- 4 months ago
ilversides (SS-236) On her third and fourth war patrols, the USS Silversides did more than sink enemy ships. The patrols had a profound effect on the life of one young torpedoman. Everything came easily to Torpedoman 3rd Class James P. Lane. From the moment he joined the Silversides crew, the submarine seemed to lead a charmed life. Her torpedoes ran hot and true. Enemy ship after ship went down without returning fire and Lane's cheery philosophy was reinforced. But things took an unexpected turn when the Silversides took on an enemy patrol boat in a surface battle. From then on, Lane knew that fighting a war was no snap.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Oh-oh-oh! Oh-oh-oh! Oh-oh-oh!
00:12They come down as hot in line
00:16Through the deep blue and beneath the ocean
00:20We'll control the oceans wide
00:24From down, down, underneath the sea
00:29I'm Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dyker, retired
00:32Welcome aboard for another true story about the silent service
00:36This is the story of war patrols of the USS Silversides
00:40And how those patrols made a profound difference
00:43In the life of a man whom we shall call Torpederman 3rd Class James P. Lane
00:49But in a larger sense, just as ever-present danger was routine
00:53As heroism was commonplace in everyday living
00:56This is truly the story of all the submarines
00:59And all the submariners of the silent service
01:06Pearl Harbor, the fall of 1942
01:09This is the USS Silversides, already a veteran of the war in the Pacific
01:14These men are replacements, waiting to become acquainted with the submarine that will be their new home
01:19Three of them are vitally connected with our story
01:22Farmer 1st Class George Platter
01:25Or Peterman 3rd Class Mike Harbin
01:28Or Peterman 3rd Class James P. Lane
01:31But hey, what's the idea of that?
01:34Good luck piece
01:35See, whenever I get into a tight spot I rub his belly for a little good luck
01:39Yeah?
01:40Huh
01:41You figure that helps you out, huh?
01:45Well, I sure figure it doesn't hurt
01:47I guess you don't believe in those things
01:49No
01:50The way I figure it, life's not so tough that a man has to go around rubbing statues to help himself out
01:56Things come along pretty easily
01:59I didn't hear either of you guys talk about a little good old-fashioned hard work
02:04There's plenty of that ahead of us
02:06Oh, no, it's not gonna be that, Tom
02:09No one's gonna have to knock himself out to win this man's war
02:16I know a lot of men who disagree with you, son
02:22Their service records read killed in action
02:25What's your name, son?
02:29Torpedoman 3rd Class James P. Lane, sir
02:32Mm-hmm
02:33There's another Torpedoman here, too
02:35Which one's Harbin?
02:36I'm Harbin
02:37I'm Chief Torpedoman Swerdling
02:39You two are joining my team in the forward torpedo room
02:42You've been making some noises about how things weren't gonna be so tough in this man's war lane
02:47Now, maybe you better think of something first
02:50The Silver Sides has seen something of this war
02:54And if you think things have been so easy, just remember this
02:59All you men are replacements
03:02Okay
03:03Grab your sea bags and follow me aboard
03:06Twenty-four hours later, the USS Silver Sides got underway
03:15Heading towards our patrol area off the shores of Japan
03:19Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Creed Burlingame
03:34Our executive officer was Lieutenant Commander Roy M. Davenport
03:38Under Chief Swerdling's meticulous supervision
03:41Every torpedo on board the USS Silver Sides
03:44Was thoroughly checked and inspected regularly
03:47Long, arduous hours of work were involved
03:50But not for Jimmy Lane
03:55I thought I told you to check the detonator on this fish lane
03:58I already did, Chief
03:59That quick
04:12Okay
04:14It's a pretty easy job, Chief
04:16Most of them on this sub are
04:17Yeah
04:18You know, one of these days you're gonna find out just how tough things really are
04:23And when you do
04:25I don't think I wanna be in your shoes
04:32For several days the Silver Sides continued her patrol without incident
04:36Jimmy Lane continued to find life aboard the submarine as easy and carefree as he thought it would be
04:44How goes it, guys?
04:46Oh, same as always, everything's quiet aboard the mighty Silver Sides
04:53Hey, what's with you, Mike?
