Submarine Trivia

[Frame57]

Ok, I will start and anyone that has new stuff please add on.

Which boat was credited with sinking three Japanese Submarines in WW2?


What was the Skippers name?

How long did it take to bag all three Submarines?

Where can this boat be seen today?

[Rockin Robbins]

Batfish, Captain John K Fyfe, 3 Japanese subs in three days, beginning on February 9, 1945. They were tipped by Ultra and sent to a spot for the specific purpose of nabbing a submarine. They paid off 3-1. http://www.subvetpaul.com/Saga_02_85.html thank you Paul Wittmer for preserving this irreplaceable website of the US Sub Vets of World War II.

[Rockin Robbins]

Fyfe swung his glasses on the reported bearing and saw what the lookout was seeing: Japanese submarine, unobtrusive shears, very low in the water.

"She doesn't appear to be zigzagging, Captain," commented the exec.

"Radar bearing dead ahead, range one three double oh." sounded through the bridge speaker. A moment later, the range to the target was 1,200 yards. BATFISH was on a course for a ninety-degree starboard track. Fyfe had made up his mind to shoot when the gyro angles decreased ten more degrees to ten degrees left.Holy cow! He's running the first case I can document of a Dick O'Kane type attack! Course 90º to the track, ten degree lead angle, most of the elements are there. That is entirely cool. :cool:

Notice that he's going to shoot 10º early because he, like me, really does not want to be spotted and every second of delay means another second for some sharp-eyed enemy lookout to ruin your day. He's also not running the Dick O'Kane technique as I teach it in the game because he's tracking the decreasing gyro angle. That is done with the help of the PK. But all the other elements are there!

[Frame57]

Bravo on all questions. Your reward will now be to post the next trivia question.....:salute:

[peabody]

Bravo on all questions. Your reward will now be to post the next trivia question.....:salute:
Which boat was credited with sinking three Japanese Submarines in WW2?

What was the Skippers name?

How long did it take to bag all three Submarines?

Where can this boat be seen today?

Hold on there he didn't finish the answers. 4 question 3 right that is 75%, almost failed. Come on RR finish it.:know:

Peabody

[Rockin Robbins]

We don't smoke mar-wana in Muskogee..... But we put submarines on dry land!

http://www.ussbatfish.com/wmp/sub.jpg

It was either that or import lake Michigan to Oklahoma.:hmmm:

[Rockin Robbins]

OK, next trivia question. I'm going to keep this historical for now. Future victims can do as they please.

In 1944 a submarine was fired on from 9,000 yards by a Japanese destroyer. One shell landed in this submarine's wake, the other was a direct hit, holing the pressure hull and rendering the sub impossible to dive. After hightailing it out of there, this captain was ordered to abandon ship to another submarine. He unloaded his crew, but decided to personally disobey the order and attempt the trip back to base. So he led the other sub over 5 days and 2,000 miles, sucessfully returning the damaged goods to a waiting very unhappy admiral.

Time, both subs involved and name of captain please! :salute: Extra credit for the name of the admiral.

And a hint, an actual photo of the sub, showing the path of the dud 8" shell through the boat taken as she was landed at.....base. Hold it. I have to disguise the origin of that pic!:har: A look at the URL would have spilled the beans for sure. OK, we're cloaked...
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/shell.jpg

[Frame57]

The boat was the Bergall and her Skipper was CDR J.M. Hyde. The other boat was the Angler. I am stumped on the Admiral so I have to guess Lockwood or Vogue.

[Frame57]

That was a good one RR. I spent three hours reading Patrol logs to find it...I will cook up a good one for you guys. But I will see if anyone else wants to jump in beforehand.:arrgh!:

[breadcatcher101]

I believe the Admiral was Christie.

[Frame57]

Which boat had the crew earned the nickname "Joe's Jugheads"?

What was this boats claim to fame in WW2?

What was this boats most successful post war contribution?

[Rockin Robbins]

Yes, Admiral Christie was the admiral and isn't that a remarkable story, with a DD firing two shots from 9,000 yards with one direct hit, luckily a dud, holing the pressure hull. Christie said "abandon ship" and Hyde said "no way!" His command survived the infraction.:yeah:

[Rockin Robbins]

Joe's Jugheads was a dual purpose name, referring both to Joe Enright's crew and a wolfpack consisting of Archerfish (the only submarine ever renamed by its crew!), Batfish and Blackfish.

Joe was a hard-luck guy who felt so responsible for all his misses early in the war that he resigned his commission and took up a position on Admiral Lockwood's staff. Unfortunately, after the deed was done, he found out it wasn't his fault. Admiral Lockwood esteemed Joe so highly he wasn't willing to give up his services at Pearl and it looked like Joe had gone to sea for the last time. But by and by the Admiral relented, just as the USS Archerfish was coming available.

Joe wasn't too successful in Archerfish. Only sank one ship of any size at all. But you see Joe's luck had changed. His one decent success just happened to be the Japanese super-carrier Shinano. Even then his luck held and they cheated him out of half the true tonnage of his prize. After the penalty he still had the largest target of the war and it put him in the top ten tonnage producers of the war all by itself.

After the war, Archerfish's most successful production was its tour of the Pacific as the Playboys of the Pacific, sponsored by real Playboy bunnies and everything! They were giving goodwill tours everywhere and living the high life. So you KNOW that can't be the end of it. They were really performing sensitive top-secret Operation Sea Scan, the first detailed scientific survey of the underwater ocean environment. They had sophisticated gravitometers, salinity testers, magnetic anomoly testing, high voltage scientists... the job wasn't fun but their cover story was a blast!

[Fish40]

OK, let me give it a whirl: In the movie "Destination Tokyo" starring Carey Grant, a crew member aboard the sub "USS Copperfin" comes down with an acute case of appendicitis and needs an emergency operation. The surgery was successfully performed by the Pharmacist Mate aboard. This movie event was copied from an actual case which happened aboard what submarine?

[Frame57]

RR you are a wonder of knowledge. Bravo! Fish I am gonna be up tonight looking for this one...:salute:

[Frame57]

Wheeler Lipes was the fella who did the surgery on the Seadragon.:woot:

[Frame57]

Which American Sub was involved with an International Sub to Sub rescue?

What Nationality was the origin of the sub being rescued? And her hull number?

[NEON DEON]

Which American Sub was involved with an International Sub to Sub rescue?

What Nationality was the origin of the sub being rescued? And her hull number?

The Dutch Sub O 19 Grounded on Ladd reef and the USS Cod rescued the survivors.

This is a great video of the incident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF0OVO1QXJ0&feature=related

[Fish40]

Wheeler Lipes was the fella who did the surgery on the Seadragon.:woot:


I didn't know that there was more than one of these surgeries done at sea (turns out there were three I think). However, the actual surgery that was reflected in the movie was done on the Silversides. Check this link, and scroll to the "trivia" section.
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu7pxZdxJ8nsAyXhXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyOTh2M2Z sBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0Y2NTRfNzM-/SIG=11ojd46ff/EXP=1239267057/**http%3a//www.imdb.com/title/tt0035799/


Turns out we're both right. Although the actual surgical event was the one performed on the Silversides, the use of the "homemade" improvised instruments was taken from the surgery on the Seadragon. How about that!

[Frame57]

Very Cool Indeed. I would not want to be the recipient for sure. Ok Neon post us one as I will be gone for a couple days.:salute:

[DaveyJ576]

What submarine earned the nickname "The Race Track Boat" and what were the circumstances surrounding the nickname? :hmmm:

[Frame57]

Davey, is this WW2 era?

[peabody]

What submarine earned the nickname "The Race Track Boat" and what were the circumstances surrounding the nickname? :hmmm:

I'm going to guess the Guardfish because of all the "legends" involved after seeing a 'racetrack' on the map.

Peabody

[Rockin Robbins]

OOOOOO that's a good one. I'm familiar with it but the dessicated brain just won't retrieve the information. It's well-hidden in my books too! No joy so far...:DL

[DaveyJ576]

Yes, this is a WWII story, and you guys are getting close. Should I fill you in?

[Frame57]

Yesterday I had a tooth yanked and then had a bone graft, so i could not sleep and read and read and read. Could not find it. You have stumped me. Let's see what the other fellas say before you reveal this mystery boat.:salute:

[Sniper31]

I'm very interested to hear the answer for this one. I have no idea, but then I don't know enough about the history.....yet;)

[Sniper450]

Early in the war, Life Magazine published an article about the USS Guardfish that claimed the submarine had penetrated so far into the Sea of Japan that the crew was able to watch a horserace that took place on the island of Honshu. In actuality, the submarine's skipper had commented on being able to see a set of railroad tracks that may have been taking passengers to a racetrack that had been identified on their navigational chart. The story was blown out of context and became more embellished at every retelling.

militaryhistoryonline.com

[DaveyJ576]

Okay, Sniper450 got it. :woot:

It was indeed the USS Guardfish (SS-217) under the command of LCDR Thomas "Burt" Klakring, who during her first war patrol very close to the Japanese coast actually observed what Sniper450 described above. Guardfish had an outstanding patrol and sank five ships for 17,000 tons. Upon return from patrol the press went crazy and in subsequent interviews the story of sighting the train came out. A reporter seized on the story and played it up. Klakring was interviewed about the subject and succumbing to pressure embellished the tale a little (as sailors normally do), adding the part about seeing a horse race and even placing bets on the outcome. The press had a field day and as the story was told and retold it eventually even had Guardfish entering Tokyo Bay to watch the races! The racing commission of New York made Klakring an honorary member.

