- 5 months ago
At the urging of Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, civilian scientists developed an electronic device that enabled submarines to detect floating and submerged mines. With this apparatus, a wolf-pack of nine subs entered the Sea of Japan in June 1945 and wreaked havoc with enemy shipping, contributing materially to the end of the war.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I'm Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykes, retired.
00:28Welcome aboard for another of the true stories of the silent service.
00:33This is the story of a man's faith, both in himself and in the courage, daring and effectiveness
00:39of the silent service and those who serve in it, and how that faith enabled him to make
00:44a decision upon which depended the lives of thousands of our fighting men.
00:51The Sea of Japan, October 1943, so strongly protected, so well guarded by the narrow straits
01:04affording the only approaches to it, that an unending stream of strategic war materials
01:09move constantly and unescorted across the inviolate, placid waters.
01:13And violent did we say, placid did we say, not to the U.S.S. Wahoo.
01:25But then after she left her mark and started back home, the door to the Sea of Japan slammed
01:33shut on the U.S.S. Wahoo forever.
01:37October 1943, the Pearl Harbor Operations Office of Rear Admiral Charles A. Lockwood,
01:44Commander Submarine Force Pacific Fleet.
01:47I hate to see that, Admiral.
01:52Too long overdue.
01:54We have to presume she's lost.
01:57But she left her calling card, they know she was there, and they'll do something about
02:04it right here.
02:05The Straits of La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, our only approaches to the Sea of Japan.
02:12They'll lay a solid barrier of mines across those waters, and their shipping will be as
02:18safe from submarine attack as though it were on the moon.
02:22We may be a long way from it right now, Dick.
02:28But one of these days, we'll be knocking at their home door.
02:32That's when we'll have to get in there, smash those supply lines, break the back of their
02:38resistance.
02:39Well, of course, no one's ever found a way for a submarine to penetrate a heavily laid minefield.
02:45Then we'll find a way.
02:47We'll get our ships through those mines, even if we have to...
02:53Break out the last report from San Diego Naval Research.
03:02Dick, this is a report from the San Diego Naval Research Laboratory.
03:05Cover some of the hush-hush gadgets they're working on.
03:08One of them's called the FMS, Frequency Modulated Sonar, an attempt at a mine detection apparatus
03:15for surface vessels, minesweepers.
03:17How far have they gone with it?
03:19Found it impractical.
03:22Effectiveness was nil in disturbed waters.
03:26What good is it to us?
03:28Maybe it'll work if adapted to a submarine where conditions are different.
03:33Maybe work the way we want it to.
03:35Those are a lot of maybes, Admiral.
03:38Then I'll add one more.
03:41Maybe this is the key that'll open the door to the Sea of Japan.
03:51Put me through to Admiral Nimitz.
03:54In a matter of days, Admiral Lockwood made a flying trip to the Naval Research Laboratories in San Diego.
04:03For test purposes, the FMS had been installed aboard a small motorboat by Dr. George P. Harnwell, civilian head of the laboratories.
04:13This is only a handmade test apparatus, Admiral.
04:18Purely experimental, but properly developed.
04:21It should be accurate enough for all practical purposes.
04:24We should be picking up that boat any second.
04:27You'll see her first as an irregularly shaped blob on the screen.
04:35Yeah, there she is.
04:37Note her position.
04:39Distance and direction are clearly indicated on the screen.
04:43Seems to work well enough on surface ships.
04:46That's what I meant about its being experimental.
04:51Still apart from effective and disturbed surface water.
04:55Would it be more effective underwater, for use by a submarine?
05:03Yes.
05:05Yes, I think perhaps it would.
05:07Could you perfect it well enough so that it could pinpoint mines?
05:11Point them out so accurately that a submarine could move through a tightly laid minefield in perfect safety.
05:22Admiral, I don't know.
05:25Doctor, I have to know.
05:28We'll do our best.
05:31June 23, 1944.
05:34The USS Spadefish, first submarine to be equipped with the FMS,
05:38headed for a dummy minefield off Pearl Harbor to undergo the maiden test of the new equipment.
05:45The tests were very disappointing.
05:51Come in.
05:57No luck, sir.
05:58The technicians can't find out what went wrong with the FMS this morning.
06:04Looks like a pretty temperamental gadget, Admiral.
06:08I know.
06:10We've seen it work.
06:11We've seen it go so haywire that nobody could tell what was up.
