- 2 days ago
See how the bold USS Barb commander Eugene Fluckey envisioned, then demonstrated, new ways to fight from a submarine.
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00:00Man battle station torpedoes.
00:03After earning a Medal of Honor,
00:05an American submarine commander defies expectations
00:08and returns for final patrol.
00:12He pushes the boundaries of submarine warfare to new limits
00:15to create an increased role for U.S. submarines
00:18in the potential invasion of the Japanese home islands.
00:22This is a man who is very aggressive,
00:25wants to do anything he can to hurt the enemy
00:28and is willing to take incredible risks to make that happen.
00:32He's determined to go out with a bang.
00:39In World War II,
00:41a subsea weapon allows warriors to fight from beneath the waves.
00:50Cunning force and tenacity,
00:52their enemies strike back.
00:54Revolutionary, but still sometimes primitive,
01:00it's a desperate bid to change the course of war.
01:05Their stories are legend.
01:09January 23rd, 1945.
01:22USS Barb creeps forward in impossibly shallow water.
01:2790 feet.
01:28They travel on the surface towards Namquam Harbor,
01:31in occupied China.
01:3380 feet.
01:3470.
01:39After weeks on patrol,
01:41they still have 12 torpedoes left.
01:4460 feet.
01:46To compensate for the shallows,
01:48the skipper orders his warheads to be set to travel
01:50at a depth of 6 feet.
01:53Before the war,
01:54no one would have imagined such a thing.
01:56In fact, there were submarine officers who talked about
01:59operating on the surface at night,
02:01and they were usually shouted down as fools.
02:0640.
02:07The precariousness unnerves a new crew member.
02:10Captain.
02:12Barb Skipper,
02:13Commander Eugene Fluckey,
02:14is already a seasoned veteran.
02:17He has served aboard submarines since before the war began.
02:20The bridge crew scans,
02:23as radar below helps them to scout ahead.
02:29Captain, the harbor's chock full of ships.
02:3110 miles out.
02:32Radar reveals a cluster of 30 ships,
02:34arranged in three lines,
02:36and anchored about 500 yards apart.
02:38Man battle station torpedoes.
02:41Fluckey must execute his plan carefully.
02:44The crew estimates that the assembled ships
02:46create a target 4,200 yards wide.
02:49They plot a spread of torpedoes,
02:53hoping to hit more than one ship.
02:57After the attack,
02:58they must retreat 19 miles back
03:00through the same shallow channel.
03:06Fire one.
03:07Fire two.
03:08They fire torpedoes
03:09at a range of about 3,400 yards.
03:12Fire three.
03:14Fire four.
03:19Right full rudder.
03:20With a quick turn,
03:21they fire the stern tubes,
03:23and position themselves for a quick getaway.
03:28Fire seven.
03:29Fire eight.
03:34Torpedoes hot, straight and normal.
03:36Fire.
03:37Fire.
03:38Fire.
03:39Fire.
03:40Fire.
03:41Fire.
03:43Based on the catastrophic explosions,
03:45Fluckey and the crew guess they have sunk three,
03:48possibly four ships,
03:49and damaged three more.
03:52Local spies would later confirm the results of the attack.
03:55This achievement is remarkable,
04:00especially in January of 1945.
04:04For the Americans,
04:05it's sort of a two-edged sword.
04:07On the one hand,
04:08their campaign has been extremely successful.
04:10They've sunk a lot of ships,
04:11but now there aren't a lot left to sink.
04:13And so a lot of these submarine skippers
04:15are coming back to Pearl Harbor or Midway,
04:17and they have not expended all of their torpedoes.
04:20The aggressive submarines of 1943 and 1944
04:24have put themselves out of work.
04:28At this point,
04:29the Japanese had lost about 4 million tons worth of shipping.
04:33It's really becoming desperate.
04:35There will be not a single tanker
04:37that will make it back to the Japanese home islands
04:40after March of 1945.
04:47Fluckey's canny efforts pay off.
04:50When USS Barb returns to California for an overhaul,
04:53half the crew is granted a month's leave.
04:58Fluckey is summoned to Washington, D.C.
05:00and awarded the Medal of Honor,
05:02the American military's highest award.
05:05This adds to Navy crosses
05:07and presidential citations for previous patrols.
05:12But Navy Brass now hesitates
05:14to send a Medal of Honor recipient
05:16back out on patrol for fear that he may not return.
05:20Lockwood's initial approval of Fluckey's fifth patrol
05:24is because he has a lot of admiration
05:26for the success that he's attained.
05:29He starts to have some second guesses.
05:31The psychiatrists say it's a bad plan.
05:35They try to assign USS Barb to a safe patrol area
05:38out of harm's way.
05:40But Fluckey wants to test some ideas he's been working on.