The story was popular and struck a chord with the public. It was good for morale and the Guardfish crew enjoyed telling it over and over. It took years before someone finally spilled the beans and revealed the story to be nearly 100% bilge.

[Sniper31]

Very nice...thanks much for that bit 'o sub history. :cool:

[Frame57]

Awesome stuff! OK, now for some technical trivia. We know the Sub force had a lot of problems with the torpedoes. What did Admiral Lockwood do to improve the Torpedoes that the Bureau of ordinance would not do?

[MonTana_Prussian]

He ordered the disabling of the magnetic influence detonators,I believe.

[Fish40]

Awesome stuff! OK, now for some technical trivia. We know the Sub force had a lot of problems with the torpedoes. What did Admiral Lockwood do to improve the Torpedoes that the Bureau of ordinance would not do?


Lockwood ordered the "Frenchmans Bay" fireing tests in June/42 which confirmed suspicions of deep running torpedoes. He ordered the sub crews to set their torpedoes 10' higher than normal to offset the defect.

[Frame57]

Bingo! He also found faulty firing pins and had to have them fixed before they went to the boats. Which astonishes me that the idiots running the Bureau of Ordinance were not court marshalled. The Skippers knew full well that the problems were due to the torps and not lets say the TDC.

[DaveyJ576]

Hey Frame! Try this one on for size...

The following boats all have an unusual thing in common: Herring (SS-233), Gurnard (SS-254), Shad (SS-235), Blackfish (SS-221), Besugo (SS-321), and Flounder (SS-251). This shared circumstance makes them unique amongst all of the USN submarines in WW2. The only hint I will give is that it pertains to operations and not technology.

Cue Final Jeopardy music here...:know:

[Frame57]

Davey, you are just plain evil....:up:

[Frame57]

This is a calculated guess but many other boats could be included in this. I am going to say that they were involved with wolfpack attacks...?

[DaveyJ576]

Hahahahahaha (that is my best evil scientist laugh)... no. Wolfpack is not the answer! :D

[Frame57]

SIGH! OK back to the patrol logs....:arrgh!:

[Frame57]

Ok I am searching for a common thread on these boats and found most but not all listed that sank/attacked german U Boats. If it is not this then I raise the white flag:wah:

[DaveyJ576]

Well...due to a recently discovered technicality, I am forced to remove Gurnard from the list. That might make it a little easier for you.

[NEON DEON]

Besugo sank U-183

Flounder sank U-537

Herring sank U-163

Shad sank a German trawler and damaged a destroyer escort in the Bay of Biscay

Blackfish sank German guard boat No 408.

Gurnard sank German I dont know what but it is on her after war conning tower.

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/NEONDEON1955/Gurnardcontowershowinggermanflag.jpg

The problem with this is The Barb, which is not on the list, sank a German tanker which is also on her battle flag.

And the Tarpon sank the German raider Michel.

[Frame57]

Ok, so then they all sank German naval forces of some sort?

[DaveyJ576]

Okay Frame, you got it. I am suitably impressed! :yeah:

Actually, not all of them sank U-boats, but all sank German ships of some sort. The recently mentioned Gurnard had to be removed from the list as the ship she sank was indeed German, but when she sank it the owners were Japanese so she gets removed from the list on a technicality.

I didn't think you would get that one. The German ship angle is pretty obscure. Good work!

EDIT

Oops... missed the Tarpon and Barb. Thanks for the update!

[Frame57]

That was a good one... I was only able to find the U boat incidents but not the others that Neon cited. But before I sign off I guess I will throw one out here for you guys to chew on.

The term "Hells bells" (Not the AC/DC song). Came from an interesting operational finding of the Sonar Operators on the Boats in WW2.

What did that term decribe?

[MonTana_Prussian]

That would refer to the deep 'gong' like sound made by the FM Sonar when it detected a mine.

[Frame57]

Bravo montana! I am gonna have to find harder ones. OK your turn....:salute:

[MonTana_Prussian]

Thanks Frame. I had just finished reading an article on USS Bowfin,and that was mentioned! Just lucky I guess,since I was a 'Black-Gang Snipe' on USS Midway CV-41,and not a Bubblehead!:D

Okay,this should be really easy:

Only one US Navy vessel conducted a combat operation on Japanese home soil in WW2,Name the boat,CO,and leader of the landing party.

[Frame57]

The Barb under command of CDR Fluckey. The raid was on Sakhalin Island and involved blowing up a Japanese train. The Raid was led by Lt. W.M. Walker.:salute:

[MonTana_Prussian]

Ah,I knew that would be too easy,but I don't have the knowledge you and Davey have.:know:

[Frame57]

Not all that easy Montana. The only clue that led me to the story was i thought that possibly the CO would have recieved a high medal for this. So, I searched all the CO's that earned medal of honors and read their patrol logs. Took quite a while...It was a neat read. In fact Fluckey told his crew if they got in a jamb, to head toward Siberia....I think he was serious.

OK, this one is easy. Which boat had the deepest recorded depth during WW2? American boat that is.

[Sniper31]

Would it be Grouper, under the command of Claren E. Duke, during the Battle of Midway? This boat dived to 600 feet accidentally and successfully recovered and climbed back to a safe depth.

[GulfXray]

We don't smoke mar-wana in Muskogee..... But we put submarines on dry land!

http://www.ussbatfish.com/wmp/sub.jpg

It was either that or import lake Michigan to Oklahoma.:hmmm:

I lived in/around Muskogee for probably 10 yrs and never visited the sub.... I may run down there some weekend and take a few photos...

ps - merle haggard was wrong...

[Frame57]

According to Alden the Grouper has the official record, but the un-official one is for the Salmon which is believed to have exceeded 600 feet. These incidents gave rise to the notion that the Balao class could do 900 feet. But Lockwood pulled in the reigns on this to avoid a potential risk. Even though the thicker hulls could withstand it, the other consideration were the hull fittings and valves that were not rated for such pressures.

OK, lets keep em rolling. This is like a refresher history course that is actually fun....:salute:

[DaveyJ576]

One U.S. submarine actually made an approach on a Japanese ship while flying the Japanese national flag!! What was the boat and the circumstances involved? :D

[Armistead]

The largest sub built in WW2, in fact they were the largest subs built until the Ben Franklin class of nuclear subs in 1965?

Name the class.
One was leftover and surrendered to the US navy..name the number.

Obvious it was a jap sub, so this should be easy.

[Armistead]

This American sub after being depth charged, surfaced to find an unexploded depth charge caught in it's con tower?

[Armistead]

This sub was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.


Looking at other info and trivia, I found these interesting.

The first German serviceman killed in WW II was killed by the Japanese (China, 1937), the first American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians (Finland 1940); highest ranking American killed was Lt Gen Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps. So much for allies.

2. T he youngest US serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham, USN. He was wounded and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age. His benefits were later restored by act of Congress.

3. At the time of Pearl Harbor, the top US Navy command was called CINCUS (pronounced "sink us"), the shoulder patch of the US Army's 45th Infantry division was the Swastika, and Hitler's private train was named " Amerika." All three were soon changed for PR purposes.!

"Sink us".....that took a real DA to let that one get by.

[MonTana_Prussian]

Yeah,Changing CINCUS to COMINCH was a good call:D

[Rockin Robbins]

This American sub after being depth charged, surfaced to find an unexploded depth charge caught in it's con tower?
I'm exempting myself from answering this one because I posted about it in the past month or so. The answer is in the US Subvets of World War II website.:up:

[Nisgeis]

This American sub after being depth charged, surfaced to find an unexploded depth charge caught in it's con tower?

Not sure about the conning tower specifically, but USS Gato surfaced to find one on her deck.

[DarkFish]

This sub was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.
U-1206, a type VIIC, sunk April 14th, 1945
Not the smartest sub captain either. I mean, everyone knows you should never go to the toilet without taking a trained toilet specialist with you:doh:
:rotfl:
http://uboat.net/boats/u1206.htm


this should be a hard one. I couldn't confirm the story but I got it from a reliable source so I believe it's true.

What submarine towed back an aircraft, unable to take off, to its naval air station in the orkneys?
Sub's nationality and aircraft type will do.

[eljeffo41]

In Clear the Bridge one of Tangs crew mentioned 712 feet at one end of the boat,apparently the guage didn't go that far but he looked at a sea pressure guage and did the math! I think it was the Exec and he kept his mouth shut about it at the time!:o

[DarkFish]

well, it didn't happen in ww2 but it was with the ww2 balao class submarine USS Chopper. In 1969 she suffered some kind of failure and descended down to 1011 ft (measured from the bow).
Within seconds, Chopper’s angle increased to 45 degrees down and her bow passed 440 feet (130 m) of depth. Because of the power loss, the Officer of the Deck was unable to communicate with the Senior Controllerman in Maneuvering room, but the senior man in the Maneuvering Room independently ordered both main motors back full. Despite the backing bell, blowing ballast, and other efforts to regain control of the submarine, the down angle continued to increase, and within one minute of the power failure, Chopper was nearly vertical in the water, bow down. Chopper’s bow is estimated to have reached a depth of 1,011 feet (308 m); her stern 720 feet (219 m).

[DaveyJ576]

The largest sub built in WW2, in fact they were the largest subs built until the Ben Franklin class of nuclear subs in 1965?

Name the class.
One was leftover and surrendered to the US navy..name the number.

Obvious it was a jap sub, so this should be easy.

This was the Sen Toku class and consisted of I-400, 401, and 402. All three boats were surrendered to the USN at the end of the war and thoroughly studied and evaluated at Sasebo. The 402 was then deliberately scuttled off Nagasaki and the 400 and 401 scuttled off Hawaii. This was to prevent them being turned over to the Russians who were making strong demands in that regard.

