A Few Historical Questions

[jgbishop]

I have a few random historical questions:

1. How long did the captain of the ship spend 'on duty'?
2. Who was put in charge when the captain wasn't on duty?
3. If the weather was bad enough, were lookouts removed from their posts? The game shows them active regardless of the weather, but I have to believe that for safety reasons, some weather events were bad enough to warrant them going below.

[aanker]

Originally Posted by jgbishop

I have a few random historical questions:

1. How long did the captain of the ship spend 'on duty'?
2. Who was put in charge when the captain wasn't on duty?
3. If the weather was bad enough, were lookouts removed from their posts? The game shows them active regardless of the weather, but I have to believe that for safety reasons, some weather events were bad enough to warrant them going below.

I'll bite:

1. 24/7
2. the XO
3. This was War and I would think the safety of the boat came 1st.

Happy Hunting!

Art

Edit: there was a bad typhoon "Typhoon Cobra", December 1944 - and there was a good website years ago that told the story of the Third Fleet that was caught in it - that quoted from Samuel Eliot Morison "History of US Naval Operations in World War II"

[Hylander_1314]

During typhoons, I'm not sure what the procedures were, but the lookouts did use fifelines incase they lost their footing or a big enough wave caught them. A lot like the lookouts in Das Boot.

Hylander_1314 wrote...

3. If the weather was bad enough, were lookouts removed from their posts? The game shows them active regardless of the weather, but I have to believe that for safety reasons, some weather events were bad enough to warrant them going below.

For what it's worth, I served on the U.S.S. Carp (SS338) during the mid 60s. One summer we went on a 3 week trip to the Azores and back (based in Norfolk Va.). We went thru 5 hurricanes in those 3 weeks. i was a seaman standing lookout watches and me(or one of the other lookouts) and the ood stayed topside with the conning tower hatch dogged shut during the worst of the storms. At times we were up to our chests in solid green water and I remember looking up at waves crashing over our heads. We had on two lifelines each and Mother Nature just toyed with that sub, tossing it around like it was a piece of driftwood. I have ultimate respect for the ocean!

Urge

[breadcatcher101]

I think after 5 missions the capt was sent stateside for a brief rest or sometimes to new contruction.

The XO then the chief after the capt (I think).

If the weather became to severe for posted lookouts the boat would submerge. I never recall reading about a WW2 sub on the surface without lookouts and depending only on instruments for detection.

breadcatcher101 wrote...

If the weather became to severe for posted lookouts the boat would submerge. I never recall reading about a WW2 sub on the surface without lookouts and depending only on instruments for detection.

Diesel boats rode out storms on the surface because of the dangers of capsizing when either diving or surfacing and the limited time they could remain underwater (a couple of days or so) before running out of oxygen.

Urge

[groomsie]

1. I'm assuming by "On Duty" you mean standing watch (as several other alluded to, the CO is always in command, always on call). I'd guess in that case he would only be "on watch" on an intermittent basis or at battlestations / attacking. Otherwise he'd be attending to running the boat. Not sure though for a submarine with such a small crew...
2. If by "on duty" you mean "on watch", the Officer of the Deck (OOD) is the Captains representative on watch. The OOD must be qualified to stand that watch by the Captain, and it is the OOD's call as to when to call the CO (either to report a contact, consult with the CO, or to actually request the CO come to the control station). I stood OOD on a surface ship and in the middle of the night it is all on the OOD, but the CO lays out pretty explicit instructions as to what he wants done as far as procedures, and in unusual situations (ie: a transit of sensitive or restricted waters or other evolutions involving maneuvering in close proximity) the CO would come to the bridge and sometimes even sleep in his chair on the bridge.
3. I'll defer to Urge, as what he says makes sense--my first thought was the boat would probably submerge to ride more calmly, but I had not thought of the danger in surfacing / submerging and the obvious need for diesel boats to come up every day or so. In no case can I imagine a warship of any type, certainly not a submarine in wartime, suspending the topside watch completely. Some might reduce it or make allowances for shelter if could be done without greatly compromising the watch, but I can't imagine standing it down completely--just not the way it is done.

[Hylander_1314]

Originally Posted by Urge

Hylander_1314 wrote...

For what it's worth, I served on the U.S.S. Carp (SS338) during the mid 60s. One summer we went on a 3 week trip to the Azores and back (based in Norfolk Va.). We went thru 5 hurricanes in those 3 weeks. i was a seaman standing lookout watches and me(or one of the other lookouts) and the ood stayed topside with the conning tower hatch dogged shut during the worst of the storms. At times we were up to our chests in solid green water and I remember looking up at waves crashing over our heads. We had on two lifelines each and Mother Nature just toyed with that sub, tossing it around like it was a piece of driftwood. I have ultimate respect for the ocean!

Urge

Urge, I didn't say that sir

The oldman was discharged medically, (radiation) a couple weeks before the Thresher went down. How he wound up exposed to it, he never really did say. And he never really liked talking about being on sub duty. Even though it's a volunteer service. But remembering back, he did make mention of what you basically said about rough weather. About all he really told me is he was a propulsion specialist which also required him to learn the art of machinist to an extent. So he must have been required to fashion parts and other things needed for the job. But that was about where he left it.

Thanks for the info, all the same.