Archive for the ‘And now for something completely different…’ Category

Submarine News: The Past: Discovery of the U-486 and her tale.

And now for something completely different... | Posted by Rebekah
Mar 27 2013

Several months absence can put you far behind on submarine news–even of the historic kind.

Breaking news: a new U-Boat wreck has been identified in Norway.  The U-486’s remains, split by a British torpedo, has been found in 820 feet of water off of Norway.

She was only on her second patrol.  Her first had been amazingly successful, especially given that it was late 1944, and Germany was operating from a defensive position, with many experienced submarine hands already having been lost.

U-468 at sea, likely 1944 or early 1945. Original Image from The Local.

U-468 departed for her maiden patrol on November 26, 1944, out of German-occupied Norway, to circle the British Islands.  Armed with acoustic torpedoes, she also sported a new skin: rubberized tiles coated her hull, designed to counter the Allied sonar.  She circled the north of Scotland and down the western coast of Ireland, approaching her assigned patrol area, the English Channel.  She quickly found and sank the cargo ship SILVERLAUREL, who was en route to Hull from Falmouth, carrying tons of supplies, but only a small crew, most of which was saved.

But on Christmas Eve, she’d strike a greater blow: the LEOPOLDVILLE.

The Leopoldville in her passenger days of the 1930's

By 1944, the old Belgian passenger ship has an old hand on the Southampton to Cherbourg run.  She’d transported over 120,000 men in 23 runs, and now took 2,235 more Americans plus some British troops aboard.  Unknown to them, they were destined for the Battle of the Bulge.

As per usual, she and another troop transport, the CHESHIRE, departed with three escort destroyers, BRILLIANT, ANTHONY, and HOTHAM, and the free French ship, CROIX de LORRAINE.  The trip would be quick, less than 12 hours, and the men aboard, who had abandoned their Christmas celebrations in England, would celebrate in France instead.

But there were some differences for the LEOPOLDVILLE.  For the first time, the entire convoy was ordered to zig-zag, a standard anti-submarine move designed to make it more difficult to aim a torpedo accurately.  The reason? U-Boat activity seemed to have picked up recently, though no one had seen any.

Of course, what no one would know until the war’s end, is the German’s had invented the Snorkel, a specialized pipe that allowed a submarine to draw in the necessary air to run their diesel engines without having to surface.  Now, U-Boats could operate relatively safely even in the heavily patrolled and defended British waters, and they were taking full advantage of that.  Snorkels were soon standard equipment, the U-468, watching the convoy, had one aboard.

Aboard the LEOPOLDVILLE, things were a bit in disarray.  For the fifth time, an incomplete and, as it would turn out, highly error-filled passenger list had been delivered before she left the dock.  Inside, the men were ordered to sit in benches in the former cargo holds and cabins, anywhere they could find room.  This lead to some groups being split up.  A lifeboat drill was called, but due to a faulty loudspeaker system, not everyone heard.  Those that reported were not trained in how to lower lifeboats, or the proper way to wear and enter the water while wearing LEOPOLDVILLE’s life jackets.  A minor oversight that would have severe repercussions.  But one wrinkle that may have initially saved lives: the December sea was rough, forcing many of the men in the hold to make a dash for the heads and rails on the upper levels as soon as LEOPOLDVILLE hit open water.

By 1745 (5:45 pm local time), the LEOPOLDVILLE had already been stopped twice, as the BRILLIANT’s sonar made a submarine contact (which may actually have been the U468).  The alert and depth charges didn’t bother the traveling troops, most of whom had suffered similar alerts on the trans-Atlantic trip the month earlier.

Now five miles from the French coast, the U-468 took aim and fired one torpedo, hitting the LEOPOLDVILLE in the starboard stern.

The U-468 headed for the bottom again to dodge the depth charges that quickly came raining down, while on the surface, the men in the depths of the LEOPOLDVILLE struggled through the debris and newly dead to clamber to the higher decks.  Stairs had been blown away, some debris sank, injuring the flailing men, others floated and became their own obstructions.  The men already on the higher decks reached down and hauled as many men to safety as they could, even those severely injured.

Still, as many as 300 died in the initial attack.

The LEOPOLDVILLE’s deck was now flooded with the passengers. Those in the forward sections knew exactly what had happened, and the commanding officers quickly ordered the men to spread out as evenly as possible, to prevent a capsize.

Everyone was quiet and calm. Three of the escorts were actively hunting the U-boat, while the BRILLIANT was trying to raise help from Portsmouth via radio, or Cherbourg, by signal light.  The CHESHIRE stood off at a distance, unable to risk her passengers to save the LEOPOLDVILLE’s.

As the initial minutes passed, LEOPOLDVILLE looked like she might, despite her wound, be able to be towed to shore.  But complications were starting to show, and the disarray of earlier that day was about to be costly.

Portsmouth and Cherbourg were, for security reasons, on different radio frequencies and codes, forcing BRILLIANT to spend a lot of time switching back and forth.  In addition, being Christmas Eve, everywhere was lightly stationed, giving as many as possible the night off.  The many small vessels that crowded Cherbourg’s harbor and normally would have raced to help at the initial strike, were dark and cold, their owners and crews celebrating in town.

LEOPOLDVILLE began to drift in the current, towards a minefield.   Her captain, Charles Limbor, ordered the anchor dropped, a sensible action which would not pay off later.

Ten minutes after that, about 40 minutes after LEOPOLDVILLE was hit, Limbor ordered all non-essential crew to abandon ship, an order not fully understood even today.  With those men gone, few remained who knew how to raise the anchor, lower lifeboats, or safely evacuate the ship in an emergency.

At the same time the crew was rowing away, HMS BRILLIANT finally managed to get a message to Fort L’Ouest, near Cherbourg, which had noticed the drifting LEOPOLDVILLE.  L’Ouest tried to signal the LEOPOLDVILLE, but BRILLIANT answered: “LEOPOLDVILLE hit, need assistance.”  L’Ouest asked what kind of assistance, but BRILLIANT didn’t reply.

The HMS Brilliant at sea. Undated photo.

At that moment, probably one of the bravest and insane rescues started.  With no one coming and the LEOPOLDVILLE in rough seas, BRILLIANT’s captain decided to take a risk and save some of the trapped men if he could.  Sidling his own, smaller but more heavily armed ship next to the LEOPOLDVILLE, he made his ship available for anyone who wanted to…jump.

This was no mean feat.  Even with LEOPOLDVILLE’s scrambling next hung down her side, the seas were tossing the two ships back and forth and up and down.  The BRILLIANT’s deck, one moment was 12 feet below LEOPOLDVILLE’s deck, another moment, twenty feet, yet another, forty.  Then the ships would yaw apart for one moment, before crashing together the next.  Jumping took nerves of steel, and those that didn’t make it…

Blood soon smeared the sides of both ships.

On the BRILLIANT, the survivors broke bones as they landed.  BRILLIANT’s crew grabbed their hammocks, laying them in the “landing zone” to cushion the falls, and evacuated the injured as quickly as possible.

