[Steeltrap]

I've read both Wahoo and Clear the Bridge. One thing that is evident in reading it was that O'Kane (and Morton) weren't "glory hounds". O'Kane goes so far as to say he believed the loss of a large number of skilled and experienced crew might have contributed to Wahoo's loss, and other subs besides. He makes it clear how much a submarine was reliant on good teamwork with all the key positions knowing what to do and when to do it. He frequently pays tribute to all members of his crew (obviously more often the officers with whom he had the most contact).

At any rate, I found both books real eye-openers. If there's a single episode in either book that had me going "holy ****!!" it was when Tang was going full astern to back off from grounding while firing torps at a target!!!

"One of the truly remarkable things about O'Kane is that in the early days, he was brash, impulsive, almost reckless, and tended to speak his mind openly, sometimes when inappropriate. These types of traits were not good ones for a naval officer, and when leading a submarine into battle they can get you killed."

I remember a passage in Wahoo where O'Kane was reading the regulations regarding the potential need for him to relieve the skipper (not Morton, obviously!!) due to the skipper making a hash of an attack and/or failing to do all that was reasonable to sink a target. The skipper saw the book open in the conning tower and thought it was instructions for servicing some piece of equipment - I think it was packing the scope, but I'm going from memory - and read it, only to find it open at the relevant section of Rocks and Shoals.....talk about an "Ooops!!" moment.....and rather ballsy from O'Kane (still prone to speaking his mind I guess!).

I've heard it suggested quite a few people thought people like O'Kane were nuts, but I got the impression he was supremely aware of what could be done and what couldn't, and was prepared to tiptoe right along the divide between the two. His confidence and apparently brazen performance seemed, at least to me, to stem from that awareness.

Again, thanks for your reply - I've found this is to be one of the most interesting threads in all the years I've been at SubSim.

p.s. did you ever meet any of the surviving 'gods' during your service?
p.p.s. I don't know if it's an age thing, or a reflection of what you've done in your life, but you write very well, with a sophistication of language not seen very often these days (I'm a self-confessed language nut....). It's a bit like finding Tolkien in the middle of Tom Clancy!!