Captain of USS Drum tangled with a drunk Hemingway in a Key West bar.

[Bubblehead1980]

Apparently, Drum's first Captain (Robert H. Rice) tangled with an inebriated Ernest Hemingway in a Key West bar. Great audiobook, covers the Silversides, Drum, and Tang. Plannedto buy the actual book, stumbled across this. Will still likely buy the book to add to the library as prefer to have a physical copy, enjoying thus far.

[1Patriotofmany]

Thanks for the post, just got done reading it. The treatment of our POWS by the Japanese always gets my blood boiling. Very good read.

[propbeanie]

I have had the book for a good while now, with probably 3 complete reads in. I do use it for some reference. My favorite book though is still "Clear The Bridge".

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

I have had the book for a good while now, with probably 3 complete reads in. I do use it for some reference. My favorite book though is still "Clear The Bridge".

Nice I just ordered it so have a physical copy but am enjoying the audiobook as well. "Clear the Bridge" was excellent, but so was "Wahoo" also by O Kane. So many great memoirs such as those two and of course one of my favorites, "Thunder Below!" by Admiral Fluckey. The other, not as well known as but loved it was "The Luck of the Draw" by Captain Ken Ruiz. Ruiz was a Ensign aboard USS Vincennes at Battle of Savo Island, survived it (barely) after going into the water when she was sunk. Also, he was supposed to be on the bridge but changed watches with another Ensign(a friend of his from Annapolis) for some reason, his friend perished when the bridge was hit by a japanese shell. Ruiz and other survivors ended up at Pearl Harbor in front of Nimitz, were told to keep quiet about the battle for the time being. Some senior officer asked for volunteers for submarines. Ruiz said he decided he never wanted to be in a surface engagement on a big target like a cruiser again, so he volunteered. Went directly to the the old Pollock (Porpoise Class) SS-180, to learn on the job, no submarine school. Been a while since have read it and my dog literally ate it (lol) so need to get a new copy, but he eventually earned his dolphins and he moved up to XO on Pollock before it was all over.


I recall part of the book when they were under depth charge attack and pumps failed, they ended up sinking to 540 feet before could recover. Other was during night surface attack in mid 1943 off home islands, they fired four bow torpedoes and due to dark night did not see the torpedo circle back, which ran under the hull and exploded, knocking out power, propulsion etc. A japanese destroyer spotted the and heard the explosion, came racing in, while they worked to get Pollock back on line, which they managed to just in time. I believe they were able to slip away in the darkness, but may have ended up submerging. Luckily for them, the torpedo ran deeper than set so
Pollock did not take the full force of the explosion. Basically, if not for faulty torpedoes, they would have been killed by the circle runner. Luck of the Draw is an appropriate name for the book, as Ruiz mentions a few times.

[propbeanie]

I have that also. I have Fluckey's book also, and enjoy them all, but what I like about O'Kane's book is the examples of some the procedures described, as well as the orders wording, which are in some of the Objectives for FotRSU, and the differences between Fremantle, Brisbane and Pearl in that regard - and then how some of the Fremantle people ended up at Pearl, and they went back to the "Sunshine" method, where there are some tongue-in-cheek orders, and Ultra alerts that add that little "extra" to the "simulation". Now to just add a rocket rack on a Gato for a Lucky Fluckey shore bombardment... - it's going to be expensive to acquire said weapon though, and it will be of minimal impact to the enemy installations, its being rather inaccurate...

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

I have that also. I have Fluckey's book also, and enjoy them all, but what I like about O'Kane's book is the examples of some the procedures described, as well as the orders wording, which are in some of the Objectives for FotRSU, and the differences between Fremantle, Brisbane and Pearl in that regard - and then how some of the Fremantle people ended up at Pearl, and they went back to the "Sunshine" method, where there are some tongue-in-cheek orders, and Ultra alerts that add that little "extra" to the "simulation". Now to just add a rocket rack on a Gato for a Lucky Fluckey shore bombardment... - it's going to be expensive to acquire said weapon though, and it will be of minimal impact to the enemy installations, its being rather inaccurate...

Agree, he did cover procedures etc well. lol I look forward to the rocket launcher on a Gato for shore bombardment. Surprised no one has done it yet and of course should not be that accurate. One thing I have been wanting to incorporate into TMO is bombardment missions with deck gun. Since shipping aside from fishing boats sampans, smaller craft becomes rare, want 1945 to have a lot more different missions. The silly agent insertion and tokyo bay photo missions will be deleted, a lot of lifeguard patrols, picket sweeps, bombardments will fill last few month of war. Of course still limited traffic along shore lines in home islands and SOJ of course, Operation Barney will be included.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

Agree, he did cover procedures etc well. lol I look forward to the rocket launcher on a Gato for shore bombardment. Surprised no one has done it yet and of course should not be that accurate. One thing I have been wanting to incorporate into TMO is bombardment missions with deck gun. Since shipping aside from fishing boats sampans, smaller craft becomes rare, want 1945 to have a lot more different missions. The silly agent insertion and tokyo bay photo missions will be deleted, a lot of lifeguard patrols, picket sweeps, bombardments will fill last few month of war. Of course still limited traffic along shore lines in home islands and SOJ of course, Operation Barney will be included.

do you realize that you cannot cause damage to shore buildings?
drive your boat into a harbor and shoot at the cranes and buildings. you will see explosions but nothing will burn or be destroyed.

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

do you realize that you cannot cause damage to shore buildings?
drive your boat into a harbor and shoot at the cranes and buildings. you will see explosions but nothing will burn or be destroyed.

Yes, but I recall a member(Traveler) once created it so could bombard , damage, destroy buildings in his mod. Plan to look it over soon.

[1Patriotofmany]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

do you realize that you cannot cause damage to shore buildings?
drive your boat into a harbor and shoot at the cranes and buildings. you will see explosions but nothing will burn or be destroyed.

Yeah that's one detraction from the sim. I tried pumping rounds into a tank farm at one of the enemies ports, I was hoping Fotrsu would enable that ability.