Five hundred men later, the little BRILLIANT could not physically hold many more, and drew away, leaving hundreds still trapped with no way out.  It was 90 minutes after the LEOPOLDVILLE had been hit, but help was finally coming from For L’Ouest and Cherbourg.  The tug ATR-3 was on her way, as were a number of smaller boats, ready to stand by and help as needed.  BRILLIANT’s commanding officer, noting that even now, there was not much on  LEOPOLDVILE, believed that most of the passengers could still be saved. [1]

The Tug ATR-3 threw tow lines to the LEOPOLDVILLE, but too few on board knew how to tie them, or raise the anchor so LEOPOLDVILLE could set underway.  A Coast Guard cutter tried to sidle up beside LEOPOLDVILLE as BRILLIANT had done, but the sea battered her too badly, and she pulled away before many could get onboard.

Lifeboats were lowered, or cut away, with many of the injured on board, as the men started to improvise evacuations.  Captain Limbor marched through the masses, officially ordering “Abandon Ship” in French and Flemish, as the ship’s loudspeakers had died, but few understood him.  Some lept overboard with improperly secured lifejackets.  If not secured snugly enough, the front and back halves of these jackets “clapped” together as the men hit the water, breaking necks.

Suddenly, between 2020 and 2040 hours (10:20 pm – 10:40 pm), approximately five hours after she had been hit, two explosions were heard deep within the ship, blowing hatch covers and men into the water.  LEOPOLDVILLE keeled over and sank in moments.  Those left aboard scrambled over the side and into the water, or simply stepped into the sea as the ship fell beneath them.

Drawing of the Leopoldville sinking, done by Richard Rockwell, nephew of Norman Rockwell, for the book , "SS LEOPOLDVILLE DISASTER" by Allan Andrade.

The water was 48 degrees, and the waxing gibbous moon low in the sky, giving little light.  Some of those thrashing tin the water were still in their full gear and were dragged down by it.  Others managed to drop what they had quickly enough to re-surface.  The small vessels that had stood by now rushed in to grab the living and the dead.  In the dark, it was sometimes difficult to tell which was which.

Captain Limbor went down with his ship, as well as four crewmen from Belgium and the Congo.  Due to the error-filled, incomplete passenger list, it would take days for the British and the US to figure out who and how many had been lost.  No number has yet been released by the British government (even nearly 70 years later) but it’s probably less than 10.  The American number officially stands at 763, though unofficial numbers frequently reach as high as 802.  It was the second worst loss of infantrymen in the Atlantic Theater.

To finish the LEOPOLDVILLE’s story quickly, the men who survived, nearly 1,400 of them, were re-routed away from the Battle of the Bulge, and most survived the war.  They were, however, forbidden to talk about the LEOPOLDVILLE’s loss, and their letters were censored to make sure.  A highly erroneous story about the loss of LEOPOLDVILLE was released to the official press to confuse any German spies (some said LEOPOLDVILLE was a hospital ship, others said it sank too quickly to help the passengers.)  Some in the Navy believed that the LEOPOLDVILLE’s loss reflected so poorly on them (Christmas Eve, for example, should not have been an excuse to half-staff ports when a convoy was expected, communication should have been more coordinated in case of emergency, especially since U-boat attacks were rising, a lifeboat drill should have been done, records kept accurately) that the story was buried, and the families given few details.  The loss of the LEOPOLDVILLE was little known for decades.[2]

Painting of the Leopoldville wreck, as she's seen today.

In the chaos, the U-468, simply waited until Christmas Day dawned.  No one found her, and she spent a quiet Christmas in the same general area she had been on the eve.  On December 26, as the French people were recovering the bodies of those lost on LEOPOLDVILLE from the beaches formerly known as Omaha, U-468 struck again in the same area.

Two frigates, the HMS AFFLECK and the HMS CAPEL, were hit by acoustic torpedoes, the CAPEL sinking with the loss of eighty-five men.  The AFFLECK, having lost 9 in the initial strike, was stable enough to be quickly towed to the over-crowded Cherbourg harbor, and left as a total loss until the war’s end.

Map showing the location of the three known attacks of the U-468. Both LEOPOLDVILLE and CAPEL went down near the now-famous Normandy beaches that had been taken only six months earlier.

With four kills under her belt, U-468 returned to Norway.  After three months, she was sent out again on April 9.  Three days later, the submarine HMS Tapir, patrolling near Bergin, heard the U-468.  Nineteen minutes later, U-468 surfaced for Tapir’s periscope.  Four minutes after that, Tapir fired 6 torpedoes, one of which hit the U-468.

From the Taipir’s log book:;

0755 hours—One hit was observed on the enemy submarine, which blew up and was seen to disintegrate.  A huge column of brown smoke arose some 500 feet in the air. Breaking up noises were heard on the Asdic  [British equivalent of Sonar] and after the smoke had cleared nothing more could be seen.”

No more was ever heard of the U-468 until now.  Found by accident by Statoil company while seeking a oil pipeline route underwater, U-468 will be left alone with her crew of 48.  Her wreck confirms what Tapir saw, she disintegrated into two pieces.

Sonar image of the U-468's wreck. Her bow has been severed, and she lays on her starboard side. From The Local.

Hopefully, though her wreck location is known, she will be left in peace there.

Some other submarine wrecks haven’t been so lucky this year.

U 468's conning tower, with the periscopes still attached at the top. From the Local

 

For more information:

First, my favorite:  a unique telling of the sinking of the SS LEOPOLDVILLE:


The first ship U-468 sank, the Silverlaurel: http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?9962

An account of the LEOPOLD’s sinking: http://www.uboat.net/history/leopoldville.htm

LEOPOLD’s Sinking from a survivor and what happened to the men after: http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/66thinfantry/index.html

An account of the LEOPOLDVILLE sinking seen from the BRILLIANT: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/54/a1904654.shtml

Another personal account from that convoy: http://donmooreswartales.com/2013/03/04/val-peterson/#more-11752

An announcement of U-468’s wreck discovery: http://www.thelocal.de/gallery/news/1777/8/

 

 

[1] The BRILLIANT made directly for Cherbourg’s port, which was already filled with the half-sunken, scuttled ships the Germans had attacked earlier.  There was one quay left open, and a Jeep had to pull the BRILLIANT in and tie her up.  By the time BRILLIANT’s LEOPOLDVILLE passengers were unloaded, she turned and headed back for more, but it would be too late.

[2] The wreck of the Leopoldville, in 820 feet of water, was discovered by author Clive Cussler in 1984.  She rests on her side, her stern severed and laying beside her.

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USS Miami Fire Update-Arson?!

And now for something completely different... | Posted by Rebekah
Jul 24 2012

Well, I expected to hear quite a bit about the Miami weeks ago, but all was quiet for a long time.  Then this morning, that story took an abrupt and strange turn.

My specialty in submarines lies in their development up to WWII.  That’s not to say I’m not interested in Cold War submarines or modern submarines, but it’s SO MUCH EASIER to get direct information about that time period (when most classifications have been dropped) than the modern time period (where they’re nice and healthy and in place–and from the scuttlebutt I’ve heard strongly hinted at, likely to be for many decades, if not, “Ooops!  A match just fell into this box of sensitive documents.  What will we do?”)  But to my knowledge, there’s been no arson aboard a submarine.

Until now.

The story about the vacuum was on its way to being a freak accident in the annals of submarine history, when a second fire happened in the Miami’s dry-dock cradle on June 16.  It was quickly extinguished, but got investigators thinking that this was one fire too many, so started looking deeper into every aspect of the fire.  And at the bottom of it, they found a very anxious young man.

A drydock worker, named Mr. Casey James Fury, has been arrested and arraigned in federal court this morning with two counts of arson. (Since the Miami is federal property, causing damage to her is a federal offense) He was initially questioned about the small fire in the drydock and soon confessed to that, but denied any involvement in the large fire on May 23.  It was only when investigators told him he had failed the lie detector test that the whole story came out.