04:54Some joker scratches girl's name on the nose of this baby
04:57Gotta smooth it out
05:00Mike Hardman's motto, I search for more work
05:04Sometimes I can't figure you out, Jimmy
05:06Didn't you ever have to work for anything in your whole life?
05:09Of course
05:10But never any harder than I have to
05:12George, we have a privileged boy with us here
05:16Been going to fancy prep school back east
05:19College all set for him after that
05:21And then his dad's business is waiting
05:23What's he wanna work for?
05:25Knock it off, Mike
05:27No, look, I think that's all great
05:30If a guy can get it
05:32Only, uh, only what?
05:34Well, what Mike means is
05:36You don't know what real work is
05:38I mean
05:39Well, maybe he had things too easy or something
05:42It's just not gonna work that way aboard this sub
05:46So, we're back to that, huh?
05:48Okay?
05:50Okay?
05:53I'll show you how tough I can get
05:55Get out the old acey-ducey board
05:57Ha, ha, ha, ha
06:15Left full rudder
06:17Whole head flank
06:18Captain to the bridge
06:19Periscope off starboard quarter
06:22Let her suck
06:23Maybe she's one of ours
06:24Not around here
06:25Not around here.
06:27She's under.
06:29And we're surfacing.
06:32We'll be a sitting duck.
06:36Make radio two.
06:38On the double.
06:55The tube's ready.
07:03Depth set at 50 feet.
07:05Final bearing.
07:08Stand by.
07:11Mark.
07:13Fire!
07:13Fire!
07:24Depth charge.
07:25I've got to close the blockhead flappers.
07:27Hold it, Harbin!
07:28It was only our fish hitting home.
07:31All right, Harbin.
07:33I'd rather have you on the ball even if you make mistakes.
07:35And get it in your head that fighting this war is such a snap.
07:38This is the captain speaking.
07:40Congratulations to all hands.
07:41We've just knocked off one Japanese sub.
07:46Whoa!
07:48Oh, one sub sighted, one fish fired, one sub sank.
07:53You have to admit, Chief, that wasn't very tough.
08:03As the Silver Sides continued her patrol, the hunting was excellent.
08:07Fire!
08:09Fire!
08:10Zero, two, six.
08:11Construct!
08:12Resume fire!
08:13Fire!
08:15Stand by to shift targets.
08:24Enemy ship after enemy ship was picked off by the Silver Sides with little or no resistance.
08:41And all of this only serves to strengthen Jimmy's philosophy concerning the ease of life in general and submarine warfare in particular.
08:56Ship contact captain to the bridge.
08:56Ship contact captain to the bridge.
09:14I wouldn't worry, Mike.
09:15you're a little bit more.
09:16Eight to five says we'll knock off inside half an hour.
09:29What do you think of her, Captain?
09:31Not much doubt, Roy.
09:32She's a patrol boat.
09:33We'll take it with the deck guns.
09:35Battle stations, gun action.
09:37All right, all guns are on the double.
09:39Come on, boys, jump to it.
09:41Jump!
09:42You heard where the chief said jump!
09:44Hey, come on, man!
10:04Easy, man, easy!
10:10She's gonna make a fight for it.
10:26The playmates out there are having themselves in target practice.
10:30Come in, fire!
10:33Oh, here! You're heading!
10:41Robert, fire!
10:46Don't get nervous, boy.
10:48We're clobbing him before we can do it again.
10:53Hey, Mike, what's the matter?
11:00He's not dead.
11:03Is he?
11:07Is he?
11:09How easy do you think life is now, Lane?
11:11Huh?
11:12No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
11:20After her successful attack on the patrol boat, the Silver Sides made her way to Brisbane, Australia.
11:25There she was refitted, received replacements for some of her crew, and the old hands got a much-needed rest.
11:32It wasn't long thereafter that she set out on her next patrol.
11:40Hey, chief's a little hit on this inspection business, ain't he?
11:43What's with this daily check-up routine?
11:45Look, every man works on this team, Phillips. Works, get it?
11:51Yeah, sure, man, sure.
11:53The Island of Truck, December 1942.
12:03Japan's most formidable, most powerful advanced base.
12:08It was here that the Silver Sides orders had taken her.
12:28Battle stations torpedo make ready L2.