[MonTana_Prussian]

This was the Sen Toku class and consisted of I-400, 401, and 402. All three boats were surrendered to the USN at the end of the war and thoroughly studied and evaluated at Sasebo. The 402 was then deliberately scuttled off Nagasaki and the 400 and 401 scuttled off Hawaii. This was to prevent them being turned over to the Russians who were making strong demands in that regard.

Yeah,as if the Russians should have been demanding anything,after fighting Japan for what,2 weeks?:haha:

[DaveyJ576]

One U.S. submarine actually made an approach on a Japanese ship while flying the Japanese national flag!! What was the boat and the circumstances involved? :D

Come on, isn't anyone going to take a bite? It really did happen! As we say in the Navy, "This is a real no-shi**er!" :DL

[DarkFish]

One U.S. submarine actually made an approach on a Japanese ship while flying the Japanese national flag!! What was the boat and the circumstances involved? :DUSS Silversides (SS 236)
On 17 May, while maneuvering through an enemy fishing fleet and approaching her targets, Silversides' periscope became entangled in a fishnet marked by Japanese flags held aloft on bamboo poles. The sub continued her approach, fishnet and all, and fired three torpedoes at the first ship, a 4,000 ton cargo ship. Two hits tore the victim's stern open. While that ship was sinking, the second cargo ship was also hit, but its fate could not be determined. Patrol boats were closing in as the submarine, probably the only American submarine to make an attack while flying the Japanese flag, quickly left the vicinity.took me a whole lot of searching to find this

[DaveyJ576]

Score one for the DarkFish!! :salute:

[MonTana_Prussian]

Hey Davey,you know the difference between a Fairy tale and a Sea Story Right?:D

[Frame57]

That was a good one but I got beat to the draw on it. :arrgh!:

[NEON DEON]

Hey Davey,you know the difference between a Fairy tale and a Sea Story Right?:D

Is that the new trivia question?:DL

[MonTana_Prussian]

Is that the new trivia question?:DL

No,just a query:D

Do you know the difference?:cool:

[Frame57]

Which American Sub was the first of WW2 to engage the enemy in combat?

[Arclight]

USS Tautog was credited with downing a Kate during the attack on Pearl. Or did you mean the first to engage an enemy ship?

[Rip]

Hey Davey,you know the difference between a Fairy tale and a Sea Story Right?:D

A fairytale start with "Once upon a time", whereas a sea story starts with "This is no ****"

[NEON DEON]

Which American Sub was the first of WW2 to engage the enemy in combat?

The SS-166 USS Argonaut made a run on Japanese Destroyers raiding Midway at sunset on December 7, 1941. Argonaut's tactic as defined by skewed doctrine. A sonar approach.

Another big cruiser sub The SS-167 was present at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7th and shared credit in downing two Japanese planes. One with the Tautog and the other with a DD.

[Wolfling04]

Here's one:

Which WWII U.S. sub had a record of aggressive daring exploits which became almost legendary in which the Captain used the famous "down the throat" shot on numerous Jap destroyers.

What was the subs name, Capt's name, and her motto?

[Arclight]

Wahoo, Dudley W. "Mush" Morton, "Shoot the Sunzabitches.".

Just a guess, I actually have no idea. :oops:

[Wolfling04]

nope :D


She completed 6 war patrol all considered a success

[Frame57]

I think the tautog was first, but the other boat was a good find too. :up:

[Arclight]

At least I got something right. :haha:nope :D


She completed 6 war patrol all considered a successThen my next guess would be USS Tang, commanded by Richard "Dick" O'Kane, no clue on his motto though. :hmmm:

"A tradition of honor." ?

[Wolfling04]

good guess but nope

The captain was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor

[Arclight]

USS Harder, commanded by Comdr. Samuel David Dealey. Still working on the motto. :hmmm:

I think "hit 'em harder" was the ships motto, and "hit 'em again, harder" a nickname.

[DaveyJ576]

The "Up the Kilt" shot. What is it, who was the first to try it, and was it successful? :o

[Rockin Robbins]

Well a totally irrelevant reply would be that the first "down the throat" shot was fired by Pompano on Jan. 17, 1942.

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Pompanofirstdownthethroatfromlog.jpg

[breadcatcher101]

I like this thread, I will offer a few ones later as I am re-reading Silent Victory and have yet to get to the ones I am thinking about. A great way to learn about WW2 history.

[Frame57]

OK, This one veers a little of course, but because most folks have heard this quote a lot i thought it has bearing.

Who said, "Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!"

What was really being referred to as "Torpedoes"?

[NEON DEON]

OK, This one veers a little of course, but because most folks have heard this quote a lot i thought it has bearing.

Who said, "Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!"

What was really being referred to as "Torpedoes"?

Admiral Farragut Union officer Durring civil war when he attacked Mobile Bay. One of his ships hit a torpedo which was in reality was a mine. Thus the quoate.

[MonTana_Prussian]

A fairytale start with "Once upon a time", whereas a sea story starts with "This is no ****"

Yep,that's it...:D

[Rockin Robbins]

And since my first reply to the "up the kilt" was irrelevant, I thought I'd come back with the answer from US Submarine Operations in World War II by Roscoe and Voge, page 148:

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Plungerfirstupthekiltshot.jpg

[MonTana_Prussian]

And since my first reply to the "up the kilt" was irrelevant, I thought I'd come back with the answer from US Submarine Operations in World War II by Roscoe and Voge, page 148:

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Plungerfirstupthekiltshot.jpg

June 30, 1942.

My favorite shot,Up the Kilt...works very well at night.

[Rockin Robbins]

If you read the documentation for Real Fleet Boat you can read my "up the kilt" encounter with a fully alerted enemy who was making as good speed as I was. After wasting several shots, I gave up on "up the kilt" opened the throttles on my last spurt of battery power, pulled abeam and let loose a VERY high gyro angle shot at about a 90º torpedo track angle. It was a perfect hit, a perfect dud and I went home empty-handed. That was one of my most memorable encounters of all time.

[Wolfling04]

Yep USS Harder and Hit' em Harder was the motto


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Harder_(SS-257 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Harder_%28SS-257))


A personal favorite of mine since I read a book about her several years ago titled "Through Hell and Deep Water" great book

Out on patrol right now w/ her 1st patrol 28k tons

[Frame57]

Ok, I had to REALLY REALLY work my butt off to get this one. (Ha!) Which US Sub attacked a Russian Trawler? What was the method of Attack?

[Nisgeis]

Drag him under by the net?

[Torplexed]

Ok, I had to REALLY REALLY work my butt off to get this one. (Ha!) Which US Sub attacked a Russian Trawler? What was the method of Attack?

In July 1943 while on patrol in the Sea of Japan, the USS Permit sighted a small craft that commander Moon Chapple thought was a Japanese patrol vessel. After firing a few shots from the deck gun the craft displayed a white flag and Chapple discovered she was a Russian fishing trawler manned by a crew that included women. One man had been killed and another mortally wounded. Moon ordered the survivors aboard and withdrew from the Sea of Japan. The survivors were treated very well while on board and were eventually dropped off in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. In the official report filed by the trawler captain the Russians even covered for Chapple, claiming they had been attacked by a Japanese sub and the Permit had chased it off.

[Frame57]

:salute::salute::salute:

[Frame57]

Who was the first sub skipper to have a "nervous breakdown" at sea? Name his XO who relieved him.

[Arclight]

John B. Griggs, Jr. commanding USS Dolphin, replaced by B. A. Clarey.

Just a guess, hard to say if he was the first. Is the question even limited to the WWII timeframe? :06:

[breadcatcher101]

I forgot the name of the sub that flew the Japanese flag, but it had tangled in some fishermans' net which had floaters with the Jap flag. It attacked a ship dragging the net along with the Japanese flag along with it.

[breadcatcher101]

Which WW2 American submarine had a motorcycle on board for the skipper's use when he was in port?

[Frame57]

Hmmmm! I am stumped on this one.:hmmm:

[NEON DEON]

Which WW2 American submarine had a motorcycle on board for the skipper's use when he was in port?

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/NEONDEON1955/lattafd371bgn3.jpg


Latta commanded both the Narwhal and Lagarto. He would have one of his machinists break down the motor cycle to bring it on board.

[Fish40]

Here goes one. Which sub had a dog mascott named "Torpex"?:hmmm:

[DarkFish]

Here goes one. Which sub had a dog mascott named "Torpex"?:hmmm:
USS Baya. The cocker spaniel eventually had to be given away cause he couldn't stand the depth charges anymore.

[Fish40]

USS Baya. The cocker spaniel eventually had to be given away cause he couldn't stand the depth charges anymore.



:up: Good call Darkfish. I happened to fumble onto the Baya's website and found myself looking at photos for over an hour. When I came across one with Torpex, I thought it would make for an interesting trivia question.

[Frame57]

Dang you guys are good! This stuff is better than any history class I have ever had:yeah:

[Frame57]

Which Japanese Sub sank the largest US ship?

[Arclight]

I-19 caused the sinking of USS Wasp. Biggest I can find. :hmmm:

Scratch that; I-168 sank the Yorktown.

[DarkFish]

Who was the only u-boat commander to commit suicide while under depth charge attack?

[Arclight]

Peter Cszech (or Cschech?) commited suïcide aboard U-505 on October 10, 1943, when the boat came under depth charge attack from an allied destroyer. He shot himself in the head.