It seems that Mr. Fury clocked in for his shift at the Miami on 4 pm on May 23 and reported to work as a painter and sandblaster in the forward section of the torpedo room.  This is deep in the belly of the submarine, seen in the diagram below.  According to the Navy paper, that day, Fury was needle gunning in the torpedo room, or blasting paint and/or corrosion using a pneumatic or electric tool called a needle gun, which is used on irregular surfaces.  At 5:30, he claims he suddenly felt really anxious, grabbed his lighter and cigarettes and went one deck up to the Crew’s Quarters (some articles say “stateroom” which normally would imply an officer’s cabin, but this area is not listed among the damaged compartments, so that could be a misstatement).  Spotting a bag of rags and a vacuum on a top rack, set the rags on fire, leaving when the flames were about two inches high.  The vacuum therefore, had nothing to do with the fire, other than proximity.  Fury then went back to his assigned location and waited for the fire alarm to go off.

All so he could get out of work for the day.  Twelve hours later, dozens of firefighters at risk from three states, seven injured, this fire was finally out.

And the vacuum was eventually announced as the culprit in a truly bizarre accident.

But then Fury had another bad day.  in the early evening of June 16, Fury had a text conversation with an ex girlfriend which worried him, and he felt he needed to get off of work.  Ironically, he was assigned to be “safety watch” that day in Miami’s drydock cradle.  From what I can find, the safety watch’s job is just what it sounds like, to keep everyone safe.  Part of that involves making sure flammable materials and sources of fire are kept separate, extinguishing fires if they start, fighting fires or hitting fire alarm for evacuation if necessary, and making sure, at the end of a shift, that there are no embers, or fire sources still active.

According to the investigator interviewed for the Navy Times, after Fury decided he had to leave early, this is what he did:

“Fury explained that he became anxious over the text conversation with his ex-girlfriend and wanted to leave work,” Gauthier said in an affidavit. “At around 6:30, he started pacing in the area of the [Main Ballast Tanks] and eventually walked aft toward a cut out in the hull near the back of the boat. His mind was racing.”

Fury grabbed some alcohol wipes, setting them on wood in the dry dock cradle. He ignited the wipes with a lighter and walked back to his work area, when the fire alarm sounded and the workers left the boat. The flames were put out before they reached 18 inches high.”

Soon, someone reported seeing a drydock employee in company jumpsuit and hard hat in the area of the fire moments before it was noticed, and soon the investigation apparently settled on Fury.  He was interviewed on July 18 about the June 16 fire, and eventually admitted to it, while denying the Mat 23rd fire.  It wasn’t until July 20, just four days ago,when the full story came out.  To test him, the investigators asked him to retrace his steps on May 23rd aboard the USS Pasadena, an identical submarine to Miami in dryddock there in Portsmouth, then again aboard the Miami herself.  However he explained himself, it was apparently enough to arrest Fury on Friday and arraign him yesterday.

Fury has apparently had his share of problems.  On four different medications for Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia and Allergies, he claims he initially didn’t come forward because of is fuzzy memory of that time.  To his credit, he did check himself into a mental health facility on June 21, six days after the second fire, and checked himself out two days later on June 23rd.

Now he faces life in prison, and a steep fine, as well as potential restitution.

And the story is still not done.  The fate of the Miami still hangs in the balance.  The official estimate of her repairs, for whatever reason, has not been announced, and the Navy is facing budget cuts this year and next.  How deep those cuts will be still hangs on either passing a budget in Congress or raising the debt ceiling.  The only thing that has been announced regarding her repairs, is that if they’re done, they’ll be done there in Portsmouth.

Sources for this blog post and more information:

Stars and Stripes (military paper) about the Miami fire and how it happened

Navy Paper on the same fire

Daily News article on Miami arson and arsonist

Foster’s Daily Democrat Article about Miami Fire and Fury–some interesting details

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USS Miami Fire: The Cause, the Damage, the Future

And now for something completely different... | Posted by Rebekah
Jun 07 2012

One of these day’s I’ll be able to get back to the announcement of a new U-Boat wreck recently discovered (or re-discovered) near Scotland.  I’ve been enjoying researching that story because the U-1206 was one of those boats that we KNOW sank through mechanical failure, and we know how it happened because most of her crew survived (I’ll give you a hint: the seawater that sank the 1206 came in through something most of us sit on to let water OUT)

But some more news came out about the USS Miami this morning, and I wanted to strike while the iron was still hot, as the old saying goes.

And who would have thought a household(ish) appliance would be responsible?

After the Miami was vented, then explored, the Navy was able to assess the damage.  Among those that went through the Miami were Maine’s two senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and Maine’s representative from their First District (which includes Kitterey Maine, where the Portsmouth Shipyard is located) Chellie Pingree.  In addition, Joe Courtney, the representative from Connecticut’s second district (which includes nearby  New London and Groton Connecticut, each major submarine locations, including a submarine-equipped drydock and shipyard) spoke with Navy representatives at the Commissioning of the USS Mississisppi (SSN-782) on June 2. (And WELCOME Mississippi to the Submarine Force!  May you serve long and honorably, together with your crew!–more on her in another post)

First, the damage:  Most accounts agree that the following compartments were damaged:  The Torpedo Room, the Command and Control Center, and some of Crew’s Living Quarters.  Connecticut’s newspaper, The Day, states that crew’s berthing, specifically, was damaged.  Another newscast that specifically cites Sen. Snowe highlighted the “Sonar Room” as one of the highly damaged areas.  Together, that means the damaged sections of Miami are located (roughly) here:

The cross section of a Los-Angeles submarine with the allegedly damaged areas highlighted in red.

Thankfully, there were no weapons on board when this happened and it doesn’t sound like (at least no one’s mentioning it) that the batteries were in any way ruptured, even though they were just below the torpedo room.  In that interview that includes Senators Snowe and Collins, two of the firefighters talked about fighting the blaze–like going into a tin can where the fire’s temperatures are just intense.  Getting in and out of the sub, they said, was like descending into a chimney, but there is no choice.  The worst damage, from all accounts, is in the Control and Command Center and Sonar Compartment, located on the top level.

This is likely Miami's control room, as photographed by the Navy during her 1994 overhaul. According to reports, this room was likely one of the most damaged in the May 23 fire. The only thing I recognize, which hints that this is the control room, is the helm that's just there on the right of the photo. I have to smile when I see the tarps pinned over the dials on the helm's instrument panel. When a similar helm from USS Silversides (II) SSN-679 was delivered to the USS Silversides Submarine Museum, some of those same dials had been removed and replaced by covered wooden corks. Some things are just going to remain classified. Photo source: navsource.org

Miami has been drained and had temporary lights and staging equipment installed, and just late yesterday the cause of the fire was announced:

A Vacuum.

…..?!!!!!

The vacuum in question, whose name, make, model, kind, ect., is still unannounced at this time, was in an unoccupied compartment when the fire started.  Being in an unoccupied compartment probably helped the blaze to spread more quickly than if it had started in an occupied compartment.

But two details that I managed to find, located in the Boston Herald and The Day, added more details to this story.