06:18We've lost nine more submarines so far this year.
06:23Unless we can break into the Sea of Japan and destroy her supply lines,
06:26the war can drag on for years longer.
06:29And each day we risk losing more ships, more American lives.
06:35Dick, I'm still convinced the FMS will work.
06:39That it's the only answer.
06:41That I'm only one man.
06:43What if I'm wrong?
06:45What if we can't lick the problems?
06:46Do I have the right to go ahead?
06:49To send even one crew out, depending on this gadget for their lives?
07:00There's only one man who can answer that, sir.
07:02All right, Dick. I know my answer.
07:09I don't have the right.
07:15Admiral Nimitz is already on our side.
07:19Admiral King's out here for a conference.
07:22If he'll give me his blessing, I'm going to push ahead with the FMS until it's perfected.
07:26Dick, we're moving west.
07:37New headquarters for comms sub-pack is going to be on Guam.
07:40That's good news, sir.
07:42Did Admiral King have anything else to say, sir?
07:45He was pretty flattering about our contribution to the Marianas invasion.
07:49Particularly to the wiping out of that troop convoy.
07:51That was very kind of him.
07:52Did the Admiral have anything else to say, sir?
07:57No.
07:59No, I don't believe that he...
08:01Oh, yes. Yes, there was one other thing.
08:04He's given us the green light to go ahead on the FMS.
08:07They'll be installed in a wolf pack of submarines.
08:10As soon as we're satisfied with them, we can tackle the Sea of Japan.
08:13Well, that was very nice of him, sir.
08:15I'll start preparations for our move to Guam.
08:23Ha, ha, ha.
08:26Saipan, March 1945.
08:30The USS Tunney, first of the FMS equipped submarines in the wolf pack assigned to enter the Sea of Japan, arrived to undergo final pre-combat tests.
08:39In temporary offices aboard a submarine tender, Admiral Lockwood conferred with Dr. Malcolm Henderson from the Naval Research Laboratories and Commander George E. Pierce, skipper of the Tunney.
08:53All the bugs ironed out now?
08:56If the FMS is ever going to work, it'll work right now.
08:59It's as perfect as we can possibly make it.
09:02How do you feel about things, George?
09:04Well, the Tunney's a sweet ship, sir. And my crew's the best.
09:11Go ahead, George.
09:13Admiral, my men and I know the Tunney backwards and forwards. We know her strength and her weaknesses.
09:18But there's one thing we don't know.
09:20The FMS.
09:22That's right, sir.
09:24Are your men concerned about it?
09:27Well, let's put it this way.
09:30They wish the Bureau of Ships would stop loading us down with a lot of untried electronic gadgets.
09:36They don't like the idea of risking their lives playing Buck Rogers with a lot of lights and buzzers.
09:42Feel that strongly about it, do they?
09:45Yes, sir. Now, not only the men on my ship, but I've heard the same from others from the skippers on down.
09:56I'm convinced that the FMS can take us into the Sea of Japan without the loss of a single ship or a single man.
10:02But nobody under my command is going to receive such orders unless he's as convinced as I am.
10:08A dummy minefield's been laid in the submarine sanctuary.
10:13We'll run the Tunney through it right now.
10:15Only, I won't judge the test.
10:18We'll let you do that.
10:26The FMS.
10:49The FMS.
10:50Contact!
11:00Barry!
11:01Can't make it out, sir. Not coming in too clear.
11:04Can't you bring her in?
11:06I'm trying to, sir, but I...
11:08I just don't seem to be able to...
11:11Now it's gone all again, sir.
11:14Right five degrees later.
11:17Contact!
11:19Barry!
11:20The image is jumping all over the screen, sir.
11:22Just can't seem to bring her in.
11:29Now that one's gone too, sir.
11:32Keep trying.
11:35Left ten degrees runner.
11:49Hour after hour passed as the Tunney made run after run through the dummy mine fields.
11:59Time after time, the result was the same.
12:02That's a third binary struck.
12:12Might as well return to port.
12:18It's just a little bit more.
12:20They're still in the middle.
12:21It's just a little bit more.
12:22It's just a little bit more.
12:23I've got to be careful.
12:24I'm going to get you on the floor.
12:26I think you've got to be careful.
12:27I've got to be careful.
12:28I've got to be careful.
12:29You're going to get you.
12:30Come in.
