USS Growler, the rest of the story

Ducimus · 04-09-10, 10:27 PM

I'm sure everyone's heard about the USS growler, and Howard W. Gilmore's command of "Taker her down" that would become immortal in US submarine circles.

A quick recap:
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On 7 February USS Growler ( Howard W. Gilmore commanding) stealthily approached a gunboat for a night surface attack. The small fast ship suddenly turned to ram. Unable to avoid the collision, Gilmore ordered left full rudder and all ahead flank, and rammed the enemy amidships at 17 knots.

As machine gun fire raked them at point-blank range, Commander Gilmore ordered the bridge cleared. As the commanding officer, Gilmore was the last to leave the bridge, and was grievously wounded before he could get below. Realizing that he was jeopardizing his boat's escape, he ordered "Take her down!" and shut the hatch, remaining on the bridge while his boat dived.
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Here's the rest of the story of the USS Growler as told through a damage report:
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/.../WDR58-13.html

Some pictures from this report:

04-09-10, 10:27 PM	#1
Ducimus Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,987 Downloads: 67 Uploads: 2	USS Growler, the rest of the story I'm sure everyone's heard about the USS growler, and Howard W. Gilmore's command of "Taker her down" that would become immortal in US submarine circles. A quick recap: ------------------ On 7 February USS Growler ( Howard W. Gilmore commanding) stealthily approached a gunboat for a night surface attack. The small fast ship suddenly turned to ram. Unable to avoid the collision, Gilmore ordered left full rudder and all ahead flank, and rammed the enemy amidships at 17 knots. As machine gun fire raked them at point-blank range, Commander Gilmore ordered the bridge cleared. As the commanding officer, Gilmore was the last to leave the bridge, and was grievously wounded before he could get below. Realizing that he was jeopardizing his boat's escape, he ordered "Take her down!" and shut the hatch, remaining on the bridge while his boat dived. ------------------------------------ Here's the rest of the story of the USS Growler as told through a damage report: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/.../WDR58-13.html Some pictures from this report: