against a stalwart and equally dedicated enemy. Submariners, I know, would have settled for half their sinkings or less if that would have stopped the war. We are, after all, mariners first and submariners second, with a continuing love for all ships and the sea.
The Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee had no submarine member. Its report had long been known to contain errors and have omissions as it pertained to the sinkings by our submarines. In 1980 this portion of the JANAC report was officially replaced by the credits in the patrol reports. This was just, for all hands knew precisely when a ship had been sunk. Thus, Tang’s official sinkings were again thirty-three. From the IJN report of the Imperial Japanese Navy, recommended to historians, Tang sank the following two ships west of Saipan: the 16,795-ton transport Asama Maru and the 10,033-ton Nampa Maru, a large, armed naval tanker carrying aviation gasoline. In contrast, the JANAC report listed the cargomen Echizen Maru of 2,424 tons and the Choko Maru of 1,794. So Tang’s record tonnage is 116,454. Our other submarines were, of course, affected similarly.
Glossary
After trim. Variable ballast tank used to adjust submarine’s weight and tilting moment.
Air banks. Groups of large air bottles located in midships ballast tanks to store high-pressure air for charging torpedoes, blowing tanks, and other services.
Angle on the bow. The angle formed by the longitudinal axis of a ship and the line of sight from the submarine intersecting her.
APR-1. Nondirectional radar detector.
A-scope. A viewing screen of the surface-search radar.
Auxiliary tanks. Variable ballast tanks located amidships and used to obtain neutral buoyancy and adjust trim; one tank generally segregated for storage of extra fresh water.
Ballast tanks. Sections of the space between pressure hull and outer hull, and saddle tanks within torpedo rooms; blown dry to provide positive buoyancy when submarine is surfaced and completely flooded to give neutral buoyancy when submerged.
Bathythermograph. A device to record sea temperature and submarine depth and to show any abrupt temperature change, or gradient.
Bendix log. An underwater device for measuring own ship’s speed.
Betty. Japanese patrol bomber or torpedo plane.
Bow buoyancy. Additional ballast tank to give extra buoyancy forward on surfacing or in an emergency.
Bow planes. The pair of horizontal rudders at submarine’s bow, rigged out on diving to help give initial down-angle, then used in coordination with stern planes to control depth.
Can. Storage batteries.
Cavitation. The formation of a partial vacuum about rotating propeller blades; the collapse of this vacuum creates propeller noises.
CinCPac. Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet.
Clamp down. Go over the living space decks with a damp swab.
ComSubDiv. Commander
Submarine Division.
ComSubPac. Commander Submarine Force, Pacific.
ComSubSoWesPac. Commander Submarines Southwest Pacific.
Con. The authority directing the steersman, or the act of directing and thus maneuvering the ship.
Conning tower. The small horizontal hull directly above the control room and below the bridge. Houses the normal steering stand, torpedo data computer, firing panel, surface-search radar, periscopes, sound receivers (except sonic JP), fathometer, navigational plot, and receivers from target bearing transmitters; the heart of both ship and torpedo fire control.
Control room. The midship compartment containing all diving controls, the ship’s gyrocompass and its auxiliary, the air-search radar, an auxiliary steering stand, the interior communications switchboard, and the radio room.
CPO. Chief petty officer.
DE. A destroyer escort type warship.
DivCom. Division Commander.
Dogs. The pawls securing a watertight door or hatch.
Dog watch. Normally the 1600 to 1800 and 1800 to 2000 watches, though any four-hour watch may be halved, or dogged.
DR. Dead reckoning position, obtained by using ship’s course, speed, and elapsed time.
DRI. Dead reckoning indicator; receives inputs from Bendix log and gyrocompass, and has dials showing latitude and longitude.
End-around. Submerged and surface maneuver to pass an enemy and gain position ahead.
Engine-air induction. Large mushroom valve to provide air for the diesels.
Fire control. The mechanics of directing torpedoes or gunfire.
Five by five. Loud and clear (based on system of indicating a radio signal’s strength and clarity on a one-to-five scale).
Fix. An accurate ship’s position obtained by star sights or bearings of known landmarks.
Forward trim. Variable ballast tank used to adjust submarine’s weight and tilting moment.
Fox. Radio broadcast schedule of messages for U.S. submarines.
Front porch. Wahoo’s and Tang’s name for 20-millimeter gun platform just forward of bridge cowl.
Gaining bearing. Catching up or drawing ahead when pursuing a ship.
Gradient. A layer where the temperature of seawater, and to a lesser degree its density, changes abruptly, thus bending the sound wave of echo-ranging clear of a submarine below the layer.
Gyro angle. The angle set into each torpedo’s gyro so that its steering mechanism will bring it to the proper course to hit the point of aim.
Hull down. Description of a ship beyond the horizon with only masts or superstructure in view.