[DarkFish]

Peter Cszech (or Cschech?) commited suïcide aboard U-505 on October 10, 1943, when the boat came under depth charge attack from an allied destroyer. He shot himself in the head.both wrong, it's Peter Zschech:rotfl:
also, uboat.net states his dying day as 24 october, 10 october is the date his last patrol started.
but well done, arclight:up:

[Arclight]

both wrong, it's Peter Zschech:rotfl:
also, uboat.net states his dying day as 24 october, 10 october is the date his last patrol started.
but well done, arclight:up:
Argh, so close. :rotfl:

From which Japanese submarine was the floatplane launched, that is responsible for still the only wartime aircraft-dropped bombing of the continental US? What was the pilot's name, and what were his intentions?

[Nisgeis]

Argh, so close. :rotfl:

From which Japanese submarine was the floatplane launched, that is responsible for still the only wartime aircraft-dropped bombing of the continental US? What was the pilot's name, and what were his intentions?

It was the I-25, Nobuo Fujita to start a forest fire, but the Japanese used fire ballons to bomb the US also to try to start forest fires, so I don't think it qualifies as the only bombing from an aircraft.

[eljeffo41]

This is one cool thread!You guys are really sending me to school!:know:

[Arclight]

It was the I-25, Nobuo Fujita to start a forest fire, but the Japanese used fire ballons to bomb the US also to try to start forest fires, so I don't think it qualifies as the only bombing from an aircraft.
Guess it depends on whether or not you classify a balloon as an aircraft. :hmmm:

But absolutely correct. :salute:

[DaveyJ576]

I have to submit a correction to an earlier post.

A question was asked about the first USN submarine skipper to unfortunately suffer a nervous breakdown during WWII. The answer proved to be multi-fold:

LCDR Morton C. Mumma, Jr., in command of the USS Sailfish (SS-192) broke down during a severe depth charge attack on 13 December 1941 and asked his XO, Hiram Cassedy, to take over and lock him in his stateroom. Cassedy did so and eventually returned the boat to Manila where Mumma was promptly and officially relieved. Unfortunately, with no way out of Manila, the disgraced Mumma had to stay around and face his fellow officers virtually every day. Eventually he was evacuated and was assigned to ADM Christie's staff in Townsville, Australia as liaison to the Army Air Forces. He was able to redeem himself later and eventually commanded PT boat squadrons in the Solomons, but never returned to submarines. I find Mumma's story to be inspirational in a way. Here was a man who initially lost his nerve, but somehow found the courage to stick it out, eventually regaining his pride and his self-esteem and ended up serving with distinction.

LCDR Gordon B. "Dizzy" Rainer was in command of the USS Dolphin (SS-169) on 24 January 1942 when he suffered a complete nervous breakdown. The Dolphin was in very bad shape mechanically and in desperate need of a complete overhaul. She suffered over 35 noted mechanical failures during this patrol and along with the pressures of command this proved to be too much for Rainer. His XO, Bernard A. "Chick" Clarey took over and returned the boat to Pearl. Poor Dizzy Rainer was in such bad shape that he was immediately sent back to the states and admitted to a mental hospital. He retired from the Navy in 1943.

Interestingly, both Hi Cassedy and Chick Clarey went on to be outstanding submarine skippers and compiled fine war records.

[Platapus]

but the Japanese used fire ballons to bomb the US also to try to start forest fires, so I don't think it qualifies as the only bombing from an aircraft.

What did the Americans do with the Japanese Balloons (fūsen bakudan) they recovered?

[NEON DEON]

What did the Americans do with the Japanese Balloons (fūsen bakudan) they recovered?

Used them for kids birthday parties. :D

[theluckyone17]

...His XO, Bernard A. "Chick" Clarey took over...You sure they got the right guy?

Bernard!

[Etienne]

What did the Americans do with the Japanese Balloons (fūsen bakudan) they recovered?

Prophylactics?

[Arclight]

:rotfl:

Study the sand in the sandbags to make sure it came from Japan. Some suspected the balloons were being launched from American beaches by sub crews, or even from POW and internment camps.

[Platapus]

What did the Americans do with the Japanese Balloons (fūsen bakudan) they recovered?

The United States studied them and eventually developed balloon reconnaissance systems in the 1950's. These were known by several different program names. The most famous programs were

Project Moby Dick
Project Genetrix
Project Grandson

All these involved mounting reconnaissance sensors on balloons and letting them drift across the area of interest (mostly the USSR). As the balloons drifted in the air currents, the reconnaissance systems collected the data. Upon crossing the area of interest (if the balloon survived) it was picked up either by US Air Force or US Navy planes/ships.

This program differed from existing programs such as Project Skyhook and Project Mogul in that Moby Dick, Genetrix, and Grandson required the balloons to drift over the area of interest. A technique we learned a lot about from the Japanese fire balloon program (fūsen bakudan).

Like the Japanese program, these programs were not very successful. But like in both programs, it was better than nothing. The advent of the U2 reconnaissance aircraft rendered the balloon reconnaissance programs obsolete.

[Frame57]

Who became the first submarine casualty of WW2? Name the sailor and how he died and the boat he was attached to.

[Arclight]

Ensign Sam Hunter, aboard USS Sealion (SS-195), as she was in the last stages of overhaul at the Navy Yard, Cavite, Philippine Islands.


... A fragment from this bomb pierced the conning tower of Seadragon, killing instantly Ensign Sam Hunter stationed there, the first submarine casualty of the war. Other fragments from this bomb pierced the pressure hull, inflicting minor wounds on three Sealion men in the control room.


http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/sublosses/sublosses_sealion.htm

[Frame57]

:salute::salute::salute:Arclite!

[Arclight]

Wish I had some books, kind of a handicap coming up with questions. :cry:

Which US sub was sunk by one of her own torpedoes circling back, (as far as I can figure) on March 26th 1944?

Who was the sole survivor, picked up the next day by a Japanese escort?

[breadcatcher101]

That would have been the USS Tullibee, only one who made it was gunner's mate C. W. Kuykendall, one of the few who was on the bridge at the time.

[Frame57]

When it came to certain boats being sought after often one shipyard was considered the best boat builder. Name the shipyard and why this was so?

[Arclight]

Mare Island, for building the destroyer USS Ward in 17 1/2 days?
http://www.battleshipiowa.org/Mare%20Island%20Naval%20Shipyard.htm

Good one, breadcatcher101. :up:

[Frame57]

Okeedokee. Boats will always refer to as a subs. Which shipyard was revered for their subs and why?

[MonTana_Prussian]

I'd say it's Electric Boat in Groton.

[Arclight]

And because of their willingness to take risks, for example producing the first sub with a welded hull (Cuttlefish). Everyone else said it couldn't be done.

[breadcatcher101]

Here is one that's kinda neat. We have heard of a "pink elephant", even a pink submarine. While the former is not so real, there was in fact a pink submarine.

This though is about a "pink transport".

A WW2 skipper of an American sub in the Pacific encountered and sunk a huge Japanese transport, 15,100 tons. From the excellent pictures he took while she sank the crew identified her as the Teiko Maru which was the French liner D'Artagnan, captured by the Japanese early in the war.

Upon returning to base and after a 3 day binge the skipper headed down to the docks to check on his boat. There to his dismay, at dock was the ship he had sank.

Put yourself in his place. How could this be?

[Torplexed]

A WW2 skipper of an American sub in the Pacific encountered and sunk a huge Japanese transport, 15,100 tons. From the excellent pictures he took while she sank the crew identified her as the Teiko Maru which was the French liner D'Artagnan, captured by the Japanese early in the war.

Upon returning to base and after a 3 day binge the skipper headed down to the docks to check on his boat. There to his dismay, at dock was the ship he had sank.

Put yourself in his place. How could this be?

That is a neat one.

The French liner Le D’Artagnan was a member of the huge Messageries Maritimes Fleet, calling at ports from Europe, through South Africa and Madagascar, to Indochina, Australia and New Zealand. The advent of World War II saw the fleet split between the Allies and Vichy France; the D’Artagnan went to Vichy forces until she was captured by the Japanese in 1942. However, her sister ship Porthos, went to the Allies and that's the ship the captain of the Puffer saw by an interesting coincident . :D

[Frame57]

The Manitowac shipyard was known for finishing the cleanest and best finsihed boats of the war. Also, the workers went out of their way to make the crews feel at home as possible. Got this from "The Fleet Submarine in the US Navy", by John Alden.

[breadcatcher101]

You nailed it, Torplexed. I thought that one was going to be a tough one.

[Nisgeis]

The Manitowac shipyard was known for finishing the cleanest and best finsihed boats of the war. Also, the workers went out of their way to make the crews feel at home as possible. Got this from "The Fleet Submarine in the US Navy", by John Alden.

As I understand it, the Manitowoc yard developed a jig where sections of pressure hull could be rotated together, allowing the welders to always be in a 'welding down' position, which is much easier to get a high quality weld with.

[Torplexed]

Manitowoc also pioneered some techniques in prefabrication in that entire hull sections were constructed in building sheds and then moved to the ways on crawlers. This method is still used in modern submarine construction.

http://neptoon.homestead.com/Manitowoc.jpg

[Frame57]

Which Sub fired the last torpedo and sank the last combatant ship of WW2?

[Nisgeis]

Which Sub fired the last torpedo and sank the last combatant ship of WW2?

That was the Torsk for the US. Excluding Russia and their declaraton of war on the Japanese in August 1945 (!?!). They sank a few Japanese ships. Not sure if they used bombs or air dropped torpedoes.

[Torplexed]

If we are speaking of combatant ships would it be the USS Indianapolis? She was sunk on July 30th 1945 by the Japanese sub I-58 and was the last major US warship lost. I don't think there was much left of the Imperial Japanese Navy for a US sub to sink at that point.

