Pips & Blips

The Mighty Swordfish

subsowespac — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:13:54 +0000

The USS Swordfish (SS-193) ended her first war patrol on January 7, 1942, at Surabaya, Java. She had patrolled the dangerous waters off Hainan Island, where she damaged the 8,407-ton cargo ship Kashi Maru and sunk the 8,662-ton miscellaneous auxiliary Atsutasan Maru. This was the first Japanese ship sunk by a U. S. submarine in the Pacific war. She had been ordered not to return to Manila because the situation there was getting worse. On January 16, 1942, she got underway from Surabaya for her second war patrol with orders to patrol in the Netherlands East Indies, the Celebes islands, and off Mindoro and Luzon islands. The last location would put her in position for two special missions. On February 20th, she entered Mariveles Bay. There she embarked thirteen torpedoes and refueled. The Swordfish then rested on the sea floor until darkness facilitated cover from Japanese aircraft. She then surfaced to embark Philippine President Manual L. Quezon, his wife, two daughters, and son; Vice President Osmena; Chief Justice Santos; and Philippine Army officers General Valdes, Colonel Nieto, and chaplain Captain Ortiz. She transported these individuals to San Jose on Panay Island, where she arrived on February 22nd, and transferred President Quezon and his party to a motor tender. The Swordfish then returned to Manila Bay, where on February 24th she rendezvoused with a PT boat, which guided her through a minefield to a safe location where the submarine embarked the American High Commissioner to the Philippines, Francis B. Sayre, his wife, and a party of nine people. She was under orders to transport these people to Surabaya, but en route orders were received to sail to Fremantle where she arrived on March 9, 1942.

This was truly an amazing patrol by the venerable Sargo-class submarine. In addition to her successful special missions, she also sent the 4,124-ton converted gunboat Myoken Maru to the bottom and seriously damaged the 7,620-ton cargo ship Amagisan Maru.

http://tiny.cc/g6y3i

Undersea Warrior

subsowespac — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:53:55 +0000

I uploaded a review of Don Keith’s new book Undersea Warrior: The World War II Story of “Mush” Morton and the USS Wahoo. The URL is:

http://tiny.cc/94dw6

Fortress Rabaul

subsowespac — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:57:47 +0000

I have posted a review of the book Fortress Rabaul: The Battle for the Southwest Pacific, January 1942 – April 1943, by Bruce Gamble, at the following URL:

http://www.subsowespac.org/books/fortress-rabaul.shtml

The Search For The Dorado

subsowespac — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:10:49 +0000

Douglas E. Campbell’s new book on the missing submarine USS Dorado introduces new evidence that proves she was attacked with depth charges by a U.S. Navy flying boat on the night of October 12, 1943. But did she sink or was she just damaged as a result of the attack? Did she escape unharmed and meet her end by hitting a German or an American mine? And just where could her hulk with her crew be resting now? All this and more is discussed in Campbell’s book. I have posted a review of it at the following link:

http://tiny.cc/v2ihg

Dive Detectives USS Flier Episode

subsowespac — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:21:58 +0000

This morning I received a reminder in my RSS feed from The USS Flier Project that the episode from Dive Detectives: Submarine Graveyard, which shows how the submarine USS Flier’s wreck was discovered and documented, and which also covers some of the searching conducted to locate the submarine USS Robalo, will be aired tomorrow, 16 January 2012, at 10 a.m. on the Smithsonian Channel. If you have Apple TV or another similar device or setup, you can purchase this episode from iTunes for $2.95. I watched it today and it was spectacular. I highly recommend it.

What’s Next for the Hunley

subsowespac — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:47:37 +0000

The removal this week of the massive steel truss that had surrounded the Confederate submarine CSS H. L. Hunley since it was raised from the sea off Charleston almost a dozen years ago has allowed the first clear view of the submarine since it sank in 1864 off the South Carolina coast. The next step in the process of conserving the Hunley is to make modifications to its 90,000-gallon conservation tank so chemicals can be used in it to slowly leach out the salts that infiltrated the Hunley’s iron during her 136-year stay on the Atlantic Ocean floor. The tank modifications should be completed by the end of 2012. Then the Hunley will spend three months in the chemical bath. After her bath, the scientists will drain the tank again and use special hand tools to carefully remove the layer of concreted sand, shell, and silt that encases the submarine’s hull. After this step is completed, for the first time scientists will have a clear view of the Hunley’s skin. They hope to find evidence on it to help determine what caused the submarine to sink on that winter night in 1864 after she sank the Union ship USS Housatonic. There are several theories about what caused her to sink. She could have been damaged by gunfire from the Housatonic. It is also possible that her crew could have been rendered unconscious by the concussion from the blast that sank the Housatonic. Another theory suggests she could have been sunk by another Union ship. For now, as you will see in the picture below, the Hunley is resting in her conservation tank, which has been refilled with chilled fresh water to stabilize the submarine as it awaits treatment.

January 13 2012 Update

subsowespac — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:56:55 +0000

My article on the final patrol of the submarine USS Swordfish (SS-193) has been updated with its patrol data and tonnage scores under JANAC, SORG, and Alden-McDonald. I also included some new information in the discussion of her loss possibilities. … Continue reading →

Hunley Truss Removed Successfully

subsowespac — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:07:51 +0000

I am an extra proud South Carolinian today! Yesterday the team at the Clemson conservation center successfully removed the truss from the Hunley’s preserved hulk. Hopefully this will lead to more discoveries relating to how she and her crew were lost. I had the pleasure to watch this event as it took place via a video feed for members of Friends of the Hunley. Below are two pictures from that feed. Note that the water had been drained from the conservation tank in which the submarine Hunley rests.

Article Updates

subsowespac — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:51:49 +0000

I am finally back in the midlands after enjoying two months south of the Florida frost line. It was nice, but it begins to get a bit crowded down there this time of year. It’s snow bird season. I managed to update six articles while I was there – Grenadier, Grunion, Growler, Gudgeon, Herring, and Sculpin. I included the JANAC, SORG, and Alden-McDonald scores for each boat, as well as the usual patrol data for each submarine. The Herring is especially unique because she also served in the Atlantic, for which she generally has been scored for sinking two vessels. JANAC only scores the Japanese vessels, whereas SORG and Alden-McDonald score her for both theaters. For her Atlantic service, SORG credits her for sinking a Vichy French cargo vessel and a German submarine (U-163). The Alden-McDonald score credits her only for the cargo vessel and provides evidence that the U-163 was sunk instead by the Royal Canadian Navy corvette HMCS Prescott. Only five more boats to update with the comparative scores and patrol data!

USS Argonaut APS-1

subsowespac — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:19:35 +0000

A great article on the submarine USS Argonaut (SS-166 & APS-1) has been posted at The USS Flier Project. It has a lot of interesting pictures of the Argonaut, her crew, and events she participated in. I highly recommend it.