The Boson Herald’s article states that the vacuum, when the fire started, was UNPLUGGED.  The Day, quoting Rep. Courtney, said that Courtney was told “the Miami blaze started after burning embers in the vacuum ignited other refuse in the machine.”  Makes sense to me.  To complicate matters further and give the fire more time to settle in, the first responders initially went to the wrong level in the submarine, before locating the blaze.  It’s possible, though no one knows (or is saying publicly), that the fire alarm which initially alerted the Miami’s crew and workers to the fire, gave the wrong location of the fire, leading to the confusion.

So that’s how it started and got strong enough to require nearly 12 hours of suppression to put it out.

A photo of crew's berthing from Miami's close sister sub, USS Asheville. Modern US nuclear submarines practice "hot bunking" where two crewmembers share a bunk in alternating shifts. That aside, think about trying to fight a fire down here, two decks below the only way out! Likely in the dark! Source: navsource.org

While initial repair estimates varied (Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal quoted initial repairs at $700 million to $1 billion), the current (very) rough estimate the Navy cited is $400 million dollars, plus another $40 million for cost overruns, since Miami, if she’s repaired, will now be in Portsmouth much longer than her original scheduled release of November 2013.  That $40 million will cover rescheduling and reshuffling other repairs, other sub’s schedules, and possibly hiring other contractors to cover parts of various projects this will now cause or inconvenience.

The Navy and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is quick to point out that investigations are still ongoing and that quote may change.  Right now, Miami is having her internal and external hulls examined for more damage.  Any heat warping or damage here will be VERY expensive to fix.  JAG is still conducting its investigation.  NCIS, having concluded that the fire was not arson or any criminal involvement, has closed theirs.  The results of all the various investigations are expected to conclude soon with an announcement sometime at the end of next week (June 15 or so) about the full extent of the damage, Miami’s fate, and the costs of either recycling or repairs.  So we still have to wait for the conclusion of this story.

From Miami's close sister, USS Asheville, a torpedo room photo. Granted, the torpedoes were off the Miami during the fire, but this might give a hint and the close and cramped quarters a submarine really has. And by the time the fire fighters got this far down, they had to descend THREE decks. The battery, by the way, is just beneath this deck. Batteries which don't like heat. And do like to explode in the right conditions. Those are some firefighters! Source: navsource.org

And those firefighters were probably wearing gear similar to this. Again from the Asheville, taken in 2007 during a civilian dive day, the crew demonstrates fire fighting techniques. Each fireman would have to carry his own air, which, according to articles, only held a half-hour's air. You could carry two. (as an aside, it was December when this photo was taken, and you can get the sense how submariners decorate for the holidays on board) Source: navsource.org

The Navy has a general standing policy of fixing her boat and surface ships whenever possible.  It’s often cheaper to do so.   The Miami, with 22 years service under her belt, cost $900 million to build initially, and has already undergone at least two previous overhauls (1994 in Groton and 2002 in Portsmouth, which included extensive modernization).  The modern Virginia-class boats which are now rolling off the ways in Newport News (VA) and Groton (CT) each cost $2.6 billion, hence the reason we don’t build as many submarines as we used to.  I counted three under construction right now, with delivery dates varying from the Minnesota estimated to be commissioned late next year, to the North Dakota whose keel was laid only this past May 11.  Construction will take between 15-20 months, testing a further 5-8.) So, provided Miami’s repairs aren’t too expensive for the potential years the Navy could now get out of her, they’ll likely keep her.  Right now, that’s the scuttlebutt, that she will be kept, but the final decision is, of course, pending on those final results of the various investigations.

There is, as it turns out, one more resource at hand to help Miami: her older sister, MEMPHIS (SSN 691).  Memphis, who is also a Los Angeles submarine like Miami, served from 17 December 1977 to 1 April 2011.  She came to Portsmouth to begin the inactivation process, which includes de-fueling the reactor (and storing or reprocessing the nuclear rods), shutting down the sub and removing any usable equipment, removing the entire reactor COMPARTMENT before making her watertight and sending her off to be recycled.  So, Miami has a (kind of) twin full of spare parts, sitting in a drydock not too far away which could reduce the costs of bringing her back into service. (Both in money and in time)

Taken on her way to be decommissioned, this is the USS Memphis, whose parts may go back into service aboard the Miami. Source: navsource.org

That’s where the Miami stands for now.  Her future seems to be gleaming again, but the final decision is still coming.  Incidentally, while researching this post, I did some digging into what Miami has been up to for the last 22 years.  It’s always difficult (if not downright impossible) to figure out what and where a submarine is at any given time, but what I did find about her career is interesting.  More on that later.  And the U-1206.  And the mini Japanese submarine recently discovered outside SYDNEY harbor, Australia.  And the USS Mississippi…

 

For more information (besides the links in the article)

http://rt.com/usa/news/miami-nuclear-sub-blaze-254/  (This article also references a similar fire on Dec 29 2011 aboard the YEKATERINBERG in Russia.  YEKATERINBERG is being repaired and put back into service.)

http://portsmouth-nh.patch.com/articles/pnsy-officials-vacuum-cleaner-caused-uss-miami-fire 


 

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USS Miami Fire: What, Where, What Now?

And now for something completely different... | Posted by Rebekah
May 30 2012

Health issues and client work (I do graphic arts and writing in addition to the historical research for this blog…besides all the regular stuff you do with and for your family!) have bogged me down lately, but I do pay attention to some of the search terms that bring people here, and I want to give my readers what they want (or stories they may never find otherwise!) so with a <gasp> moment today, here we go…

There have been submarines in the news a lot lately…from the wreck of the WWII Japanese midget submarine recently discovered off Sydney Australia, to the recently discovered U-1206, to US First Lady Michelle Obama sponsoring the new submarine USS Illinois (joining ranks with former First ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton)…the list goes on and on.

It’s unusual to see this many submarines all at once, but interesting.

As I’ve reached a breathing space in my most recent project for a museum client, I decided to tackle the news story that I noticed a lot of searches for lately: The fire aboard the Miami last week.

Miami, first of all, is a Los-Angeles class submarine which entered service in 1990.  The Los Angeles class boats are the third largest class of submarines in the Navy (second only to the WWII-era Balao and Gato classes, respectively) and have been serving since 1976.  If the Navy continues in their policies, it is unlikely that any Los-Angeles class submarine will be opened for public display as a museum ship, so what we know about their layout relies on information the Navy releases.

Like all nuclear submarines, Miami occasionally has to go into drydock, not only for the normal repairs for regular wear-and-tear that the sea puts on any ocean vessel, but also possibly to overhaul/replace the nuclear plant or fuel rods.  A lot of what exactly happens is, obviously, top secret and kept vague, but what has been released is that Miami entered drydock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Kittery, Maine) for a scheduled 20-month overhaul on March 1, 2012.  Once secure, her nuclear plant was shut down, though her nuclear fuel rods were left on board.   From what I understand from nuc sub vets, if a sub is undergoing significant overhauls or repairs, shutting down the nuclear plant seems to be a standard step.    All weapons, from torpedoes and missiles down to likely the small arms, were also removed.

A submarine is a much more cramped and limited space to work and live in than a surface ship, and when you combine that with welders, braziers, grinders, electricity and other sources of sparks and flame, it can get…interesting.  To that end, whenever there is a possibility of fire, there is a fire watch on duty.  His job is to make sure every safety precaution is taken to keep fire from breaking out and, if it does, keep it from spreading.