[Frame57]

Geez! Both good answers and both correct. Sorry I forgot to specify which side.

[Frame57]

I will be maintaining radio silence for a few day due to a job in Reno. So I will leave this one to chew on.

Which Sub had a slot machine that was used to boost morale and garner funds for their slush fund?:salute:

[The Fishlord]

USS Halibut?

[Torplexed]

Which Sub had a slot machine that was used to boost morale and garner funds for their slush fund?:salute:

USS Dace under Joseph Francis Enright. Basically the crew would set up the slot machine dockside for the relief and repair crews and bring in a lot of extra money for booze, cigarettes, candy etc. When word got out a few other boats copied this practice. :cool:

[Nisgeis]

What happened to the slot machine when the boat was on patrol?

[Torplexed]

Given that the slot machine showed up on the dock at Dace's every port of call--- Panama, Pearl Harbor, Midway---my guess is that it was stowed on board somewhere. I'm kinda surprised some stuffy admiral didn't come down on them at some point for carrying non-essential equipment or generating illegal funds. :ping:

[Arclight]

It probably gave them a nice morale boost. Maybe it was in everybody's best interest to allow this. :hmmm:

I'd allow it. :yep: :D

[Frame57]

There once was a boat that no longer could float, another came to her aid. Years later, the gray lady down caused the crew of her savior to swim in the sea and drown.

OK a bit of a limmerick/riddle here. Which boats are we talkin about here?

[Torplexed]

Yeah...that's a tragic story. :cry:

In 1944 the US sub Sailfish torpedoed and sank the Japanese carrier Chuyo which was carrying American prisoners of war from Sculpin the same ship that had helped locate and rescue Sailfish — then Squalus — over four years before in a training accident. 20 of the 21 US crew members from the Sculpin were killed.

[Frame57]

OK, we know that all the Subs that had the H.O.R. engines got lemons. What was the primary failure with those engines and what nickname did the crews come up with for those engines?

[Arclight]

They called them HORs (read as word, not initials). :rotfl:

Wouldn't know about specific failures though, just that they broke down constantly, were noisy and needed 40% more air than other engines. :hmmm:

[Stealhead]

They where a license copy of a MAN(German) engine in fact some joked that they had designed in sabotage though the German Navy had just as much trouble with the design as we did.They had a type of double-acting piston that was in a cylinder that was double ended something from old steam engine days that did not work well with diesel engines.By the way H.O.R. stood for Hooven-Owens-Rentschler.Not sure the primary failure but it had to do with the cylider design.

[NEON DEON]

:hmmm:

I thought it was the teeth on the drive train gears that kept shearing off.

[DaveyJ576]

The Hooven-Owens-Rentschler diesel engine that was used in WWII USN submarines was a double acting type. Each cylinder had two combustion chambers, one on top of the piston and one underneath. The prime advantage of this arrangement was that it provided a power stroke in both directions, greatly increasing the horsepower of the engine without increasing its size (size being a prime factor in submarines). For a view of how this was arranged, click on this link and scroll down to Figure 1-6: http://www.maritime.org/fleetsub/diesel/chap1.htm

Several significant problems arose with this engine. First, with the piston rod penetrating the bottom of the lower combustion chamber, extreme problems were encountered with obtaining a gas tight seal around the moving rod. Part of the combustion gasses would blow by the seal causing a misfire in the lower chamber, resulting in severe vibrations.

Second, improper treatment of the steel used in the manufacture of the engines lead to weakening of teeth in drive train gears. When combined with the vibrations the teeth broke and the engine turned itself to scrap in short order.

The Navy was reluctant to give up on these engines because the promise of a compact, lightweight, high powered engine was almost too good to pass up. They tinkered and prodded these engines for almost five years, trying to make them work. :damn: By 1942 the operating forces were completely exasperated and the engines were happily replaced with GM Wintons or Fairbanks-Morse units during the boats' first wartime overhauls.

[Frame57]

I can imagine the frustration the crew and skippers had with the problems with the Mk-14 torpedo and the HOR engines. Hell, it frustrates me in this game when I have duds. On SSN 678 we had a Fairbanks Morse used for emergency electrical power only. I used to love the sound of that baby. Our number one failure on nuke boats back in the Sturgeon era was the HPAC's breaking down on a regular basis. I hated those things because when liberty was set down, there we were once again repairing the damn things.:salute:

[Frame57]

Which Sub on her christening was dubbed, "The Pearl Harbor avenger"?

[Torplexed]

Which Sub on her christening was dubbed, "The Pearl Harbor avenger"?

USS Bowfin. She's still there today. :salute:

[Stealhead]

I think that the general design of the HOR was flawed.I do recall that the Jack had the gear teeth break off but I think there where just tons of things that went wrong on those things the whole thing was simply a poor design right the way through obviously since they where a copy of aGerman design that means the rights must have been bought sometime in the mid '30s Id guess. Sometimes the entire enginering of a machine can be wrong just a part of R and D I suppose sometimes you come up with ****e as two very good engines where around after the HOR. I have one that will be very hard. i live in very small county in Florida only 75,000 people today so in the 40's maybe 25,000 people living here. Anyway two residents of my county died on two separate submarines lost in WWII. Can anyone name those two subs? If I named the county I lived in that would make the answer a bit too easy but if someone does a little reasearch they can find it.(hint in a city in my county there is a mk14 that is a monument to all submarines and subs that the US lost in WWII along with the names of the guys who lived in my county and the two subs they where serving on when they died.)

[Frame57]

I am going to guess Pompano and Corvina?

[Stealhead]

No. another clue both subs where lost in the same year and one has a connection to the USS Wahoo the other has a connection with guerrillas(the kind that use guns).

[Frame57]

You have a stumper here. I will be out of town a couple of days, so I am gonna leave this one to arclite and torplex.:salute:

[Arclight]

Great, like my brain wasn't hurting enough yet over this one. :rotfl:

Stealhead, don't spill the beans just yet, gonna give it a shot but have to deal with installing new OS too, so... ;)

[Stealhead]

With the extra clues if you do a little searching on the web you should be able to come up with an answer. The fact that one sub was connected to guriellas should give you a good idea also as to the region that these subs where lost in.The link with the Wahoo of one of these subs should also help alot if you are a person who likes old walking sticks.

[Arclight]

All right, I'm almost literally passing out because I desperately need sleep, but I couldn't resist. :yawn:

There's the "Still on Patrol Memorial" - US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It's a torpedo, so I think I've got the location nailed...

* USS Gudgeon took on 7 "mess boys" on the night of Sunday, 27 December 1942, as she lay moored to the dock at Fremantle, Australia:

The “mess boys” were in fact disguised Filipino soldiers and intelligence officers, led by Major Jesus Villamor, U.S. Army. Two days earlier, Gudgeon’s crew had loaded her with a ton of equipment specially ordered for the mission their passengers were about to embark upon. Gudgeon’s top- secret task: to deliver the soldiers and their gear to Mindanao and Panay, two key Philippine islands, to help bolster the Philippine guerilla forces resisting the Japanese occupation, without being detected.
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_23/saviors.htm

** "Mush" Morton was aboard the Wahoo starting her second patrol. He had been in nominal command of USS Dolphin before that (he also serves on S-37). Another possible link would be his XO, Richard O'Kane, who received command of USS Tang.



Too tired. Must sleep. :zzz:

[NEON DEON]

The County in Florida is Putnam.

The town the monument is in is Palatka.

The two men lost from that county were Ensign Basil Pearce Jr. and Fireman 1st class Elton Brubaker.

Pearce died on the Tang and Brubaker went down with the Flier.

[Stealhead]

Ace in the whole! Pretty good I knew if someone really looked theyed get the answer and then some.Ensign Basil Pearce Jr. was the son of a state rep. very suprising to see that that many guys from just one small county lost died subs.I do know that there are several small monuments like ours in alot of cities many unknown. When i was stationed in Germany I used go Mt. biking with a few buddies and one guy always took his camera with him one saturday way out in the backwood hills of the Rhineland-Pflaz found this long forgotten garveyard with about 40 headstones of German soliders who had died during WWI so we took some pics and showed them to the german man who worked for our shop. He was very interested and wanted to know where it was so we told him via town names and some guess work its location(these trails are not mapped) and Herr Marshal said that he would find some people to clean it up sure enough we went by there a week or so later and it was all cleaned and each garve had some flowers with it.We found out that Herr Marshal and some friends had fixed it up he said that all the familes had either died at some time after WWI or WWII or they had moved away and forgoten the site.

[Frame57]

Which three Sub Skippers went on to be promoted to the rank of Admiral?

[Arclight]

Ehr... Richard H. O'Kane, Eugene B. Fluckey, Rueben T. Whitaker, Charlea O. Triebel and John S. Coye, Jr. all went on to become rear admiral. Given the source (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4442/is_200903/ai_n31425869/?tag=content;col1) is correct, offcourse.

[Stealhead]

That porbably right also I know for certain that several guys who where not skippers but where submarine officers went on to be become admirals like the guy who wrote Slient Running cant think of his name at the moment but he went all the way to rear admiral.Of course very few officers go that far in rank I recall way back when I was in basic one of the Sgts telling us that only about 10% of those who enlist end up all the way to E-9(top enlisted rank) I am sure even less of officers commisoned even get to the lowest of the general officer ranks. To get that far it truly is a bit who you know and being at the right place at the right time also you will have to stay in over 20 years in most cases and have a spotless record and having a Medal of Honor would help as well not to say that O'Kane and Fluckley where bad or anything but you know it did not hurt thier careers.

