- 4 months ago
Trigger (SS-237) For her third war patrol, the USS Trigger had an unusual assignment: mine the coastal waters of Japan to drive enemy shipping into deep water. No one was happy with the assignment. For Ensign Thomas, mine-laying was a lowly chore. When the patrol takes an unusual turn, Thomas and the Trigger's crew find that even mine laying pays off.
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00:00Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
00:30I'm Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykes, retired. The torpedo is the submarine's usual weapon. With the long, deadly fission of tubes, a sub can aim at and strike a distant target. But our undersea fleet during World War II wasn't limited to fighting with torpedoes. In this chapter of the silent service, we followed the USS Trigger on a patrol that began with an unusual assignment and had an even more unusual climax.
01:00Pearl Harbor, busy nerve center of the Pacific Fleet. Here Lieutenant Commander Roy S. Benson, captain of the Trigger, received orders for his submarine's third patrol.
01:13I'm afraid you're not going to like this one, Roy. I don't understand, sir. Well, this is sort of an unusual patrol. Maybe that isn't quite the right word. Let's call it a special patrol. Special? In what way?
01:27The Japanese shipping have been hugging the coast, heading for every cove to keep away from our submarines. Yes, sir. We've seen a lot of them do that.
01:34We've got to drive those ships back out into deep water where we can get at them. I'm all for that, but how do we do it?
01:41You'll be laying mines next trip, Roy. Mines?
01:47Not what you wanted, I know. But we don't know anything about laying mines. Few sub crews do. You'll get some practice before you go out.
01:56But why the Trigger, captain? After that last patrol, not getting credit for the tanker, I'd hope for something better.
02:03We have no choice, Roy. Your boat's ready for sea, the job has to be done, and to put it bluntly, we're finding ourselves running short of torpedoes.
02:13Oh, I guess I don't have any choice. I'm afraid not. Now, let me show you what has to be done.
02:22Like all patrols, the Trigger's third really began in the imagination of a crew.
02:31Yes, sir. That's the way I figure it. The Japanese are building up them northern bases, and they ain't doing it with carrier pigeons.
02:39No fooling. Yeah, there's ships up there. Plenty of them. Big, fat freighters, and that's where we're heading.
02:44Straight dope, huh? The straightest you'll ever hear. You might as well break out your foul weather gear.
02:49Yeah, I've had this with you before, Gebhardt. Remember that Kiska patrol?
02:54You had us going to Australia. All right, so somebody changed the orders, but this time I know.
03:00And you better get some antifreeze for them rusty veins of yours. You're gonna need it.
03:09Oh, what's the good news, Mr. Beach? Skipper come aboard yet?
03:12Hey, Mr. Beach, Gebhardt here's got it figured out already. He knows where we're going, how many ships he'll sink,
03:18and the name, rank, and serial number of every Japanese skipper will need.
03:24Your guess is as good as anyone's, Gebhardt. The skipper came aboard a few minutes ago.
03:28All he said was clear the torpedo tubes and get ready to take on mines.
03:33Mines? Mines?
03:34That's right, mines. Twenty-four of them.
03:37Gonna be a little tight for a while.
03:39But what about the torpedoes? This is a submarine, not a mine layer.
03:42Yeah. We'll take a few of those along, too. Just in case.
03:48How's Himalulu?
04:02Same as last time. Tried it.
04:05They wake you up?
04:06No. My mother always left a light on in my room. I'm used to it.
04:11What's a good word? I've been ashore since noon.
04:15Don't brag.
04:17Come on, when are we shoving off?
04:19Pretty soon.
04:20None of it answers that. Pretty soon when?
04:22Soon as we get the mines aboard.
04:24Oh.
04:26What mines?
04:28The next one's a mine-laying patrol.
04:31A mine-laying patrol?
04:33Yeah. Well, pipe down and turn in.
04:36You're kidding!
04:38Oh, why?
04:40What kind of a way to win a war is that? With mines!
04:45Well, we have to take the patrols as they give them to us.
04:49Besides, what's wrong with mines?
04:51If I'd wanted mine-layer duty, you'd have to put in for it.
04:56In a war, you don't always get your choice.
04:59Maybe not.
05:01As long as you gotta be in one, the least you can do is hope for a fighting ship.
05:05Trigger loaded her new weapons and got in the way from Pearl Harbor on December 3rd, 1946.
05:341942.
05:46Com's sub-pack wants us to mine the coastal waters north of Tokyo.
05:50We've got to drive enemy shipping out into the open.
05:53How close to going in, Captain?
05:55Close enough to lay the mines in 55 feet of water.
05:59We can hardly even get wet in 55 feet of water.
06:02That's right. Not enough water to wade in.
06:05Mines in the tubes instead of torpedoes and destroyers thick as flies.
