USs Billfish...worst depth charging ?
 

I am sure any depth charge attack was a harrowing experience but some were worst than others, more intense, accurate etc.

Most of us have read many accounts...Gato, Drum(when conning tower was cracked during intense depth charge attack, lead to a Balao class conning tower being placed when a Gato one was not available during refit period) , Halibut, Plunger(early war), Salmon (October 44). From what I have read, the BIllfish endured the worst one I have read about in the Makassar Strait on November 11, 1943.

Billfish was forced to 650 feet to get under the charges.The CO was paralyzed with fear, the XO could not command due to illness from lack of air.A Lieutenant took charge, realized the boat was leaking oil and that was how the DD was keeping track, so ordered reverse of course and escaped in the confusion.After 12 hours of attack, they survived.

I plan to order the book by Don Keith(who also authored the book about Batfish) to learn more.Just wondering what the most harrowing depth charge attack you have read about is.

That's a great book, hard to imagine what the crew went through.

The Sculpin is another terrible attack with Cromwell on board. I think the USS Puffer or Pufferfish was held down over 30 hours, when it was over many of the crew were put in s8 jackets.

I always thought this artist's rendering of the Pufferfish's crew near the limit of their endurance should have been posted tapestry-sized large in blabbermouth Congressman Andrew May's jail cell after we was incarcerated for war profiteering and sent to federal prison. The temperature in the cell should have been turned up to 120 degrees as well.

Well played counselor....well played.


http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0826810.jpg

I would say that you do. The Gato took a accurate sustained depth charging in late 43, surfaced to find one live but unexploded charge stuck in her deck, unexploded.The crew removed it and put it on a life :arrgh!: Tense moments I am sure.

The Salmon attacked a large tanker with four escorts(Type C and D) on 30 October 1944 off Ryuku Islands.Sure you know Salmon was an older pre war boat, 250 foot test depth.Fired Mark 18's from 3,000 yards I believe it was, scored some hits on already damaged tanked, then underwent a brutal, accurate, relentless depth charging, caused heavy damage, boat went several hundred feet beflow its test depth.Damaged severely enough they surfaced and tried to run away, then an escort came in to ram but was so close and sub of course set lower in water, crew used their 20 MM guns to strafe the deck, killed or injured everyone topside and on the bridge, Salmon, with a strong port list, then escaped into a squall and made it home.Inspection showed severe damage from depth charges but only a few small caliber hits from the gun.Made it back to port but her war was over.Salmon was later given partial credit for the tanker, other subs finished her off.

So the Billfish book was worth a read? Saved a link about the Puffer's depth charge attack in October 43 in Makassar Straits.Hmmm wonder if it was perhaps same escorts delivering these damaging, prolonged, accurate attacks? Billfish was November 43 in Makassar Strait, Puffer was October 43Given same area and same time period, possible.

I'm curious. In his book, does Keith give the names or classes of the Japanese ASW vessels involved in this November 11th 1943 attack on Billfish?

Nothing tops a recent history-channel show on Treasure Hunters examining several Uboats (4) around the British Isles and sending down robots to properly ID them and update German archives. One of the boats was completely cracked open all along the top of her pressure hull probably from direct hedgehog hits and resembles a sardine can. This amount of damage shocked even the crew of the vessel filming the episode. I found the footage unsettling myself-REALITY!

It' worth a read, but can be tedious and reviews of many technical errors.

Be interesting to know what TF attacked

Amazing the men of the Billfish kept silent about the CO's failure, not only in that, but the next one as well and Lucas agreed he would transfer out of subs to them, which he did. More amazing, it was kept silent for 60 years.

http://www.uss-la-ca135.org/50b/1950lucas.html

Sometimes severity isn't related to duration. I submit this evidence from the sailors involved for your consideration. Welcome to the cruise from hell!
And I'm tragically informed that the numbers of US Submarine Vets of WWII are so low now that there will be no more conventions, no more Polaris newsletters, no more "Remember This?" columns. Likely there are no Flying Fish sailors to "Still Remember This." And those who never returned have been joined by those who lived to return on their eternal patrol.

Forget being down for 48 hours! How about a 24 hour with 111 people on board? Yikes!

Puffer account by the US Submarine Veterans of WWII:

I am sure they liked him, assuming he had been a competent captain until that point and having went through it together, understood how he could crack.Instead of humiliating him and probably costing an otherwise stable and competent officer his career, they did it off books, allowed him to move on to surface ships.

The one Captain I have read about that really irks me was Donald McGregor, first CO of the Seahorse.McGregor was relieved of command earlier in war due to lack of aggressiveness which resulted in dry patrols.Using his connections, he got command of Seahorse and when went to sea with Slade Cutter as exec, his results were just as poor.Also, he was vindictive as aside from lies in his patrol report, Cutter later found out he had badmouthed him in a fitness report, trying to Sabotage his career for no other reasons than personal .Years later, Cutter ran into McGregor and his wife at a football game, she was friendly and said hello, McGregor stayed away and didnt say a thing.Glad they weeded most of the jerks like this out early in the war.

I don't know, Rush basically called Lucas a coward. I guess Lucas did OK out of subs. I think men had a honor for their sub and each other. Rush seemed more concerned for that that Lucas.

Ill have to read the book.I just figured since they kept quiet about it, they understood what they all went through and some men cracked.