[Rip]

That porbably right also I know for certain that several guys who where not skippers but where submarine officers went on to be become admirals like the guy who wrote Slient Running cant think of his name at the moment but he went all the way to rear admiral.Of course very few officers go that far in rank I recall way back when I was in basic one of the Sgts telling us that only about 10% of those who enlist end up all the way to E-9(top enlisted rank) I am sure even less of officers commisoned even get to the lowest of the general officer ranks. To get that far it truly is a bit who you know and being at the right place at the right time also you will have to stay in over 20 years in most cases and have a spotless record and having a Medal of Honor would help as well not to say that O'Kane and Fluckley where bad or anything but you know it did not hurt thier careers.

James F. Calvert. He actually became commandant of the Naval Academy. Great book as well. I have read it three times THIS YEAR! :salute:

[Frame57]

Ehr... Richard H. O'Kane, Eugene B. Fluckey, Rueben T. Whitaker, Charlea O. Triebel and John S. Coye, Jr. all went on to become rear admiral. Given the source (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4442/is_200903/ai_n31425869/?tag=content;col1) is correct, offcourse. Three Sub Skippers which became full Admiral. Not Rear....None of those guys made it to Full Admiral:salute:

[Arclight]

:damn:

I expected that answer. :roll:

I'll try again later. :salute:

[Arclight]

Is it limited to skippers in command during WWII?

Chester W. Nimitz commanded several subs, and went on to become fleet-admiral.

The others continue to elude me. I would expect nothing less of a sub skipper. :D

[Frame57]

I think at least one was a skipper prior to WW2. One of them wrote a book on his WW2 experiences. One has quite a family history of military experience.

[Kaleun]

The 3 Sub commanders who became Admirals were

1) Bernard Ambrose Clarey
2) Ignatius Joseph Galatin
3) John Sidney McCain Jr

Regards

Kaleun

[Frame57]

The 3 Sub commanders who became Admirals were

1) Bernard Ambrose Clarey
2) Ignatius Joseph Galatin
3) John Sidney McCain Jr

Regards

KaleunBADA BING!:salute:

[Kaleun]

Staying with the subject of after submarine service life, lets go with the best thing that can happen to a man - "Surviving!!"

Who (and what boat and how was it sunk) was the last submarine commander in ww2 to survive the sinking of his boat?? - as we all know most subs were iron coffins!

Kaleun

[NEON DEON]

Staying with the subject of after submarine service life, lets go with the best thing that can happen to a man - "Surviving!!"

Who (and what boat and how was it sunk) was the last submarine commander in ww2 to survive the sinking of his boat?? - as we all know most subs were iron coffins!

Kaleun

Richard O'kane

USS Tang

Circle runner

[Kaleun]

he's right! ALL CORRECT! your turn

Kaleun

[Platapus]

I doubt I can come up with a trivia question you guys don't know but here goes:

During WWII, a US sub captain (Lt Commander) was awarded the Navy Cross for something he actually did not do.

At the time of the award, the Lt Commander knew he did not do what the award citation stated he had done. Admiral Nimitz, when presenting the award to the Lt Commander, knew the Lt Commander did not actually do what the citation said he did.

But both the Admiral and the Lt Commander were OK with this.

Who was the Lt Commander Sub Captain?
For what action was he cited for?
Why was the award given despite evidence that the event did not happen?

[Platapus]

On 9 April 43, Lt Commander John A. Scott, Captain of the USS Tunny attacked the Escort Carriers Taiyo and Chuyo and thought he had sunk them (escorts drove him deep after the attack)

For this act, he was awarded the Navy Cross. After the decision was made to award Lt Commander Scott the award, an ULTRA report [ from 11 Apr 43] came in confirming that the Taiyo and Chuyo did not sink but that the torpedoes prematurely detonated.

Because this information was derived from ULTRA information, it would have raised suspicion if the Navy were to suddenly deny Lt Commander Scott the award.

So with both Lt Commander Scott and Admiral Nimitz knowing that the Taiyo and Chuyo were still afloat, Lt Commander Scott was awarded the Navy Cross.

Newpower, A. (2006) Iron Men and Tin Fish: The Race to build a better torpedo during World War II. London: Praeger Security International. P. 150

[Frame57]

OK, this one may be open for debate. Which boat acheived the longest range shot that produced a kill?

[Platapus]

OK, this one may be open for debate. Which boat acheived the longest range shot that produced a kill?

Are we only talking about submarines?

On 6 Jul 43, the USS Strong (DD 467) was torpedoed by a Japanese destroyer at the range of 12,000 yards.

For subs would it be the USS Guardfish on 3 Sep 43 at 7,500 yards against the anchored Chita Maru?

[Frame57]

In Feb of 44 this boat was based in Fremantle. It had one of the best CO's IMO. They had a great success in the south China sea with one particulat convoy to the extent that the convoy commodore informed Tokyo that they were under attack by a wolfpack of submarines. This boat earned a nickname because of this.

Name the boat and skipper and the nickname...:salute:

[breadcatcher101]

I think it was Mush, not sure.

[Frame57]

Hint: They had a lookout who was notorious for singing "Nearer MY God To Thee" when they were attacking on the surface.

[Rip]

Hint: They had a lookout who was notorious for singing "Nearer MY God To Thee" when they were attacking on the surface.

The USS jack and Tommy Dykers. I've got to go crack open Silent Running to recall what the nickname was. Probably wolfpack Jack or something like that.

[Rip]

Got it.

"Jack the Pack"

[Frame57]

:salute::salute::salute: Bingo!

[Frame57]

This on is not a snatch and grab look up. In SH4 one is led to think that there are three watch cycles that rotate. The lookouts did not work this way. Can anyone describe how the lookouts handled their watch station in real life? It was interesting for me because I was not aware of how they worked it out until I read "Silent Running":salute:

[Stealhead]

Take a look at the submarine tech thread it is stickyed already this and any other tech related question is answerd there it is the second on the list right now. Though I am suprised not much triva has shown up in this thread lately.

[NEON DEON]

Ok how bout this.

What boat was inadvertentley responsible for the victory at Midway and why?

[Arclight]

Nautilus made an unsuccesfull attack on battleship Kirishima, being detected and engaged by several ships on several occasions. The last ship to break contact was the destroyer Arashi, which proceeded at full steam towards the Japanese carrier group to join up again. It's wake was spotted by 2 formations consisting of 3 squadrons of Duantless dive-bombers. This let them to the carriers, arriving at the perfect time to strike; armed planes, fuel-hoses and ammunitions were littering the decks and hangars.

About the watch standing: Can't find any sources at the moment, but I think it was 4 cycles instead of 2 (6 hour shift), with crewmembers doing an "hour on, hour off" rotation. :hmmm:

[Platapus]

IN Sep 43, Pete Galantin, Captain of the USS Halibut sunk the merchant Taibun Maru

This attack was unusual, perhaps even unique in all the sinkings during WWII PTO.

What was unusual about this sinking?

[Arclight]

That the boat escaped the depth-charging from 2 gunboats by unintentionally maneuvering through a minefield? :o

[Platapus]

That the boat escaped the depth-charging from 2 gunboats by unintentionally maneuvering through a minefield? :o

Dunno about that, but my trivia question is centered only the attack that sunk the merchant.

But that story about maneuvering through a minefield sounds interesting :salute:

[Frame57]

I think the freighter sunk because the torpedoes were duds and still penetrated the hull causing her demise. Not sure on that though:salute:

[Platapus]

I think the freighter sunk because the torpedoes were duds and still penetrated the hull causing her demise. Not sure on that though:salute:

Ding! Winner winner chicken dinner!

Freighter was sunk when a dud Mk 14 POS impacted the hull and punched a hole through the hull which had been weakened by rust.

[Frame57]

What was the Irony of the tradgedy that befell the USS Harder?

[Stealhead]

I belive she was destroyed by a captured Clemson class destroyer the 4 stackers around the southern Phillies. though I do belvie that the Imperial Navy had done some modifications to the orginal desgin. Think that is it or it was another american sub that this happened to. This is mentioned by third party in Silent Running one memeber of the wolf pack skipperd by Nimitz jr. went back to get a reload Harder and the other other wolf pack sub stayed both saw this DD coming the none Harder skipper later said he felt something was odd about this one DD and went deep. Harder went in for the kill but got bested.It was the opnion of some that the skipper had gotten so good at the DTT aginst other Jap DDs that he had become over confident in his own skills.

[Platapus]

I believe you are referring to the USS Stewart (DD-224).

She was scuttled along with the drydock she was inside while in Surabaya, Java in March 1942.

She was raised in 1943 by the Japanese and named Patrol Boat 102.

After the war she was decommissioned into the US Navy once again as DD-224.

She was finally decommissioned on 23 May 46 and was sunk as a target ship.

A most interesting ship history. :salute:

1920 to 1946.

[Stealhead]

Yeah I think that is the one. I dont belive there where any other Clemsons captured or reused like that. Not sure if what we are talking about is the same as Frame but even it was something else it is ironic to be the destroyed by somehting your own nation designed. thourgh many of the older Jap battleships had been designed by Brits back in around WWI times and some had american or Brit turbines in them.(though most of them got refurbed with Japanesse designed turbines before WWII but still.

[Frame57]

:salute::salute::salute: Bingo! Dang, I just cannot stump you fellas...

[Stealhead]

You know what we should do is just go ahead and include the full submarine gambit not just WWII and not just the US Navy. That would add a bit to the game I have a book that covers the US Navy sub service from 1900 all the way to today.