06:09Anyone want to get off now?
06:12And those mines, when they go out, the bow tubes, they settle up forward and then we have to pass over them?
06:19Don't let that worry them.
06:20The mines can't be detonated till 45 minutes after they've cleared the tubes.
06:24What if somebody goofed?
06:25Well, you can file a complaint with the manufacturer.
06:28For Mars.
06:30I know all of you wanted another torpedo shooting patrol, but there just aren't enough torpedoes to go around.
06:40If all the war is over, we'll get plenty of chances to shoot.
06:43In the meantime, this is our job and we're expected to do it well.
06:49Cruisers and wagons, flat tops and bigger, will blow out their brains on the mines of the Trigger.
07:03As the days pass, Trigger plowed on towards her assigned area.
07:06While below decks, each man worked at new responsibilities.
07:10You'll have the bow planes when we go in, Carlisle.
07:13Maintain depth, that's the important thing.
07:16It'll be shallow.
07:17And if you don't hold her at the order depth, we'll either be hitting bottom on top of our own mines or popping out on the surface.
07:23Either can mean curtains.
07:27I'll be plotting the way in.
07:29So keep those phenomena readings coming through.
07:31I want to know how much water is under the keel at all times.
07:34You better check this over.
07:36It'd be a bad time to blow a fuse.
07:38Yes, sir.
07:39All right, now, easy men, easy.
07:41There's no telling what these things will do.
07:43Well, they're safe now.
07:44There's nothing to worry about.
07:45Yes, sir.
07:46But no matter what you say, I'll be glad when these things are out of here.
07:48Torpedoes, I understand.
07:50Well, we've got somebody on board that can help you.
07:52He's had duty on a mine layer.
07:53Who?
07:54Perkins?
07:55Perkins?
07:56Oh, we don't need no help.
07:58Thanks, anyway.
07:59We don't need no help at all.
08:00See, it's sort of a new type mine.
08:07Influenced magnetic, it's called.
08:09See, it doesn't have to touch anything.
08:11Just the magnetic field around the ship sets it off, and wow!
08:151,100 pounds of torp under your keel.
08:30Better put a third lookout on watch, Penrod.
08:33Anything can happen from here on in.
08:35All right, sir.
08:36Ship contact bearing 3-4-0.
08:44Clear the bridge!
08:45Dive!
08:46Dive!
09:07Me with no torpedoes in the tubes.
09:13Trigger stalked the contact.
09:14At Pearl Harbor, they would want to know the type of ship,
09:16her course, and even her intention, if possible.
09:19She's a freighter.
09:21Special gear on our well deck.
09:23Might be heading for truck.
09:33Steady on course 2-4-0.
09:34Steady on course 2-4-0.
09:35Steady on course 2-4-0.
09:36Too bad we can't go after her, Captain.
09:37Orders read.
09:38We're to make an undetected mine plant.
09:40We'll worry about freighters when that's over.
09:43Take the car on, Penrod.
09:44I'm gonna look up that freighter while she's fresh in my mind.
09:46All right, sir.
09:49She's fresh in my mind for a long time.
09:52But with this trigger, the safety's on.
09:54With her lookouts constantly searching the waves and sky,
10:02Trigger made contact with three other ships
10:04before reaching the assigned area.
10:09Each time she avoided combat and slipped by undetected.
10:12You know, times really haven't changed much.
10:26Huh?
10:27This book, it's about pirates.
10:29Oh, yeah?
10:30Yeah.
10:31You know, in a lot of ways, they were just like sub-skippers.
10:36How's that?
10:37Well, I had their choice of targets.
10:39They roamed around in their own area,
10:41and they picked off what they could.
10:43Just like us, huh?
10:44Oh, come on.
10:46Come off it, will ya?
10:47Three contacts in two days, and we duck out on all of them.
10:50We're not ducking, and you know it.
10:52Well, that's the same thing.
10:54We just have a different kind of job to do this trip, that's all.
10:57Big deal.
11:02On December 21st, Trigger arrived at her assigned area.
11:06With the sea to conceal her,
11:07she moved in close to Inubosaki, north of Tokyo,
11:10and the captain planned the last step of his mission.
11:14This spot should do it.
11:16It's the third freighter that's passed through there,
11:18and they've been hugging the coast like their lives depend on it.
11:21Don't they?
11:23Don's go.
11:37We'll have to navigate in there from Barings on the beach.
11:40Daylight's out of the question, so we'll go in tonight.
11:43Been off a big moon up there right now.
11:44We'll go in submerged.
11:46Submerged?
11:48There's hardly enough water in there to float a rowboat.
11:50That's our problem.
11:53After sunset, we'll surface, get a reasonable charge in the batteries,
11:56then go in to lay the northern field first.
11:59After that, we'll proceed south along the coast a few miles,
12:02then lay the second string heading out to sea.