12:32Come on, come on.
12:33Shoot!
12:36Fire one!
12:53See?
12:54Two fish, two hits.
12:55It's easy as falling off alive.
12:57Just hold on to your hat, Buster Ware.
12:59Not in danger yet.
13:03Wait for depth charge.
13:05Wait for depth charge.
13:06It's not quite as easy as you figured, is it, Phillips?
13:08It's not quite as easy as you figured, is it, Phillips?
13:20It's not quite as easy as a figure, is it, Phillips?
13:33The Japanese destroyer had missed the silver sides on her first run.
13:40Now she was circling the area like a bloodhound, looking for the scent, never giving up.
13:45You know, Jimmy, I think you're finally coming around to the point where you don't think life is such a snap anymore.
14:12Is that so?
14:14Yeah. I've noticed on this patrol, even pretty much on the ball.
14:20Did Mike Harbin have anything to do with this?
14:26Huh?
14:31Stow it, George.
14:34Okay. I just kind of had the feeling that you...
14:40Hey, what's the matter?
14:42It's nothing.
14:44It'll go in.
14:46Hey, you've had these things before?
14:50They've been kind of coming and going, but...
14:52Hey, let's get you to the pharmacist. Come on, you don't look so good.
14:56It wasn't good. The pharmacist's mate reported his findings immediately to Captain Burlingame.
15:04Platter had a dangerously inflamed appendix, liable to burst at any moment.
15:09The pharmacist's mate was not a doctor. He had never operated before.
15:13The surgical instruments available were insufficient and not intended for a major operation.
15:18But a man's life was at stake. The captain's decision was to operate at once.
15:27Oh, what's the word, Doc?
15:28I'm operating.
15:29You'll need some men to help, won't you?
15:31That's right.
15:32Well, I'd like to volunteer. You see, George is my buddy.
15:35Sorry, Lane. There's nothing to come easy in this job.
15:38It's gonna be tough all the way. I've got my men.
15:41And so Jimmy Lane, who until a few short weeks ago had found life so easy,
15:53so without stress or strain, was now sweating it out alone,
15:57realizing the tough, hard fact that his closest buddy was facing the loss of his life
16:02as another buddy had lost his only a short time before.
16:06The enemy seemed to sense his advantage and made the most of it.
16:11Rigged for depth charge.
16:16George Platter survived that appendectomy,
16:31despite the complication of a vicious Japanese attack.
16:35And the USS Silversides lived through that dogged, relentless attack also,
16:40for the next five days they both recuperate.
16:43Then on the sixth day...
16:45A long line of sitting ducks, Roy.
16:50The fattest destroyer escort I've seen yet.
16:51Very interesting.
16:52Yeah.
16:53A long line of sitting ducks, Roy.
16:57The fattest destroyer escort I've seen yet.
16:58Very interesting.
16:59Yeah.
17:00Yeah.
17:01A long line of sitting ducks, Roy.
17:03The fattest destroyer escort I've seen yet.
17:05Very interesting.
17:06Yeah.
17:07Yeah.
17:08Well, we'll just send him six calling cards and run like the devil.
17:12Well, we'll just send him six calling cards and run like the devil.
17:19Fire!
17:20Fire!
17:21Fire!
17:26Well, we'll just send him six calling cards and run like the devil.
17:44Fire!
17:56That was number six, Captain.
18:05Right full rudder, all ahead and flank.
18:07Right full rudder, all ahead and flank.
18:08Take a deep emergency.
18:09Take a deep emergency.
18:26That's one.
18:33That's two and three.
18:39There goes number four.
18:50Number five.
18:56Number six must have been a mess.
19:01We'll see how it could, not at the perfect track angle we had.
19:05What happened to it?
19:07I wish I knew.
19:26The other door of the tube is jammed open.
19:43The fish isn't in starting position.
19:45So?
19:46Well, the torpedo never left the tube.
19:48It's just dangling there, half in and half out.
19:50The torpedo's arm, Chief.
19:55If any of those charges get close enough to detonate it...
19:58I know, Lane, I know.
19:59I've already told the Captain.
20:01What's to be done?
20:02Nothing.
20:06Nothing.
20:08Not until we lose those tin cans or detonate the fish.