12:47I hope I'm not disturbing you, Admiral. I didn't see your orderly.
12:50Not at all, George. Help yourself.
12:54Not a very successful day, was it, sir?
12:57Not very.
13:00You still have faith in the FMS, don't you, Admiral?
13:04I do.
13:05But I'm afraid that's more than your crew has just about now.
13:08Well, it's a funny thing about submariners, sir.
13:13That's good coffee.
13:15Yes, it is.
13:17As I was saying, it's a funny thing about submariners.
13:22You take a man who's got a lot of faith in his skipper,
13:24and he'll ride along with them no matter what.
13:26Ever hear what the men of the submarine force call you, sir?
13:32I can imagine what your crew feels like calling me.
13:36They call you Uncle Charlie.
13:38It seems to be a little saying around the fleet every time one of us makes a kill.
13:43That's for Uncle Charlie.
13:45That's the way they put it.
13:45They have a great deal of respect for you, sir.
13:49Both as a man and as a friend.
13:53You've something on your mind, George.
13:56What is it?
13:58I wonder if the Admiral would mind doing me a little favor.
14:01If I can.
14:01You know, I just recently made commander,
14:05and I haven't had a chance to get myself a brass hat.
14:08I was wondering if you'd mind having the base at Pearl
14:11get me a brass hat size 7 3⁄8,
14:13and have it sent out here.
14:18You want me to send to Pearl for a brass hat?
14:21If you don't mind, sir.
14:24You see,
14:24I'd like to have it waiting for me here
14:27when we get back from our little patrol in the Sea of Japan.
14:29You'll have it.
14:37Thank you, sir.
14:40Come in.
14:43Looks like you found the trouble, Mal.
14:45Yes, sir.
14:45It wasn't in the set.
14:47The FMS was as sound as a dollar.
14:49There were a couple of loose connections
14:50that were kind of hard to reach.
14:52Anytime you want to retest it, honey,
14:54she's ready for you.
14:55George,
14:56be ready to get underway at dawn.
14:58Aye, aye, sir.
14:59Thank you, sir.
15:06Contact.
15:07Bearing 350, sir.
15:16Contact.
15:17Bearing 355, sir.
15:19Right 15 degrees rudder.
15:22That's number three, sir.
15:23Hello?
15:23Looks like we've just found the key to the door
15:29leading to Hirohito's bathtub.
15:36Contact.
15:37Zero three zero, sir.
15:38Guam, May 23rd, 1945.
15:42Guam, May 23rd, 1945.
15:47Nine submarines,
15:49Wolfpack known as the Hellcats,
15:51fully equipped with FMS tuned to perfection,
15:54stood ready and waiting.
15:55The commanders of the Hellcat submarines
15:57assembled in the operations office
15:59of the submarine tender Holland.
16:01Commander Barney Seaglamp,
16:03who worked with Admiral Lockwood
16:04as planning and training officer
16:05for the operation,
16:06gave them their final briefing.
16:09You'll enter the Sea of Japan
16:10through Tsushima Straits.
16:12Intelligence indicates
16:13that there are three,
16:15possibly four,
16:16strings of mines
16:17placed at at least
16:18three different levels of depth.
16:19Now, you'll run the mine barrier
16:22in groups of three.
16:25You can reconnoit your areas,
16:27but you'll remain unseen
16:28until sunset of June 9th.
16:30That's the hour for commence firing.
16:33Any questions?
16:34How do we get off, Barney?
16:36Your rendezvous here,
16:38on June 24th.
16:40Make your exit
16:40out of La Perouse Strait that night.
16:44Any further questions?
16:49Gentlemen,
16:52I've been working on this project
16:54for a long time.
16:55Today brings all my hopes,
16:57my dreams to a climax.
16:59I don't have to tell you
17:00that I have faith in you,
17:02your crews, your ships
17:03to carry out this operation.
17:05The fact that you're here
17:06states that better than I can.
17:09I've just one favor to ask.
17:12I've never fired one torpedo
17:13during wartime
17:14in anger at an enemy.
17:16Unfortunately, my request
17:18to accompany this mission personally
17:19has been denied.
17:22All I ask of you now
17:23is that you fire plenty of them.
17:26Not for me,
17:28but for everything
17:28we're fighting for.
17:31Good hunting.
17:33God bless you.
17:38June 5th.
17:39The Tsushima Straits.
17:41Quiet, peaceful,
17:43placid on the surface.