12:05Any questions?
12:06Now, if we get spotted in there and they call the dogs,
12:09it'll be ten miles before we hit deep water.
12:12There's no surface radar.
12:14They'll be on top of us before we know it.
12:15We'll have to rely on the sound gear.
12:17If we're attacked, we'll surface and make a run for it.
12:21Have ammunition for the deck guns stacked near the scuttle.
12:23Break out the small arms, too.
12:26Lamb butterfly, here I come.
12:28By nine o'clock that night,
12:38the trigger had the necessary charge in her batteries
12:40and slipped beneath the waves again
12:42to begin delivering her deadly cargo.
12:44.
13:00.
13:11.
13:12as you go. Steady on, two, three, oh. How much water do we have?
13:18Thirty feet of water under the keel is showing up fast.
13:42She can write ten degrees, Captain. Bring her right to two, four, zero. Coming right, two, four, zero.
13:59Almost time to lay the first group. Very well. Open the outer doors.
14:04Open the outer doors. Open the outer doors. Aye, aye.
14:12Outer doors open forward, sir. Aye, aye, Tubes Aft. Tubes Aft, report outer doors open, sir.
14:24All right, let him go. Commence mine plan.
14:30Fire one, fire seven. Fire one, fire seven. Sounding.
14:36Twenty-three feet.
14:42We should come left ten degrees, Captain. Come left to two, three, zero. Coming left to two, three, zero.
14:50Fire two, fire eight. Fire two, fire eight.
14:55We'll be close in, Captain. Only twenty-three feet of water under our keel.
14:59Uh-huh. Steady as you go. Steady as you go. Steady as you go. Steady course two, three, three.
15:06Fire three, fire nine. Fire three, fire nine.
15:12Eighteen feet.
15:15Eighteen feet.
15:23Fourteen feet.
15:26Fourteen feet.
15:29I have to have more speed, can't hold the depth.
15:32All ahead, standard. All ahead, standard.
15:33Fire four, fire ten. Fire four, fire ten.
15:39Fire four, fire ten.
15:41Raise the sound head raise the sound head raise the sound head aye aye
15:46raise the sound head
15:51I hope the skipper's got eyes in the back of his head now we can't even hear
15:59Fire five fire five
16:01That was close we'll have to fight her all the way now
16:14Eleven feet very well left full rudder steady on one six zero that full rudder steady on one six zero
16:22Secure the mine plant we're through with the first string
16:35Trigger worked away carefully down the Japanese coast then turn seaward to begin laying the second string of mine
16:44Fire four fire eight fire four fire eight
16:52We're getting company. What is it captain? Looks like a freighter probably has an escort somewhere
17:14Roll torpedoes and two tubes forward and two tubes aft continue laying mines from the other tubes
17:18Fire three fire nine fire three fire nine load torpedoes and two tubes forward and two tubes aft
17:26Continue laying mines from other tubes
17:29Now we're talking business. This is what submarines are made for come on
17:36Don's go
17:38Oh
17:46Well a little luck we might slip out of here without being seen
17:49I know I'd swap that look for 200 feet of water
17:53Number one and two tubes ready forward seven and eight ready aft
17:56Very well up scope
17:58He's still coming passing directly astern
18:08Fire five fire ten fire five fire ten
18:12Fire five fire ten
18:14There's a destroyer with them
18:16How much water?
18:18Nineteen feet
18:19Secure the mine plan let's get ready for him set torpedo depth at eight feet secure the mine plan set torpedo depth at eight feet
18:25We won't have water enough to go deep for an hour stand by for battle stations gun action
18:30Stand by for battle stations gun action
18:32Stand by for battle stations gun action
18:34Stand by for battle organize
18:36Stand by for battle top PETER
18:49Bearing
18:50Mark 172
18:52Reaange
18:54Mark
18:55105 oh
18:57Set
18:59Down
19:04for a stern shot, but we can't risk it yet.
19:07What if us destroy us?
19:08He's trailing.
19:09If they spot us, we'll fire at him first,
19:11then shift targets.
19:12Stern tube's ready, sir.
19:13Depth set at eight feet.
19:14Very low.
19:26Ops, go.
19:34The destroyer's turning.
19:41Stand by aft.
19:42This is a shooting observation.
19:43Stand by aft.
19:45Angle on the bow, port 15.
19:49Bearing, mark, 285.
19:52Range, mark, 1090.
19:57Set.
20:04Well, I'll be, uh, what is it?
20:08A freighter.
20:08She struck one of our minds.
20:10She what?
20:12Come on, take a look.
20:13The destroyer didn't see us.
20:14She's chasing around.
20:15Probably thinks it was a torpedo.
20:19Who's going to believe us?
20:20Hollis?
20:21Yes, sir?