The fire on Miami started around 5:45 pm on May 23, 2012, and burned for 12 hours, 5 minutes.  From all accounts, it was a fierce blaze.  These quotes jumped out at me from the accounts I’ve been reading:

“There was stuff burning that I didn’t even know could burn on a submarine,” John Dwire Jr., one of the firefighters, said Tuesday.

Deep inside the hull, Dwire said, he had to cut through the burning wires and cables overhead and then duck or crawl just to get to the fire in the forward section of the Groton-based attack submarine.

“Submariners had their hands full with Miami Blaze” by Jennifer McDermott, the Connecticut Day, May 30, 2012

“It’s like going into a chimney,” said Portsmouth Naval Shipyard firefighter David Funk, who described insulation and wiring fueling a smoky fire that became hot enough for aluminum to burst into flames.

Firefighters offer harrowing account of Maine sub blaze as investigators work to assess damage”  The Washington Post, May 25 2012

Smoke billows from the Miami through the night as the crews worked. Due to the heat, toxic fumes, and oxygen problems, firefighters had to work in shifts, often lasting less than an hour.

In total, seven people were injured between the fire and the fighting, but all, thankfully, have  already been released from medical care.

How or what caused the fire on Miami has not been disclosed, and a thorough investigation is underway about it.  The problem with studying the Sub Force is, for security reasons, we (the public) might never be told the details of all that happened.  Still, what has been released is the fire was located in the command and control and living quarters of the Miami, which puts the fire about here:

A cross section of a Los-Angeles submarine with the possible burned sections (according to description) highlighted.

Apparently, once the firefighters left the submarine, the damaged sections of the boat were sealed, preventing a small stray spark from reigniting another fire.  It’s only been recently that the Miami was opened, vented, and inspected.

From what I’ve been able to find out, the investigation will now (likely) center on some the following questions:

1.) What started the fire and how did it spread?

2.) Were all fire precaution procedures followed?

3.) Where was the fire watch when this went on?

4.) Did everyone follow procedures to limit human injury and casualty and damage to the Miami?

5.) Was this preventable based on current safety procedures (and if so, who carries the blame?)

6.) If this was due to a unique or unforeseen set of circumstances, will more or better fire procedures prevent this from happening again?

There are likely more questions, but those are the ones that seem to pop up in my reading.   On the line could be the careers of the shipyard’s CO (if he did not enforce proper procedures that could have prevented or lessened the damage to Miami), the CO of the Miami (same reason on board his boat) the Fire Watch on duty (if he had fallen asleep or somehow been absent from or derelict in his duty, for example), anyone else involved,  and the future of the Miami herself.

The investigation is currently estimated to be complete in 2-3 weeks.

Miami was scheduled to be practically torn apart and reassembled over the next 18 months, so her future will be partially dependent on what the fire DID.  There are rumors (gotta love scuttlebutt) that the portion of the boat that was damaged was already pretty well gutted, so that’s a point in her favor.  Officially, over 3 million gallons of water were used in dousing the blaze, and some compartments were nearly flooded, so there’s bound to be some water damage as well as fire.  If the heat of the fire damaged her frame or structure in some way that would make her susceptible to underwater weakness, or something else that would seriously compromise the Miami without extensive repairs, the Navy may choose to scrap her instead, despite her relatively young 22 years.  If the damage would cause only a few more months and millions, and the forecasted use of the Miami over the next twenty years outweighs having one less US submarine in the oceans, they may decide to add the fire repairs to the roster and keep moving forward.

How these decisions are made are complex and multi-faceted.  When the San Francisco ran into an underwater mountain in 2005 and practically removed her bow up to the forward battery (one of the few times you can clearly see the sonar array in a submarine’s bow), one of the factors that saved her from being scrapped was the fact that she had just recently come out of an overhaul, including a complete refueling.  It was more cost-effective, from the Navy’s point of view, to keep the San Francisco with her new fuel rods and updated technology, and replace San Fran’s bow with the bow of her soon-to-be-retired sister USS Honolulu.

The exposed bow of the San Francisco after her collision. The ruined sphere that looks like it's made small tiles is the sonar dome. Source: NavSource

 

A fire that ended a submarine’s career early was the fire on the USS Bonefish in 24 April 1988.  While at sea, a leak caused a battery explosion and fire.  The fire was so intense that it reached 1200 degrees and melted the crew’s shoe soles on the deck above the battery compartment.  Three men died and the Bonefish was abandoned at sea.  The remaining 89 submariners were rescued by helicopters from two nearby aircraft carriers and a whaleboat.  The damage, once Bonefish was towed into drydock and examined, was too severe to fix, and she was scrapped.

USS Bonefish fire at sea. The smoke (and toxic fumes) from the fire are billowing out one of the few vents available to it. The crew is gathering on deck preparing to abandon ship. The helicopter is from a naval aircraft carrier that happened to be nearby, and the lifeboat is likely from the whaleboat that assisted with rescue.

 

So what happens to the Miami the next few weeks and months will depend on the findings of the investigation.  Whatever is announced to the public, it’s likely that if she’s saved, the damage was minimal, or minimal enough to warrant her return to the force.

We can all hope for the best, and be thankful that whatever happens, if there is a casualty, it’ll be Miami, none of her crew.

 

 

For more information:

http://bubbleheads.blogspot.com/2012/05/fire-on-uss-miami.html  (Written by a former submariner so he knows what he’s talking about)

http://www.theday.com/article/20120530/NWS09/305309928/10

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120529/OPINION01/705299999  (Features some of the repercussions that the Portsmouth Yard could face due to the fire.)

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20120527-NEWS-205270338  This article features more about the fire watch and how the procedures that are normally followed in drydock cases.

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Veteran’s Day and the Tomb of the Unknowns

And now for something completely different... | Posted by Rebekah
Nov 11 2011

Memorial Day, (in America celebrated on the last Monday in the month of May) began as a way to honor the fallen Union and Confederate soldiers. The concept developed further in the aftermath of WWI.  While the final treaty ending WWI wasn’t signed until 24 July 1923, the fighting ended (temporarily then permanently) on 11 a.m., November 11, 1919.  On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, arms were laid down and the soldiers began the long process of returning home, and remembering the nearly 35 million souls, both civilian and military who had perished.

It became known as Armistice Day at first, and was celebrated as the end of the War to End All Wars.  The effects of WWI were long, and far reaching, even in 1919.  Discounting the events leading up to WWII, people all over the US and Europe sought a way to celebrate and commemorate their men.

The concept of a Tomb of an Unknown Soldier was also started at this time.  A British Chaplain by the name of David Railton was working in France and came across a rough wooden cross marking a grave.  The cross read “An Unknown British Soldier”, and Railton had the idea of bringing one of these unidentified boys back and burying them in Westminster Abbey, alongside the Royalty, artists, explorers, authors and other notable and distinguished personages of Britain, to stand for all the men who would never come back home.  It took a very short while for the idea to take root and get going, and on November 11, 1920, both Britain and France laid an unidentified man to rest in locations befitting the highest honors their countries could bestow. (In England, inside Westminster Abbey, in France, Under the Arc de Triumphe.)  In the British case, a set of unidentified remains were exhumed from their battlefield grave, covered with a Union Jack flag and taken to a chapel where Brigadier General Wyatt and Colonel Gell of the Graves Registration Department chose one, neither knowing anything about which remains came form which battlefield.  Those  remains not selected were respectfully reburied, but the chosen one was placed in a plain coffin and escorted with full honors to a castle in Bologne. There, the coffin was further enclosed    casket made of timbers from the Royal Palace of Hampton Court, bound with iron and a Medieval sword, selected by King George V from the Royal Collection, and a shield bearing an inscription “A British Warrior who fell in the Great War for King and Country.” He was laid to rest, after a long, ceremonial trip, in the West Nave of Westminster Abbey, where soil from each major battlefield covered his grave and 100 women who had lost their husband and all sons to the war stood in attendance, along with the Royal Family.  Today, he rests beneath a black granite stone, engraved with brass melted down from war ammunitions, and wreathed with silken poppies.