05:43Even when he was a prospective commanding officer,
05:46he thought of novel ideas to use the submarine,
05:49including shore bombardment,
05:51rocket attacks, and boarding parties.
05:54Lockwood eventually concedes.
05:56Ultimately, he realizes that Commander Fluckey's visions
06:00for how to employ the submarine
06:02could represent a niche for the submarine force.
06:05June 1945.
06:11The battle for Okinawa,
06:12south of the Japanese home islands, continues.
06:15No one is sure how long the war will last.
06:18Commander Fluckey and his crew depart Pearl Harbor
06:23on USS Barb's 12th War Patrol.
06:29Fluckey quickly demonstrates he still has skin in the game.
06:32He makes a bet with a crew member
06:34that they will sink 15 vessels during the patrol.
06:37But at this point in the war,
06:39even finding 15 vessels to sink will not be easy.
06:42Underway, Fluckey receives a message from Lockwood.
06:52It contains orders to raise a rumpus
06:54along the east coast of Japan
06:56to attract Japanese surface and air patrols
06:58away from the La Perouse Strait.
07:01A group of nine U.S. submarines
07:03need to make their escape from Japanese waters.
07:06And in case of the La Perouse,
07:08that's the tunnel between Hokkaido
07:11and the Japanese territory, the southern Sakhalin.
07:14Imperial Japanese Navy kept the frigate on station
07:18basically 24-7 bases.
07:20USS Barb's job will be to act as a decoy
07:23to divert the attention of the Japanese ships.
07:29Heading toward Japan's east coast at flank speed,
07:32Fluckey is ready to stir up trouble.
07:36USS Barb is armed for a harassment campaign
07:40like no other submarine has been before.
07:51Using their two deck guns,
07:52they announce their presence by sinking two luggers,
07:55small vessels used in coastal waters.
07:57Fire!
08:02Fire!
08:06Two ships down, they continue south along the coast.
08:11Fluckey is aware the Japanese are short of resources.
08:14If he appears to be in a lot of places in close sequence,
08:17they'll spread out those resources even more.
08:19Fluckey's hit-and-run mission would have other,
08:22unintended consequences on Japanese troop movements.
08:25The invasion of the Barb really stopped the shipping between Hokkaido and Sakhalin
08:34for several days,
08:35and also moving some of the army forces from Sakhalin to Hokkaido
08:39for the preparation for the U.S. invasion to the Japanese mainland.
08:45After striking along the coast, Fluckey heads north again
08:48to draw Japanese warships from the La Perouse Strait.
08:51June 22nd.
08:54Two hours after midnight,
08:56USS Barb creeps into Shari Harbor
08:59as the City of 20,000 sleeps.
09:02Manufacturing plants line the shore.
09:04Destroying factories would further damage Japanese industry.
09:09Using USS Barb as the platform,
09:14the crew readies an unprecedented attack.
09:18Fluckey plans to barrage the port with high-powered rockets
09:21with explosive warheads.
09:24Originally designed to be fired from fighter planes,
09:27rockets had also been used aboard landing craft
09:30in the attack on Okinawa earlier in the year.
09:34But no submarine has ever launched an attack
09:37with rockets from its deck before.
09:43They position Barb 4,700 yards off the shore
09:46to target the city.
09:49At 1.50 a.m., Fluckey gives the order to man the rockets.
09:54Rocket Captain Saunders sets up the missile launcher
09:57and loads 12 rockets.
10:01Below deck, there are other preparations.
10:04Fluckey knew that morale was an important component
10:08on a submarine.
10:09Obviously, you're involved in very long war patrols,
10:12very cramped conditions,
10:13and so he made a tradition of actually putting beer
10:17into the officer's shower
10:19so that at the end of a successful attack,
10:21he could reward his crew.
10:24American submarines were supposed to be dry,
10:27but Fluckey was kind of bending the rules here
10:29because he knew that morale was more important.
10:31Fluckey has fought to expand the role of submarines
10:34beyond sinking merchant ships.
10:36He must now wait to see if his plans end with a whimper or a bang.
10:37Fluckey has fought to expand the role of submarines beyond sinking merchant ships.
10:45He must now wait to see if his plans end with a whimper or a bang.
10:50June 1945,
10:52at the north end of the Japanese island of Hokkaido,
10:55An American submarine commander prepares a first-ever attack.
10:59Rocket attacks from submarines had never been done before.
11:04For the U.S. Navy, they were just getting around to employing rockets on surface ships.
11:09So to employ it on a submarine was brand new.
11:12Each spin-stabilized rocket is nearly three feet long, with a rocket head, motor, and fuse,
11:18and contains over nine pounds of TNT.
11:21The launcher can be set to fire at 30, 35, 40, or 45-degree elevations.