20:21Ever see a ship going down?
20:23Uh, no, sir.
20:24I'll take a look at what your minds did.
20:27My minds?
20:27Sure, you fired them.
20:28Go on, take a look.
20:34Thank you, sir.
20:36Bounce, coach.
20:42This is the captain.
20:44That explosion you just heard was an enemy freighter blowing up.
20:48She struck one of the minds we laid in the northern field
20:50and is going down rapidly.
20:52Hooray!
20:53Hooray!
20:54Hooray!
20:55Hooray!
20:56Oh, there'll be no living with Perkins now.
20:58Hooray!
20:59Hooray!
21:00Hooray!
21:01Hooray!
21:02Trigger looted for suit and slipped quietly into the deep water,
21:08leaving an 8,400-ton freighter on the bottom.
21:11When the mine laying accomplished, Trigger turned to the attack,
21:17the role she knew best.
21:19Three ships felt the sting of her torpedoes.
21:22All were sunk.
21:23And 29 days after she entered the patrol area, Trigger was on her way home.
21:27All right, all right.
21:28So we sunk the ship with the mines.
21:29We sunk three more with torpedoes.
21:30What about that?
21:31Yeah, but where were you?
21:32What do you mean, where was I?
21:33I thought those fish all went out the stern tubes.
21:34The stern tubes?
21:35Why are you...
21:36Oh.
21:37Oh.
21:38Oh.
21:39Nice day to be heading home, huh?
21:40Yeah.
21:41That beach at Waikiki is gonna feel mighty good.
21:43Is Hanson coming?
21:44Sure, Captain.
21:45We're just figuring out how to spend our back pay.
21:46Morning, Thomas.
21:47Morning, sir.
21:48Pretty good patrol, Captain.
21:49Four ships and they've never laid a glove on us.
21:50Uh, that's not bad.
21:51I hope the next one's different.
21:52Someone else's turn.
21:53Someone else's turn for mine laying.
21:54Oh.
21:55Yes.
21:56Oh.
21:57Oh.
21:58Oh.
21:59Oh, oh.
22:00Yeah.
22:01Oh, oh.
22:03Oh, oh.
22:04Oh, oh.
22:05Oh, oh.
22:18Oh.
22:19Oh.
22:22Oh.
22:23I don't want this patrol, Captain.
22:25Thomas, one of these days, you'll command a ship of your own.
22:29When you do, you'll find you can't pick your own spots.
22:32But like them or not, when you get your orders, you do the best you can
22:35and hope for a better deal next time.
22:38Yes, sir. I guess I see what you mean.
22:50Keep it. I think it's yours.
22:53I'll be back in a moment with my special guest.
23:17Laying mines was one of the little-known functions of submarines during World War II
23:22and their efficiency in this phase of undersea warfare was of great value in defeating the enemy.
23:27Today we are fortunate in having with us Rear Admiral Roy S. Benson,
23:31Captain of the Trigger on the patrol you've just seen.
23:34Nice to have you with us, Roy.
23:36Thanks. It's good to be here, Tommy.
23:38Roy, that must have been a pretty tight squeeze in the Trigger.
23:41Eleven feet of water is much to have under your keel, especially under those circumstances.
23:46Yes. It restricts the movements of the submarine to the point where it's almost a sitting duck for anti-submarine vessels.
23:53But we had a well-trained crew and we accepted it as a part of the hazards of the game.
23:58I'd say that well-trained crew had a pretty resolute skipper, too.
24:01What was the official box score for the Trigger's third patrol?
24:04Two freighters and one destroyer sunk by torpedoes. One freighter sunk by mines. It added up to 23,671 tons.
24:13A good score. One that earned you the Navy's highest decoration.
24:17Yes, it did. Following that patrol, Admiral Nimitz presented me with the Navy Cross at Pearl Harbor.
24:23But it is something I feel was earned by all of the officers and men who served with me on the Trigger, and I wear it with them in mind.
24:31You got something else out of that patrol, didn't you, Roy?
24:34How do you mean?
24:35Well, I imagine you're the only submariner that ever got to see his own mines do their work.
24:39I suppose so. And believe me, it was a great sight.
24:42One you richly deserved after the tough job you had getting in there.
24:46Thanks for being with us, Roy.
24:48Thanks for inviting me.
24:51Be with us again when we bring you another true adventure of the Silent Service.
25:01Winning Rae in the East
25:09Season 4
25:10Rae in the East
25:10Season 5
25:15John Paul
25:17Let's go.
25:21Safe and cold, through and the world, in the future's yet to be.
25:30That's the way that lost the land, a slum for each other underneath the sea.
25:39So wait for time to take her down.
25:43Some go down, down, come to the feet of the ocean.
25:46There's a land, a slum for each other underneath the sea.
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