I got to see the grave a few years back when I spent an incredible five hours touring Westminster (and it wasn’t nearly long enough).  There are graves EVERYWHERE there, and despite what my parents taught me about being polite in graveyards and not deliberately walking on anyone, you can’t help it.  Except for that grave.  No one, king or commoner, Brit or foreigner, is allowed to step on it, and it’s just incredible how it sits at  the Western door to the Abbey and despite the babble of voices checking out the graves of the Tudors, Edwards the Longshanks, Oliver Cromwell, Chaucer, Dickens, and so so so so many more, that section of the church, voices just fall silent, and people so very carefully, respectfully, move around the soldier, and give him his peace.  Royal Brides, beginning with the Queen Mum, have laid their bridal bouquets there (Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon lost her brother in WWI), including the most recent Royal Wedding this past April.  Foreign heads of state often lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, and he has been decorated with many foreign decorations in the 91 years he’s slept, including the American Medal of Honor. (The only time any of this caused a problem was when a Nazi official laid a Swastika wreath at the tomb in 1933.  A British WWI Veteran  threw it in the Thames.)

The idea soon inspired America.  Four of its warriors from different battlefields were disinterred  and brought to a city hall in Chalon-en-Champagne, where US Army Sgt. Younger laid a spray of white roses on one casket, which was returned to the USA and laid in state until Armistice Day, 1921, when he was laid to rest among the best and brightest of our honored military dead in Arlington National Cemetery.  The ceremony was attended by US President Harding, and, representing WWI ally Britain, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Beatty, who awarded the American Unknown with the highest honor Britain can bestow, the Victoria Cross, which was placed with him before burial.  The marble sarcophagus was built over top his grave in 1926.

After WWII, the Tomb was expanded.  One unidentified soldier from the European Theater and one from the Pacific Theater was exhumed, placed in identical caskets aboard the USS Canberra, where corpsmen and Medal of Honor recipient William Charette, not knowing which casket was from which theater, chose one to join his WWI brother.  A similar method was used to selected the Korean unknown from four candidates as was the Vietnam Unknown.  (In 1998, using DNA technology, the Vietnam unknown was identified and released to be buried with his family)

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no matter the weather, and the assignment to guard the Tomb is considered one of the highest honors in the military. Those who complete the rigorous training never wear any insignia of their own ranks, lest they inadvertently outrank the Unknowns.

In 1954, America even founded a Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier in Philadelphia, and the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier in Biloxi Mississippi in 1981.  (Arlington National Cemetery, of course, was founded as a burial site, originally, for Union Soldiers, many of whom were also unidentified.)

Armistice Day was supposed to help us remember the war that ended all wars, but sadly, WWI ended up being a prelude.  How Armistice Day was remembered developed in many countries, but today, it is the National Day of Veterans Remembrance in many countries of the world.  It is Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom which celebrates with two minutes of national silence, and, since the US already had a “Memorial Day” it is called Veterans Day in the USA, celebrated through a variety of observances, the most famous of all has to be the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

So today, I honor all those who have served, are serving, and will someday serve in our Armed Forces, keeping us safe and defending our freedoms with their years, training, and sometimes, their lives. May we keep reminding ourselves of history so that you may never again find yourselves in another World War.

You are Never Forgotten.

More Links:

Photos of WWI Battlefields, 90 years on

Underground tunnels discovered in WWI Battlefields

Newly uncovered WWI Diary with haunting drawings made at the front

Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier

Facts about Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Website of the Old Guard, the men who guard the Tomb of Unknown Soldier

Other photos and links to various Tombs of the Unknowns around the World

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Dive Detectives Update

And now for something completely different... | Posted by Rebekah
Mar 29 2011

You know, I just realized that I posted this on my Facebook page, my USS Flier Project Facebook page, and my newsletter to the Flier Network, but not here.  <facepalm>

Last time I updated about the Dive Detectives and their show on the discovery of Flier, YAP Films announced that the American rights had been sold to an unnamed channel to be shown at some future (unknown) date.  That was way back in October.

I’m happy to say that all the details have been hammered out.  The Dive Detectives has been purchased by the Smithsonian Channel, and will be shown Sundays at 8 pm beginning THIS Sunday.  I’ll post links and schedules below.

I’ve seen the Flier episode at the special preview held during the Flier Memorial Weekend in Muskegon, and also managed to get my hands on a full presentation of Lost A-Bombs, and I have to say, by and large, I’m really impressed.  The two divers, Mike and Warren Fletcher, were highly professional when I met them that weekend (so yes, I’m more than likely prejudiced in their favor) and more than happy to spend time answering multiple questions from the surviving families, and describing the resting place of Flier.  I’m just disappointed that right now, in my life, I don’t have television AT ALL much less access to a channel like this.  Though, I must admit, I’ve been enjoying the free full episodes Smithsonian streams.  I’m not completely deprived.  Depraved…that’s a matter of opinion.  Deprived…not so much.

Smithsonian seems to sell a number of their series and episodes, both at an online store and on iTunes, so that’s where I’m going to be shopping when the full run is over.

Dive Detectives premieres on Sunday, April 3, at 8 pm with an episode about the iconic Lake Superior wreck Edmund Fitzgerald.  The show about Flier will air on May 1, at 8 pm.  I will post details about the purchase of that episode or the whole series once it’s available/I can find it.

Excited!

The Smithsonian Channel’s page on The Dive Detectives

 

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A strange endpoint to Flier’s grounding….

And now for something completely different... | Posted by Rebekah
Mar 23 2011

Boy, when I go underground, I dig deep and never come up for air, huh? I do apologize for that…again.  Thanks for understanding.

An interesting postscript to Flier’s Midway grounding appeared when I was doing the research for this.  After the war, in the 1950′s, Midway was still a thriving base, complete with schools, housing, medical facilities, recreational facilities, ect. ect.  The one thing Midway didn’t have, however, was a well.  There is no source of fresh water in Midway, and no way to get enough through cistern means.

So it’s freighted in on water barges.  In the 1950′s Midway was struck by yet another major storm, and a water barge grounded…pretty much in the exact same spot Flier had a little over ten years earlier.  This barge is half sunk, either its bow or stern (what’s left of it) is still above water, and the rest gently descends below the surface.  The SCUBA sites for midway describe the water barge as a wonderful place to go snorkling, see fish, take photos, provided the tides and currents are all safe enough to do so.

This Water Barge is visible from Google Earth.  Not very detailed, but it is visible:

There you have it. From what I can gather, this is the point where Flier grounded. The Wreck of the Macaw is due west of it, in the deepest part of the channel.

I’ve never been able to find a good photograph of this barge until I stumbled on an old Blog called “Midway Ranger”.  It’s over two years old now, but it’s a fascinating look at what modern Midway Island is.  Only a handful of people stay there anymore, and tourists are strictly regulated.  It’s the main nesting place for a large number of different kinds of Albatross, more commonly known in WWII as “Gooney Birds”.  Nearly three million birds can be found nesting on Midway Atoll, and judging from the photos, they’re not shy one bit!