IC switchboard. Interior communications switchboard; handles AC electricity for gyrocompasses, torpedo data computer, interior communications equipment, and other uses.
JICPOA. Joint Intelligence Center Pacific Ocean Area.
JK. A listening sound head for supersonic frequencies (too high for the unaided ear).
JP. An amplified sonic receiver.
Kuroshio. The Japanese current.
Limber holes. Scalloped openings where the superstructure joins the ballast tanks or pressure hull.
Losing bearing. Dropping behind when pursuing a ship.
LST. Landing ship, tank.
Mark 18. A series of electric-powered, wakeless torpedoes with a speed of 27 knots and a range of 4,000 yards.
Mark 14. A series of two-speed steam-powered torpedoes running at 46 knots with a range of 4,500 yards in high power or at 31½ knots with a range of 9,000 yards in low power.
Mark 23. A series of two-speed steam-powered torpedoes similar to the Mark 14s.
Maru. A suffix to the names of most Japanese merchant ships; hence, in submarine language, any Japanese ship except a warship.
Momsen lung. A breathing apparatus to permit an individual to breathe normally while escaping from a sunken submarine; also serves as a gas mask in the submarine and as a life preserver on the surface.
Negative. A tank holding 14,000 pounds of negative ballast to accelerate diving.
Normal approach course. An approach course perpendicular to the bearing of the enemy.
Normal course. An approach course perpendicular to the track of the enemy.
One bell. A single order to maneuvering.
1MC. The submarine announcing system; includes the collision, diving, and general alarms.
ONI-208J. Identification manual used by U.S. submarines and aircraft to assist in classifying Japanese merchant ships.
PBM. A U.S. Martin patrol bomber.
PC. A patrol craft of about half the length of a destroyer escort.
PCO. Prospective commanding officer making a refresher patrol prior to commanding his own submarine.
Pit log. Pitometer log; the scientific name for the speed log manufactured by Bendix.
Point. A point of the compass, accurately 11¼ degrees; employed by lookouts to report direction of a sighting, with each lookout’s quadrant divided into eight points.
Poppet valve. Valve to vent residual torpedo firing impulse air back into the boat to reduce telltale bubble on the surface.
PPI. Plan position indicator of the surface-search radar, on which the image appears as viewed from above with submarine at its center.
Pressure hull. The submarine’s inner hull and conning tower; built to withstand sea pressure at the stipulated test depth plus a generous safety factor.
QC. The echo-ranging portion of a sound head.
Relative bearing. Bearing in degrees measured clockwise from own ship’s bow.
Safety. A special ballast tank with the strength of the pressure hull; blown and sealed off in emergency to compensate for some flooding within the pressure hull.
S-boat. A numbered class of post-World War I U.S. submarines still operating in World War II.
SC. Submarine-chaser.
SD. Nondirectional air-search radar.
Side lobe. False image appearing on a radar screen to right and left of a contact.
SJ. Surface-search radar; shows range and bearing of contact.
ST. Radar periscope.
Stadimeter. Periscope range-finder; target’s height or length must be known to determine range or angle on the bow, respectively.
Stern planes. The pair of horizontal rudders at submarine’s stern, used to control the angle on the boat and, in coordination with bow planes, to maintain or change depth.
TBT. Target bearing transmitter, one forward and one aft on bridge; receives binoculars for transmission of bearings to the conning tower.
TDC. Torpedo data computer. Keeps the range to the target current and displays the respective aspects of target and own ship; its angle-solver section computes the proper gyro angle and continuously sets the angle into all torpedoes readied for firing.
Torpedo gyro. The heart of the steering mechanism of a torpedo.
Torpex. The explosive in torpedo warheads; a combination of TNT and metal flakes.
Trim pump. A dual-piston pump for shifting ballast and for pumping to sea.
True bearing. Gyrocompass bearing, or bearing in degrees measured clockwise from earth’s true north.
Ultra. A priority message with information derived from a decoded Japanese transmission.
Very star. Signal flare fired from a pistol.
Zeke. A Japanese Zero fighter plane or bomber.
A Presidio Press Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright © 1977 by Richard H. O’Kane
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Presidio Press, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Presidio Press is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
www.ballantinebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
O’Kane, Richard H., 1911–1994
Clear the bridge! : the war patrols of the U.S.S. T
ang / by Richard H. O’Kane.
p. cm.
Reprint. Originally published: Chicago : Rand McNally, c1977.
eISBN: 978-0-307-87428-3
1. Tang (Ship). 2. World War, 1939–1945—Naval operations—Submarine. 3. World War, 1939–1945—Pacific Ocean. 4. World War, 1939–1945—Naval operations, American. 5. O’Kane, Richard H., 1911–1994. 6. United States. Navy—Biography. 7. Admirals—United States—Biography. I. Title.
[D783.5.T35038 1989]
940.54′51—dc19 88-27104
v3.0
Clear the Bridge! Page 54