The Fateful Passage

Pigboatcook · 03-24-15, 11:07 AM

The Fateful Passage. A tribute.

It was a pitch black midnight, this 27th of February, 1942. The USS Grampus(SS-207) had departed Surabaya and was headed due east to her assignment off the city of Makassar in the Celebes. Her belly was full of fish, fuel, and fatigued sailors.

At 0300, positioned at 113_40 E / 6_40 S, we were making a quick dash across the northern coast of Java when the lookouts spotted a wake dead ahead. The darkness was thick but the unmistakeable foam of a ship headed straight for us could clearly be seen. Grampus slipped under the sea, and crawled ahead with her eye bouncing in and out of the water to try to identify the target.

It wasn't long before the sonar's ears picked up the screws. A whole gaggle of screws. Some big, some small, but all dead ahead, and all spinning our direction. Grampus went to silent running as we crept ahead.

I ordered the eye up again as the lead target was 10 degrees off our bow and just 1500 yards away. There it was, proud, determined, committed. The USS Houston moved due west followed by a mass of trailing ducklings. Grampus surfaced and gave the identification signal. The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast returned the ID acknowledgement as she continued on her grim voyage west as Grampus continued on her mission to the east.

The XO and I wondered where they were headed. It was a mighty sight. Houston, DeRuyter, Exeter, Perth, and Java. A mixed bag of ships, men, and nations headed towards the unknown in that glowering darkness. A short dozen of tin-cans followed the big boys across the sea. Where this force was headed was unknown, but what they intended to do there was obvious.

Grampus continued east as the task force slipped behind us and continued on their fateful passage.

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(This is a big giant thank you to Lurker and RSRDC. The USS Houston and HMAS Perth have always been to me a subject of great interest and
tremendous respect. To have serendipitously encountered this task force on their way to destiny was a wonderful surprise that sprung up out of the
darkness. Again, a big Texas hat tip to you Lurker. It made this old man smile seeing that well played salute to history and brave men.)

03-24-15, 11:07 AM	#1
Pigboatcook A-ganger Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 74 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	The Fateful Passage The Fateful Passage. A tribute. It was a pitch black midnight, this 27th of February, 1942. The USS Grampus(SS-207) had departed Surabaya and was headed due east to her assignment off the city of Makassar in the Celebes. Her belly was full of fish, fuel, and fatigued sailors. At 0300, positioned at 113_40 E / 6_40 S, we were making a quick dash across the northern coast of Java when the lookouts spotted a wake dead ahead. The darkness was thick but the unmistakeable foam of a ship headed straight for us could clearly be seen. Grampus slipped under the sea, and crawled ahead with her eye bouncing in and out of the water to try to identify the target. It wasn't long before the sonar's ears picked up the screws. A whole gaggle of screws. Some big, some small, but all dead ahead, and all spinning our direction. Grampus went to silent running as we crept ahead. I ordered the eye up again as the lead target was 10 degrees off our bow and just 1500 yards away. There it was, proud, determined, committed. The USS Houston moved due west followed by a mass of trailing ducklings. Grampus surfaced and gave the identification signal. The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast returned the ID acknowledgement as she continued on her grim voyage west as Grampus continued on her mission to the east. The XO and I wondered where they were headed. It was a mighty sight. Houston, DeRuyter, Exeter, Perth, and Java. A mixed bag of ships, men, and nations headed towards the unknown in that glowering darkness. A short dozen of tin-cans followed the big boys across the sea. Where this force was headed was unknown, but what they intended to do there was obvious. Grampus continued east as the task force slipped behind us and continued on their fateful passage. --------------------------------------- (This is a big giant thank you to Lurker and RSRDC. The USS Houston and HMAS Perth have always been to me a subject of great interest and tremendous respect. To have serendipitously encountered this task force on their way to destiny was a wonderful surprise that sprung up out of the darkness. Again, a big Texas hat tip to you Lurker. It made this old man smile seeing that well played salute to history and brave men.)