11:29The payload of 12 rockets drop by gravity feed into the magazine.
11:40An explosion of white light illuminates the deck as 12 rockets lift off,
11:45then disappear into the night sky.
11:51The silence is broken by the thunder of explosions.
11:59And USS Barb slips away before any enemy forces arrive on scene.
12:07As they make their way to the open ocean,
12:10Flucky and his crew celebrate their achievement.
12:12While Barb races to its next target,
12:30Commander Flucky receives a message from headquarters which confirms their success.
12:34Three Japanese destroyers have departed La Perouse to sweep the north coast of Hokkaido.
12:42Even more importantly,
12:43Barb's path of destruction has gotten the full attention of the enemy.
12:48While ships hunt for Flucky and his men,
12:50the other American submarine group is able to escape on the surface through La Perouse Strait.
12:55Flucky's rumpus has been effective.
13:02Turn to the grid!
13:03But now every Japanese warship and plane in the region searches for USS Barb.
13:21Two days later,
13:22Sea of Okhotsk, northern Japan.
13:25Despite the fact it's June,
13:28the weather is anything but balmy.
13:30They're pretty far up there,
13:32close to the Arctic,
13:33and even though it's summertime,
13:36they're in parkas and sweaters and coats every time they go to the bridge.
13:41They move at a crawl through broken up ice fields.
13:45After days of spotting nothing more than wildlife and icebergs,
13:49a lookout detects movement below the horizon.
13:52It takes a moment,
13:55but the crew realizes they are seeing something that doesn't make sense.
13:59Flucky takes a look.
14:02He sees this mirage,
14:04and it's common to the Arctic,
14:06and it's caused by temperature inversions that make an atmospheric lens.
14:10Images that should be too far for him to see
14:13may appear, but above or below the horizon,
14:18or even inverted,
14:19like in a funhouse mirror.
14:20After careful observation,
14:23they realize the tiny shapes are a convoy.
14:26They even spot miniature waves spraying off the bows.
14:30The crew estimates the ships to be more than 25 miles off,
14:34and begins tracking.
14:36The convoy travels southbound.
14:39Inside shallow waters mariners call the Ten Fathom Curve.
14:42If they can stay within the Ten Fathom Curve,
14:46that makes them very difficult to approach an attack.
14:49They're hugging the coastline during the day,
14:52and then they're holing up in harbors at night
14:54to try to make it as difficult as possible for the Americans to attack them,
14:58because the Americans can't dive nearly deep enough
15:01to get away from depth-charging attacks.
15:04Flucky knows it's risky,
15:05but he decides to pursue the tempting target.
15:10Around 7 p.m.,
15:11they move ahead of the convoy,
15:13but with very long northern days
15:15and a full moon rising,
15:17Flucky knows he will be easily spotted.
15:20He submerges barbed to periscope depth
15:22and begins to close in at high speed.
15:27The crew has loaded nine Mark 21 electric torpedoes
15:31and one Mark 28 electric homing torpedo into the tubes.
15:37At this range,
15:41Barb's crew identifies the ships they are tracking.
15:44The convoy includes two medium freighters,
15:46a smaller transport,
15:48and their escorts.
15:49The crew identifies the lead escort
15:51as a destroyer they call Terutsuki.
15:55Terutsuki would have been of the Akizuki class,
15:58bristling with armaments.
16:06The setup for an attack on the convoy looks ideal.
16:09Suddenly, the convoy turns sharply west,
16:22seeking shelter near shore.
16:25Barb loses the shot.
16:27Down periscope.
16:29With the ships out of range,
16:30Flucky moves ahead,
16:32trying to position Barb for an attack the next day
16:34when the ships are in deeper water.
16:36Just before eight the next morning,
16:47they spot the convoy again.
16:52In a short time,
16:53a patrolling aircraft appears.
16:55The anti-submarine aircraft has a perfect view
17:00of the sub's gray hull
17:02against the shallow sea bottom
17:03and punishes Barb with two aerial bombs.
17:08Terutsuki leaves the convoy and joins the fight,
17:22adding depth charges,
17:23and drives Barb out to deep water for protection.
17:26As Barb reaches a depth of 120 feet,
17:34Terutsuki's side-throwing catapults
17:36hurl depth charges down
17:37in a unique pattern.
17:48They detonate above,
17:50below,
17:51to the stern,
17:51and to the port side,
17:54exploding all around them.
18:03The Japanese are desperate
18:05to get their convoy of supplies through.
18:15Sinking USS Barb
18:17will protect their precious cargo.
18:22June 27th, 1945.
18:29USS Barb has been under attack
18:31off a remote northern Japanese island.
18:36Commander Eugene Fluckey
18:38must find a way
18:39to evade the convoy's escort.
18:43He creeps into deeper water,
18:45hoping to make the submarine
18:47less visible to the aircraft above.