I have a good one there was a submariner that earned the Medal of Honor for something he did in the 1920's.Name this man and what it was that he did. A clue for you folks this man later had to leave the Navy due to a heart condtion he tried several times to get a waiver to stay in but failed.To show that you have too much time on your hands there was something else interesting about this sailor name that if you can.

[DaveyJ576]

TM2(SS) Henry Breault, USN was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in saving a shipmate from drowning after the USS O-5 (SS-66) was rammed and sunk on 28 October 1923. His boat was conducting operations off the Panama Canal when she was struck by the steamer Abangarez. The boat quickly sank and most of the crew made it off, but one man remained trapped below. Petty Officer Breault, noting the absence of this shipmate, returned below to help him. With the boat sinking fast and knowing he wouldn't have time to make it back topside, Breault pulled himself and his shipmate into the torpedo room and dogged down the door. 31 hours later, after herculean efforts of a salvage team, the bow of the O-5 was raised enough to extract the two men. President Calvin Coolidge awarded Petty Officer Breault the Medal of Honor at the White House on 8 March 1924. :salute:

Breault continued to serve the United States Navy and after 20 years of service he became ill with a heart condition. He died on 4 December 1941, three days before Pearl Harbor.

BTW, Breault, born in Connecticut, served in the British Royal Navy for four years before returning to the states and enlisting in the USN.

[Frame57]

Any era? I am game for that. This one may be too easy. What bizarre thing did H.G. Rickover do to convince congress that nuclear power was a safe notion for the Navy?

[breadcatcher101]

I love this topic, I am learning so much.

Here is one:

Most of us know of the first shelling of the US mainland of a Japanese sub, but which American sub was the first to shell the Japanese shores?

Hint: It was a steel mill.

[Stealhead]

Davey hit the nail on the head that was sailor. I like his story as well it shows people that you dont have kill a single person to earn the Medal of Honor it is all about putting oneself in grave danger and doing something well beyond the call of duty. There are qutie a few MOHs given to men who risked life and limb to save another cohort often they did not even know for sure if the person was alive or not.

[DaveyJ576]

With my best evil scientist laugh echoing as I wrote this :haha:, which USN submarine was the first to launch a ballistic missile while submerged?

This is an all era question, not necessarily WWII.

[Platapus]

With my best evil scientist laugh echoing as I wrote this :haha:, which USN submarine was the first to launch a ballistic missile while submerged?

This is an all era question, not necessarily WWII.

Me thinks this is a tricky question.

The USS George Washington launched the first A-1 in July, 1960. However that would be too easy.

I did notice that Davy did not say the first ballistic missile submarine as there could be a big difference between the first ballistic missile submarine and the first submarine that launched a ballistic missile while submerged.

There is treachery in this question. :D

[DaveyJ576]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA....Nope! Wrong answer! :har:

[Rip]

Any era? I am game for that. This one may be too easy. What bizarre thing did H.G. Rickover do to convince congress that nuclear power was a safe notion for the Navy?

I'm guessing you are referring to drinking a glass a secondary coolant water. Hell f you want to impress me drink a glass of primary coolant! :gulp:

[Platapus]

With my best evil scientist laugh echoing as I wrote this :haha:, which USN submarine was the first to launch a ballistic missile while submerged?

This is an all era question, not necessarily WWII.


I concede defeat on this one. :oops:

This is a good trivia question. :yeah:

[groomsie]

With my best evil scientist laugh echoing as I wrote this :haha:, which USN submarine was the first to launch a ballistic missile while submerged?

This is an all era question, not necessarily WWII.

Well, I'm also saying USS George Washington (SSN-598), which was originally laid down as the USS Scorpion (SSN-589) but during construction had the launch tubes added and hull lengthened, and a subsequent keel received the name Scorpion. Here is my link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_George_Washington_(SSBN-598) (read under "Construction and Launching").

The name of the ship at time of ballistic missile launch however appears to be the George Washington...

[Frame57]

I'm guessing you are referring to drinking a glass a secondary coolant water. Hell f you want to impress me drink a glass of primary coolant! :gulp:Yep! that was it....:salute:

[Frame57]

I love this topic, I am learning so much.

Here is one:

Most of us know of the first shelling of the US mainland of a Japanese sub, but which American sub was the first to shell the Japanese shores?

Hint: It was a steel mill.Before I read Silent Victory again I am going to say the Harder?

[Platapus]

The USS Barb fired 5" Rockets which were ballistic but the Barb was surfaced at the time.

Come on Davy, give us the answer!!!!
:D

[DaveyJ576]

Which USN submarine was the first to launch a ballistic missile while submerged?

Yes, this is a bit of a trick question because the weapon fired from the submarine in question is not a ballistic missile in the context that most people would think, but it does meet the technical definition of one.

The submarine was the USS Holland (SS-1). As part of her original armament she carried an 8" Zalinski pneumatic "dynamite" gun. This gun was mounted interior to the hull above the single torpedo tube, with barrel mounted at an upward angle. The breach end was inside the boat and the muzzle was covered by a shutter door at the upper tip of the bow. The unguided, non-powered projectile was loaded and fired in a manner similar to a torpedo, but in this case the weapon would break the surface and fly on in a ballistic arc until it hit something (unfortunately it was rarely the target). Although the normal mode of operation would have been to fire the weapon from the surface, it was fully capable of being fired while submerged, and my sources indicate the Holland conducted several submerged firings prior to the removal of the weapon.

The Zalinski Dynamite Gun became briefly popular with the Navy in this period. The high explosives that existed at the time were highly unstable and shells packed with them had a tendency to explode in a gun barrel, set off by the shock, heat, and high acceleration of the firing. The Zalinski gun, using pneumatics as the propulsive force, offered a much lower muzzle velocity and a gentle acceleration and thus allowed the use of high explosive shells. The use of the term "dynamite" to describe the gun was a misnomer. The gun also had the tremendous advantage of being nearly silent in operation. The Navy even built a small cruiser armed with three 15" Zalinski weapons, the USS Vesuvius.

However, its disadvantages eventually did it in. The system was mechanically complex, its range was quite short (roughly 1500 yards, even less when fired submerged), and with the gun fixed in train and elevation the only way to aim it was to point and position the whole boat. The biggest reason for its demise was the rapid development of stable high explosive shells that could be fired from a conventional gun.

Several of you may cry foul on this one. :D However, the Zalinski projectile does meet the definition of a missile, it leaves the water, and it flys in a ballistic arc to its target.

[Platapus]

The claim that this is a ballistic missile is valid. We all knew this was a tricky question. :salute:

However, before I admit total defeat, I would like to see a citation where this gun was used underwater.

Here is a picture of the SS-1 firing the gun, but it is on the surface.

http://navsource.org/archives/08/500/0800114.jpg

I am rather incredulous that a pneumatic gun like this could operate with a flooded barrel. Experiments with submarine guns (in this context underwater canons on warships) were conducted in the 19th century with no successes. Specifically because of the problems shooting with a flooded barrel.

The "G" forces imposed on an artillery shell, even a slow moving one such as the Dynamite gun, I don't think could fire with a flooded barrel. Water is dense and heavy (hey, the same can be said about me!)

If there was a means to keep the barrel dry where the projectile could punch its way through a frangible cap, that might work. But as far as I know, no such experiments were made.

However, I will grovel sufficiently if you can produce a credible citation where the SS-1 was able to effectively fire its dynamite gun underwater.

[cgjimeneza]

might suscribe, this is interesting...

[DaveyJ576]

However, I will grovel sufficiently if you can produce a credible citation where the SS-1 was able to effectively fire its dynamite gun underwater.

On page 30 of the book United States Submarines (ISBN 0-88363-103-2) the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to the Zalinski gun and states "It could be fired with the submarine submerged and the tip of the bow at or just below the surface." (italics mine)

Further, the second paragraph goes on to state "The Zalinsky (sic) gun...remains of interest because it is also the first submarine ballistic missile system to feature an underwater launch."

The author of the entire chapter of this book, which is devoted to the USS Holland, is none other than Captain Harry H. Caldwell, USN (Ret.), the son of the Holland's first Commanding Officer. Captain Caldwell was working from primary sources (i.e. his fathers papers) and contemporary literature when he wrote those passages. Therefore, I consider him to be a reliable and trustworthy source.

In addition, surf over to this website:

http://www.geocities.com/gwmccue/Systems/Weapons_System.html

There is a passage here from Engineer Charles Morris who wrote a descriptive specification of the Holland in 1899. In it, he states that the gun has "a range in the air of 1000 yards or 30 yards when fired under water."

I will admit that, having reviewed these passages a second time, the evidence that Holland actually conducted an underwater launch of the Zalinski gun is somewhat anecdotal in nature. However, it is quite clear to me that the gun was fully capable of such operation. Was the weapon capable of "effective" operation while submerged? Probably not. Was it capable of actually doing it? Apparently yes.

Therefore, I will re-word my initial question to read, "Which USN submarine was the first to feature the capability of launching a ballistic missile while submerged?"

As we would say in the Navy, "All hands turn to, commence groveling!" :D

[Rip]

On page 30 of the book United States Submarines (ISBN 0-88363-103-2) the last sentence of the first paragraph refers to the Zalinski gun and states "It could be fired with the submarine submerged and the tip of the bow at or just below the surface." (italics mine)

Further, the second paragraph goes on to state "The Zalinsky (sic) gun...remains of interest because it is also the first submarine ballistic missile system to feature an underwater launch."

The author of the entire chapter of this book, which is devoted to the USS Holland, is none other than Captain Harry H. Caldwell, USN (Ret.), the son of the Holland's first Commanding Officer. Captain Caldwell was working from primary sources (i.e. his fathers papers) and contemporary literature when he wrote those passages. Therefore, I consider him to be a reliable and trustworthy source.