But this Ranger posted the only photo of this water barge I’ve ever seen taken from the ground.

Actually, I think this photo is quite stunning. I'm told there are monk seals that are quite fond of that wreck too.

Actually, Midway was also hit by the tsunami that struck Japan two weeks ago.  When it hit Midway, it was only five feet high, but it still managed to swamp Spit Island (the smallest), completely cover 60% of Eastern Island, and 20% of Sand Island, the largest, and only currently inhabited island in the atoll.  There was enough warning to evacuate personnel, but the albatross population was hit hard this year.

So there we are.  If you’re interested in more, check these out:

Midway Ranger Blog (interesting look at a year in the life of a Ranger living on Midway Island.

British Article Documenting the 2011 Tsunami Damage of Midway Island

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The Day that Will Live in Infamy…but it didn’t have to.

And now for something completely different... | Posted by Rebekah
Dec 08 2010

*This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but for a number of reasons, I had to finish it a day late.  We’ll return to the Flier tomorrow (I’ve already started on the next post).  I hope you think it was worth the wait.

It was a quiet Sunday morning.  The winter storms that routinely lashed the sea northeast of Oahu were at it again, pouring rain on Kahuka Point and obscuring most of the horizon with low clouds, though right over Pearl Harbor, the sky was clear.  The fleet lay at anchor, in the neat double rows on Battleship Row, at the small Submarine Base, and even in the dry docks, having their hulls scraped and checked for the corrosion that the saltwater carved into their sides.

The sun had only just risen.  A minimum of crew was on call.  Some were sleeping off the effects of the night before.  Others were at their homes on shore, with their families, undoubtedly looking forward to a relaxing day at church and playing with their children.  A few were already stumbling into kitchens and restaurants and Mess Halls, seeking that morning cup of coffee and a bite of breakfast.

Suddenly, airplanes shot out of the clouds, strafing the ground, dropping bombs on the peaceful ships at harbor.  In moments, the harbor was in disarray, men scrambling to gain their battle stations, but it was already too late.  The ships were already damaged, some severely, both at anchor and those in the dry docks.  Nothing was spared.

The planes headed back out to sea, and there, in the midst of the storm, a small group of ships waited for their return, hiding in the rain, safe from the eyes of radar.  The planes landed safely on the two carriers.

In the Bridge of the lead carrier, the admiral listened with satisfaction to reports of the damage.  When presented with the final report, he smiled, and signed it:

Adm. Harry E. Yarnell

USS SARATOGA

Sunday, February 7, 1932

That’s right.  Pearl Harbor was first attacked on February 7, 1932, nine years before the date that will live in infamy. On December 7, 1941, we as a country pause to remember the attack of the Japanese on Pearl Harbor, and the lives lost there, but few know that the attack on Pearl had been eerily foretold nine years earlier.

See, in the beginning of the 20th century, the backbone of the Navy was the behemoth battleships and destroyers.  Aircraft Carriers and Submarines were considered little more than niche vessels which had limited uses.

But one admiral, Harry Yarnell, believed that the Navy had more to fear from an aerial attack delivered from the deck of a carrier, than from ever larger confrontations between larger and larger ships and deck guns. During the annual combined Navy war games at Pearl Harbor, he set out to prove his point.  Every year, Yarnell’s ships in California would leave for Pearl, “attacking” the battleships stationed in Pearl.  (at this time the military’s main Pacific base was in San Diego, not Pearl Harbor, so Yarnell had the larger fleet.)  Usually, the radio traffic between the massive fleet would be intercepted by Pearl, their battleships would leave harbor, and they would “battle” out in the open sea.

In 1932 however, Yarnell left most of his allotted ships in California with orders to maintain radio silence.  He took Aircraft Carriers SARATOGA and LEXINGTON out to sea with a small escort of three destroyers.  They traveled under radio silence, staying away from the traveled freighter lanes, and sought an area where they couldn’t be seen from the radar towers on Hawaii.  During the winter months, storms routinely happened near Oahu, and here, he hid, knowing the radar couldn’t see them, and no freighter would be near.  To top it all off, he also decided to attack on Sunday, a day he knew was the day most sailors would be off duty, and also most likely to be off-ship.

The “bombs” and “strafing” were just flares and bags of flour, but the referees of the war games judged that Yarnell had been more than successful, sinking EVERY ship in Pearl Harbor, as well as figuratively destroying every land-based plane in Oahu.  In addition, 24 hours after the attack, using what few battleships that had been at sea during the simulated attack, the Pearl Harbor team hadn‘t been able to locate Yarnell’s small fleet.  From Yarnell’s point of view, it had been a complete success, and he and his officers argued that, having proved the effectiveness of an aerial attack from a carrier, they should become more central to the plans of the military, instead of outlying support vehicles for the battleships.

But it was also an idea ahead of its time. The admirals, who believed that the battleship was still the workhorse of the navy, protested the results, insisting that if this was a real scenario, their battleships would have found the aircraft carriers and destroyed them first.

In the end, the battleship officers won, and in the years between 1932 and 1941, the military and FDR ordered the construction of another twelve battleships but only four aircraft carriers, the YORKTOWN, ENTERPRISE, WASP and HORNET.  (and only the ENTERPRISE was supposed to be assigned to the Pacific Fleet, where Yarnell feared a Japanese attack.) The Navy was growing, but the retired Yarnell feared that it was growing the wrong sectors.

What few knew, was the Japanese paid attention to this particular war game, and sent a detailed record to Tokyo about how the surprise was accomplished.  Records later showed that the Japanese War College studied this attack in 1936, coming to the following conclusion:

“in case the enemy’s main fleet is berthed at Pearl Harbor, the idea should be to open hostilities by surprise attack from the air.”

Even stranger, in the winter of 1938, Pearl Harbor was attacked AGAIN.  And like in 1932, she was attacked by American forces during the annual war games.  This time, Admiral Ernest King used the Aircraft Carrier SARATOGA (again) to launch and aerial attack to make the point that Pearl Harbor was still vulnerable to this type of attack.  Sadly, the result of his successful maneuver was the same as Yarnell’s in 1932: nothing.

And in May 1940, the fleet, against the recommendation of Pacific Admiral James Richardson moved from San Diego to Pearl Harbor.  Admiral Richardson was soon relieved of duty and replaced by Husband Kimmel who also had concerns about Pearl but saw what the price for complaining was.

The stage was set, and the Japanese, believing that they would not be able to withstand the full might of the American Navy if the United States entered the Pacific conflict, decided to take out the fleet at Pearl Harbor, following the pattern set in 1932 by Admiral Yarnell.  Their fleet traveled in radio silence, they traveled off the well-traveled shipping lanes of the Pacific, they hid in the foul winter weather, and attacked just after dawn on a Sunday.

The bombs weren’t flour bags, on this, the third attack of Pearl Harbor, and 2,896 men and women died; military as well as civilians.

And the Japanese caused that which they sought to circumvent: the American entry into war.

As a strange ending to our tale, Admiral Yarnell got the last laugh, though I’m sure he never would have used that phrase.  On the morning of December 7, 1941, most of our battleships and destroyers were in port, and were damaged or sunk.  But all three aircraft carriers in the Pacific*, which the Japanese desperately sought to destroy (because they knew how useful they would be) were not in port.  The ENTERPRISE was at sea, returning from Wake Island, and held up both because of foul weather and because some of her escort had run out of fuel and needed to refuel.  The LEXINGTON was at sea, delivering Marine aircraft to Midway Atoll, and the SARATOGA, veteran of Pearl Harbor attacks, was being repaired at San Diego.  Oops, missed.  A miss that would be crucial.