20:11After that, I'll see.
20:13I'll see.
20:20For three long hours, the Silversides and her crew sweated it out.
20:28As the Japanese tin cans kept up their unceasing attack.
20:31And they all knew, every man aboard,
20:33that any one of those explosions could detonate that arm-dangling torpedo
20:37and put an end to their ship and all of them forever.
20:41Finally, the dogged enemy gave up the attack and moved away.
20:44And Silversides surfaced onto a quiet, sunlit sea with no enemy within sight.
20:49But with her most dangerous enemy,
20:51that dangling torpedo still held tight in the forward tube.
21:01How about it, Chief?
21:03She's down there all right, Captain,
21:04but not far enough out to get at the exploder.
21:07There's only one thing left to do.
21:09Yes, sir.
21:10Try and get her out by refiring.
21:12What do you figure the odds?
21:13About ten to one that she'll explode when we hit the key.
21:16And if we don't?
21:17She's liable to go off at any time.
21:21All right, then.
21:22Let's refire.
21:27Ready for firing, Chief.
21:29All right.
21:30Now, you know what our chances are.
21:33If that fish goes off before she leaves the tube,
21:38I don't have to tell you what's going to happen in this room.
21:40I want three volunteers.
21:47Why you, Lane?
21:48Why not?
21:49There's a job to be done.
21:52And besides, I...
21:53I guess that if Mike Harbin were here,
21:56he would have volunteered.
21:57All right.
21:58Lane, Phillips, Chadwick.
22:01The rest of you move out.
22:01Oh, one second.
22:24Forward torpedo room, watertight.
22:27Ready for firing, sir.
22:29All back, go.
22:30Bees.
22:32It's a kid.
22:33I'm going.
22:34Go by.
22:35You know, we went.
22:35It's a kid.
22:35We may.
22:36Go.
22:36No.
22:37It's a kid.
22:38Man.
22:38We took the whistle.
22:40You know, you know?
22:45Me.
22:46Come on.
22:46It's a kid.
22:46They were ๊ทธ๋ค์.
22:47That's me.
22:47It's a kid.
22:48Yeah.
22:51Oh, two times.
22:51Yeah.
22:52Well, there she goes.
23:13What do you think of submarine life now, Lane?
23:15Oh, it's tough, Chief. Plenty tough.
23:19But I think a bunch of tough submarinos can lick it.
23:22I'll be back in a moment with our special guest.
23:38And now I'd like you to meet an officer who is aboard the Silver Sides on those patrols,
23:43who lived through the events we've just shown you and many more.
23:46Real Admiral Creed Burlingame retired, her first skipper.
23:50Creed, from all I've been able to learn, there never was a dull patrol on the Silver Sides.
23:55I guess we had a crowd of people who made things happen.
23:58I'm sure of that.
23:59And it seems to me there were occasions when you overdid it.
24:02How's that?
24:04Having to operate on platter wasn't enough,
24:06so you had to get depth charge right afterwards to keep things moving.
24:10Well, as I think of it, maybe you're right.
24:12The time we got the torpedo stuck in the tube.
24:14Most anyone else would have had the good luck to get clear so they could handle this serious casualty.
24:19Instead, we were under attack and were just fortunate the warhead didn't blow up.
24:24Actually, your knack for making things happen was a great asset to the Silver Sides.
24:28Her record was outstanding.
24:30Yes, of all of our submarines, she ranked third in number of ships sunk.
24:33She was really a fine ship.
24:35And you and Captain Jack Coy, who relieved you, are certainly to be congratulated.
24:40But don't forget that great Silver Sides ship's company.
24:42I'm sure that no one will for a mighty long time to come.
24:46Thanks, Creed, for being with us.
24:47Thank you, Tommy.
24:51Please be with us again for another true story of the silent service.
24:55Thank you, Tommy.
25:25The future's yet to be that we'll stay as long as there's a submarine there underneath the sea.
25:37So wait for a dive and take the gun.
25:40Down, down, down, go down, down, come beneath the ocean.
25:46Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
25:55Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
25:57Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
25:58Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
25:59Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:00Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:01Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:02Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:03Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:04Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:05Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:06Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:07Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
26:08Fearless men will find freedom in the deep blue underneath the sea.
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