In addition, surf over to this website:

http://www.geocities.com/gwmccue/Systems/Weapons_System.html

There is a passage here from Engineer Charles Morris who wrote a descriptive specification of the Holland in 1899. In it, he states that the gun has "a range in the air of 1000 yards or 30 yards when fired under water."

I will admit that, having reviewed these passages a second time, the evidence that Holland actually conducted an underwater launch of the Zalinski gun is somewhat anecdotal in nature. However, it is quite clear to me that the gun was fully capable of such operation. Was the weapon capable of "effective" operation while submerged? Probably not. Was it capable of actually doing it? Apparently yes.

Therefore, I will re-word my initial question to read, "Which USN submarine was the first to feature the capability of launching a ballistic missile while submerged?"

As we would say in the Navy, "All hands turn to, commence groveling!" :D

Wow lobbing dynamite bombs 30 yards in front of you sounds like loads of fun! :/\\x:

I guess it goes without saying that you probably don't want to making much if any headway when firing it.:88)

[Platapus]

Grrr there is this great groveling smilie that I had all picked out for this but I can't use it here. :nope:

Anyway, insert appropriate groveling icon

I am not worthy to clean the barnacles off of your submarine.

(slinking back to the back of the class):88)

:D

you rock :rock:

[DaveyJ576]

Hey guys! All kidding aside, I am having a lot of fun with this stuff. You all have come up with some great questions! :) Keep it up!

[Stealhead]

That one was a little bit of a trick as after the V-2 guided missile(rocket) that left and returned into the atmosphere has been called a ballistic missile. So in modren terms we call any guided rocket a missile and any long range surface to surface atmosphere leaving missile an ICBM then you have ones like the SCUD is more like a CBM and then you also have low alt criuse missiles. It is all in how we use vocabulary which is very confusing in english gald I lerned it first I can see how hard it would be. It should be noted that any item rock,bullet,house cat propelled in the air via any method,arm,gunpowder,sling with the goal of striking and damaging another object is also a missile.

I have never made a missile out of a house cat nor am i trying to promote such an action. Please do not make a Zalinski cat gun at home and if you do dont blame it on me.My daughter did this with our cat(sans a Zalinski gun) it was bad for the cat.:shifty:

[breadcatcher101]

Before I read Silent Victory again I am going to say the Harder?

Excellent guess Frame but per the book "Silent Victory" it was the USS Steelhead which shelled a steel mill on Hokkaido, firing in 49 shells.

[Stealhead]

Very early in days of submarines in the Navy a famous official took a ride including a dive aborad a sub. Who was that official and what was an un-intended outcome of this ride?

[Platapus]

Very early in days of submarines in the Navy a famous official took a ride including a dive aborad a sub. Who was that official and what was an un-intended outcome of this ride?

Admiral George Dewey? After the ride on the Holland IV in 1900, he was quoted as saying

If the Spanish had had two of those things [submarines] in Manila, I could never have held it with the squadron I had

As a result of Admiral Dewey's comments and other reports of his, the Navy decided to buy six more of the Holland Submarines.

Which make the United States the second nation (behind France) to buy submarines for military purposes

Source Blair, C (1975) Silent Victory page 9

[DaveyJ576]

Very early in days of submarines in the Navy a famous official took a ride including a dive aborad a sub. Who was that official and what was an un-intended outcome of this ride?

I think Stealhead is refering to President Theodore Roosevelt, who took a ride on the USS Plunger (SS-2) on 23 September 1905 in waters near his home in New York.

In these days of the new Steel Navy, the men who ran the Navy had little regard for submarines. Incredibly, they considered them neither dangerous nor hazardous and since those early boats could only make short voyages close to shore, they considered submarine duty as shore duty. Thus, submarine sailors did not receive the extra sea duty pay that their surface ship brethren did. It came out to be about 25% less pay!

President Roosevelt came away from his short cruise on the Plunger extremely impressed. His first hand experience with the dangerous nature of the duty made him realize that the pay inequity was completely unfair. He soon issued an executive order authorizing sea duty pay for all submariners. In addition, the order authorized an additional ten dollars per month for those enlisted men who were qualified in submarines. Those not yet qualified but assigned to a boat received five dollars per month. Enlisted men also received one additional dollar for every day the boat submerged while underway.

The death indemnity payed to a sailors next of kin if he died on active duty at that time was six months of his base pay. This new submarine pay spawned the popular phrase amongst submariners of "A dollar a dive, and six months pay if I don't come up!" :DL

[Frame57]

Ok, I will throw a cold war era one in for fun. We had success in tapping Soviet telephone cables. Name the boat that ventured into this and how they found the cables...:salute:

[Platapus]

Very early in days of submarines in the Navy a famous official took a ride including a dive aborad a sub. Who was that official and what was an un-intended outcome of this ride?

I think Stealhead is refering to President Theodore Roosevelt, who took a ride on the USS Plunger (SS-2) on 23 September 1905 in waters near his home in New York.


Davy, what would have been the unintended outcome that Steelhead mentioned in his question.

That part kinda throws me.

[DaveyJ576]

Davy, what would have been the unintended outcome that Steelhead mentioned in his question.

That part kinda throws me.

Until Stealhead weighs in I can't be sure, but he might have been refering to the pay reforms that TR implemented. It was "unintended" as the dangerous nature of submarine duty apparently took him by surprise and he was suitably impressed.

[Platapus]

Well you probably know. :salute:

[Stealhead]

Davy is right sorry for the delay.The extra pay was the unintended bit.

For the Cold War one I heard that those cables where somewhere between Valdivastock and Kamchatka Pen. But this one can be hard as they must have done this several places until a spy put the USSR in the know about it is.I do know that when ever they did this they placd these specail bouys that "tapped" into the cable and "recorded" they had to come back and swap them out from time to time.Makes you wonder what was done by both sides that is still classified.

[Frame57]

Davy is right sorry for the delay.The extra pay was the unintended bit.



For the Cold War one I heard that those cables where somewhere between Valdivastock and Kamchatka Pen. But this one can be hard as they must have done this several places until a spy put the USSR in the know about it is.I do know that when ever they did this they placd these specail bouys that "tapped" into the cable and "recorded" they had to come back and swap them out from time to time.Makes you wonder what was done by both sides that is still classified.

Yep! You can read about this in "Blind mans bluff" I think is the title of the book. Apparantly the Soviets had signs designating that the cables were there. All we had to do was show up with a fast attack and have divers tap em with recording devices.

[Frame57]

Ok, which WW2 era fleet boat became the Cold War's first "Hunter Killer" submarine?

[Torplexed]

Ok, which WW2 era fleet boat became the Cold War's first "Hunter Killer" submarine?

USS Grouper (SS-214). She was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in December 1940 as a Gato-class fleet boat.

On March 5th, 1950 Grouper entered the Mare Island Ship Yard for conversion to the Navy's first "hunter-killer" submarine. Her classification was changed to SSK-214 on January 2nd, 1951

[Platapus]

So did "SSK" stand for Submersible Ship Killer?

Or was SSK just a designator without a literal meaning?

[DaveyJ576]

So did "SSK" stand for Submersible Ship Killer?

Or was SSK just a designator without a literal meaning?

The USN ship designation system has often caused confusion. The designator letters that exist prior to the hull number often do not directly translate into words. In the case above, SSK does not literally translate to "Submersible Ship Killer", although that is a very accurate description of the boat's mission. For a complete explanation of how this system works, surf over to this website:

http://www.navweaps.com/index_tech/index_ships_list.htm

This should answer any questions that you may have. I was going to write up a post for the Real Submarine Technology & History Q&A thread on this subject, but this site is very complete and a post recreating it is unnecessary. Please note that not all of the designations listed were in use in WWII, and some had been disestablished before the war started. If you read through this and still have questions, pop over to the other thread and I will be happy to help. Enjoy! :)

[Stealhead]

SSK stands for Super Sexy Komrade this is what you called all the female card holding Soviets if you where a male Komrade. No I think they just felt that SSK sounded better than SSH thats military abrevations for you. It sounds more agressive. I always loved the unoffical one like FNG it sucks to be the FNG if your slow man do you get hazed really bad at the same time everyone in the military was an FNG once if you join the gang you have to follow all its rules.:smug:

[Frame57]

Certainly SSK means Submersible Ship Killer. The letter designator for SS or SSGN or SSN or SSBN all mean the same thing with the exception of the last one or two letters which specify the boat a bit more.

[Frame57]

Tanker Tonnage. Who had the best total of the war? Tanker tonnage only...:salute:

[Stealhead]

Yeah that is not what most sources say SSK means in the official manner it is Submersiable Ship Hunter Killer.:cool:

What nation for the Tanker killer all nations subs sank tankers so there can be more than one ace.I guess you mean skipper or a subs entire record?

[Frame57]

The sources are fudging this a bit. Even though they called them "Hunter Killers" which is true and where the "fast attack" terminology stemmed from. They should then have designated them SSHK's. But then we are just waffling over it.

Total tanker tonnage during the war. Which boat had the best tally?

[Stealhead]

Yeah true but a submersiable ship killer could be a sea mine a Navy Seal or a submarine.:doh: I dont know for sure the higest tanker killing sub but she must have have had few dud torpedos in her time tankers could be hard to cripple.

[Frame57]

No Takers on the last question??? An easy one at that...You guys must be getting bored. Try this one for fun. Which American sub was the first to get air conditioning?:salute:

[cgjimeneza]

are we talking of kriegsmerine or USN boat?

might take a try at it tomorrow (saturday)