The other crucial miss of course, was the Submarine Base at Pearl.  Not only was the Submarine Base missed, it was never planned to be hit by any wave of aircraft (even the third wave which the Japanese never launched).  By sundown on December 7, the back of the Navy was broken and the Aircraft Carrier and submarine were the best defense against the Japanese threat.

And today, they are backbone of the modern military.

Sources:

“The Real Architect of Pearl Harbor” by Capt. Jack Young, USN (ret.) , published in Naval Aviation Spring, 2005.

Short article about the 1932 attack including excerpts from Navy papers referencing the practice attack

Plus all the links above.

*The other four aircraft carriers, WASP, YORKTOWN, HORNET and RANGER, were in the Atlantic.

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Women on Submarines and Today’s Deck Log

And now for something completely different..., Memorial Ceremony, The Exhibit, Where was Flier 66 years ago today? | Posted by Rebekah
Oct 26 2010

One of the things that most submariners I’ve met have stressed is the fact that they are all one brotherhood.  Granted, the diesel vets enjoy yanking the chains of the nuc vets every so often  “You think it’s rough?  Back in my day…”

But it’s now official: the brotherhood is about to include some sisters whose names don’t begin with “USS”.  The four boats who will carry the teams of women have been chosen, and the women themselves are currently in training.  Their identities are being withheld for now, most likely to allow them to concentrate on their training which would be a lot harder with journalists constantly taking photos and yelling questions every time they dared walk outside.

During the Flier Memorial, I enjoyed talking to two high ranking submariners both of whom are enthusiastic about the prospect of women serving on submarines.  Integrating officers will be easier to accomplish than enlisted, and indeed, right now the Navy has not announced when or if they will integrate the enlisted ranks of the submarine corp (I’m all for all-women crews, an idea floated back in 2007, allows women to serve and eliminates the need for retro-fitting the submarines themselves to accommodate integrated crew–and save us taxpayers about $100 million per sub retrofit)

For more on the subject, see my previous posts about the history of women serving in the military, and women on submarines worldwide as well as this article, released just a few days ago.  (I do try to be fair to both sides, and I myself am on the fence:  I hate, as a woman, being told I cannot do something because I am a woman, but on the other hand, if it ain’t broke…)

USS Flier today is still somewhere off the coast of New England and has no administrative remarks today  (had to use a mimeographed page…)

Finally, I have an announcement and a request.

The announcement is I’m hearing from people who  missed the memorial ceremony and are disappointed that they couldn’t get there.  Well, I put the footage at the end of the Memorial Page on this site, so you don’t have to go looking for it in the backlogs of the blog any longer.

The request: As we’re getting ready to design the exhibit, we’re looking for items that will help bring these men to life for a new generation that’s four generations removed from WWII.  If your Flier family member sent home letters or photos from their time in the Pacific theater, would you consider allowing us to use them for the exhibit or research?  I cannot promise that everything donated will be used, but the more we have to use, the better we will be able to bring these men to life.

The beauty about what we do means that we don’t even need original letters or photos–the information and images of these items will be good enough for what we’re doing.  If you want to send originals for me to scan and I will send the originals back once they’ve been digitized(one family is already choosing this option) or scanning the items yourselves and sending me jpgs or tifs (another family is doing this).  If, of course, your family would be comfortable with donating the letters, we will keep them for future researchers.  These items will help bring these men out of the shadows and making them more than photos on a wall, but men who had girlfriends, wives, dreams, cars, jokes, senses of adventure and fear, and men who did what they felt were right.

If this is something you think you or your family would be interested in, please contact me at ussflierproject@gmail.com  Thank you.

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BREAKING: DIVE DETECTIVES TO BE SHOWN IN USA!!!! (Plus: News from the Museum)

And now for something completely different..., The Exhibit, Where was Flier 66 years ago today? | Posted by Rebekah
Oct 19 2010

We interrupt my blog post I’ve been desperately trying to put together for the last few days to announce that YES!!!!  YES! YES! YES!!!!  Dive Detectives will FINALLY be coming to the USA.  Dunno when, dunno on what station, but YAP Films announced on their site (not the Dive Detectives site if you’ve been checking there) that the series has been purchased by an American broadcaster and will be shown later this year!!!!

WOOOO   HOOOO!!!!!

And now back to that blog post I’ve been working on…

So I’ve been off the reservation for several days now.  Vacation was fun, but of course, when you bring the children, there’s a limit to the fun to be had.  I’m starting to understand the various veins and twitches I saw in my parent’s faces while growing up.  Goodbye sitting in the sun for hours blissfully reading or dozing, hello panicked dashing after children convinced that plugging a fork into an electric socket would be fun.

Oh well, it was a fun time.   Back to some updates…

The interview with James Alls is, if all goes according to plan, this weekend in New Castle, Indiana, the hometown of Flier Chief Kenneth Gwinn. Gwinn’s parents owned a diner that I hope is still in business.  If you have a question you’d like to ask Mr. Alls, be sure to comment or e-mail me at ussflierproject@gmail.com  I can’t promise we’ll get to it, but I’ll sure try.  I’ve already got questions about how the Flier was decorated, if they had any pets, did some sailors think Flier was unlucky (survivor Earl Baumgart later claimed he thought she was from day one), if they had any Crossing of the Line Ceremonies,  and on.  If you’re curious about anything, be sure to ask.  I will be filming, audio recording the session and if he gives permission, will be posting excerpts here and on YouTube.

The museum is (tentatively) hoping to open the exhibit this summer. Everything, of course, depends on money, time and schedule, but winter is our best time to build something like this: we’re less busy.

Now, since the Flier story is almost over, I thought we could do something interesting on here for the next while.  I’ll be delving into the stories of some of the Lost Submarines, but in addition, courtesy of Lt. Liddell, his son Kirk, and the National Archives, I have the complete Deck Logs and War Patrol Logs of the USS Flier (of course, the ones about the second patrol were lost in the sinking.)  They’re an interesting read, and I thought we’d start here on the 18th and 19th of October: the day Flier was commissioned into service, and started taking on food.  (There’s an eye opener!)

This is the record of Flier's first day as a Naval boat. The names of all the commissioning crew are written here: Officers first, by rank, the Enlisted alphabetically by last name.It's amazing how many of these men would still be around in ten months for the second patrol, and which ones wouldn't be. There is a second page for this day, but all it says is: "2200: (hours, or 10 pm): Finished Fueling. Received 50,138 gallons on board." You can click on the image to get a MUCH larger one if you're curious about reading it.

This is the record for the following day, when they started to take on stores while still testing systems at the dock. That's a lot of food, and that list will only get longer, not to mention all the stuff they'll unofficially get their hands on if the Fliers were like some of the other boats I've been told about! Then, as newest boat in the fleet, she was toured by some of the top commanders, including Admiral Daubin. (See Entry for 1300 hours). Interesting, since eleven months from this date, he would be investigating the same CO that's giving the tour of Flier, over the loss of this same boat and crew.

Tomorrow, I’ll post the photos taken of the Commissioning parties.  If you see someone you recognize in them, comment or e-mail, that’s what we’re trying to do, identify people, and tell this story.

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