17:45Heavily laid
17:46with certain death below.
17:49This is the captain.
18:02We're ready to make our run
18:04through the Straits of Tsushima.
18:05You all know what to expect.
18:08You've been trained and briefed.
18:10You know what we can do,
18:11and you know what the FMS can do.
18:13Admiral Lockwood believes
18:16we can penetrate these straits
18:17without losing a ship
18:19or a man.
18:20I believe it.
18:22Good luck.
18:23Contact.
18:31Bearing.
18:32Zero, one, five, sir.
18:34Left, ten degrees, runner.
18:36Left, ten degrees, runner.
18:52Left, ten degrees, runner.
18:54Untanked.
19:16Baring 350, sir.
19:17two of them sir one to port and one to starboard and real close
19:25they're too close to swing around them right five degrees runner if that fms is right
19:33and it better be they've got just about enough room to move between those two minds
19:47what's that
20:02mine cable scraping the hole
20:17thank you baby thank you
20:30from june the fourth through june the eighth the sea of japan remained as placid as calm
20:38as apparently and violent as it had for almost the past two years
20:42then just before sunset on the evening of june the ninth one by one the periscopes of the
20:47united states submarines broke the surface in the waters of the sea of japan
21:01nine had entered the straits of shushima nine were now ready waiting and eager to carry out their orders
21:12fire
21:19from june 9th to june 24th the hellcat's rain concentrated destruction on japanese shipping
21:29the sea of japan was no longer the emperor's peaceful bathtub
21:33strewn with wreckage supply lines blasted beyond all future repair
21:37this was indeed an operation that helped to break the back of japan's resistance forever
21:44so
21:51rendezvous point june 24th la peruse strait
21:53and the hellcats began their exit
21:56only eight of them now
21:59the bonefish had been left behind somewhere in the sea of japan
22:03but admiral lockwood had kept his word
22:05the bonefish was sunk by enemy action
22:08not one ship
22:09not one man
22:10was lost to enemy mines
22:12the
22:14the
22:27the
22:30mission accomplished
22:31the
22:35the
22:37I'll be back in a moment with our special guest.
23:07And now I'd like you to meet the officer whose story you've just seen, Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, who was Command of Submarine Force Pacific Fleet.
23:15Thanks for the compliment, Tommy. But it's not my story alone. Much credit belongs to the civilian scientists who brought the FMS into being, the members of my staff who worked so hard and long to affect what many considered my harebrained scheme, and the skippers and crews of the Hellcats who carried out the operation so brilliantly.
23:35I know I don't have to remind you how tough and at times heartbreaking those long months must have been while you sweated out your dream about the FMS.
23:44They had their low moments. Moments when I was just about ready to jump overboard.
23:48Can you remember if there was any one single thing that helped you to maintain your faith?
23:52That's an easy one, Tommy. It was a broom. A broom that I never saw again. I'm sure you know the one I mean.
23:59Every submarine knows it, Admiral.
24:01It was always there, lashed to her periscope when she came back from a successful patrol.
24:07The broom worn so proudly by the USS Wahoo with Mush Morton at her helm.
24:12But then I'm not so sure I didn't see it once more.
24:16When was that, Admiral?
24:17The night I learned the operation had been a success.
24:20I was on the quarterdeck of the Holland, looking out to sea, thinking about the gallant ships and men who had given their lives to make possible this crowning success.
24:29And somewhere out there in the darkness, I seemed to see the barnacle-encrusted hull of the Wahoo.
24:34And the broom was lashed proudly to her periscope above the shattered bridge, signaling, well done, to the Hellcats.
24:42It is not normal for a junior to say well done to a senior, but I know I speak for our audience, and all of us who are so fortunate as to serve under you, when I say this was a magnificent accomplishment.
24:53Thank you, Tommy.
24:54Thank you for being with us, Admiral.
24:57I hope you will join us again for another true and exciting story of the silent service.
25:02Take her down, there's a lot in line, through the deep blue underneath the ocean, we'll control the ocean's wide.
25:16From down, down, underneath the sea, they can post the past for work, in the future's yet to be.
25:29And we'll see, as long as there's a submarine there underneath the sea.
25:38So wait for time, and take her down.
25:42Down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, underneath the ocean.
25:46There's a span of a fine free time, in the deep blue underneath the sea.
25:54Come on!
25:55Yeah!
25:56ец
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