18:51Fluckey also hopes to dodge depth charges,
18:54and he has some new technology
18:56that can help.
18:58A depth charge direction indicator
19:01uses sonar to determine
19:02the general direction of explosions.
19:06Hydrophones,
19:07called blast phones,
19:09are mounted on the exterior
19:10of the submarine,
19:11on starboard,
19:12port,
19:13ahead,
19:13a stern,
19:15one above,
19:16and two below.
19:18When a depth charge explodes,
19:20the nearest hydrophones
19:21pick up the shockwave first,
19:23and activates a monitor
19:24inside the submarine.
19:27Barb's crew plots
19:28the depth charge patterns
19:30and uses the information
19:31to move away.
19:37And the attack ends.
19:39later that morning,
19:42Barb circles back
19:44to maintain contact
19:45with the convoy
19:46while trying to avoid
19:47its air protection.
19:49But Japanese forces
19:50remain on the alert,
19:52and Barb is forced down
19:53repeatedly by aircraft.
19:59The next day,
20:01Barb is pinned down
20:02deep yet again
20:03by patrolling aircraft
20:04and escort ships.
20:06Fluckey hopes for another shot
20:08at the convoy,
20:09so rather than escape
20:10to safety,
20:11they stay submerged.
20:14As a Gato-class submarine,
20:16Barb can only stay down
20:17for a finite amount of time.
20:21The electric motors
20:22run on battery power
20:23while submerged
20:24and can only be charged
20:26on the surface.
20:29The oxygen in the air
20:30can also be used up.
20:32Non-essential crew
20:33would be confined
20:34to their bunks
20:35to minimize the amount
20:36they breathe.
20:42After 18 hours straight,
20:44as the sky darkens,
20:46USS Barb can finally surface
20:48and the hatches
20:50are thrown open
20:50to fresh air.
20:51The crew draws
21:03a collective breath
21:03and sets to
21:05charging the batteries.
21:12Around 1 p.m.
21:13on June 29th,
21:15USS Barb finally gets
21:17close enough
21:17to the convoy
21:18for action.
21:19Flucky moves
21:21into shallower water
21:22for an attack.
21:27Battle stations.
21:28Again,
21:29Teratsuki turns
21:30towards USS Barb
21:31with an anti-submarine
21:33aircraft not far
21:34off its bow.
21:36Flucky must get
21:37past the destroyer
21:38to get close enough
21:39to attack the convoy
21:40itself.
21:42He lines up
21:43a difficult
21:43down-the-throat shot
21:45against the narrowest
21:46part of the ship.
21:49down-periscope.
21:51Just as five
21:52depth bombs
21:53from the plane
21:53rattle the sub.
22:03Up-periscope.
22:05Flucky decides
22:06to ignore the bombs
22:07and continue his attack.
22:12But Sona reports
22:13that the torpedo
22:14falls silent.
22:16There is nothing
22:16to track.
22:17Dead.
22:18Flucky lines up
22:19another shot.
22:22Fire of seven.
22:23Fire of eight.
22:29The torpedoes
22:31run too deep
22:32and pass beneath
22:33the keel of the ship.
22:35Teratsuki now
22:36passes directly overhead.
22:40Down-periscope.
22:42Everybody hang on.
22:43another cluster
22:45of eight depth
22:46charges rains
22:47down on them.
22:53The explosions
22:54from the depth
22:55charges rock the sub.
22:56The explosions
22:56from the depth
22:57charges rock the sub.
22:58Flucky fires another torpedo.
23:01Flucky fires another torpedo.
23:16Despite the depth charges,
23:17Flucky fires another torpedo.
23:19Sonar reports more silence.
23:25The torpedo has failed.
23:27Flucky just can't get a break.
23:30He sets up another round
23:31of torpedoes,
23:32but can't fire them
23:33before the submarine
23:34is shaken by another round
23:35of depth charges.
23:48Flucky is determined
23:49to sink the ship
23:50and wants to be
23:51as close as possible
23:52before he fires
23:53his next salvo
23:54to ensure a hit.
23:56He knows the torpedo
23:57needs 600 yards
23:58to arm itself.
24:00As the ship bears
24:01down on their position,
24:03Flucky waits
24:03until the last possible
24:04second to fire.
24:05Fire one!
24:07He times another salvo
24:08of torpedoes
24:09down the throat.
24:15Again,
24:16all of the torpedoes
24:17pass under Teratsuki.
24:19Damn it!
24:20They missed!
24:21Down-periscope.
24:22Teratsuki drops
24:25another barrage
24:25of explosives.
24:38Commander Flucky
24:39is in a desperate situation.
24:42The failure of his torpedoes
24:43means he must find
24:44a way to escape.
24:48USS Barb is under attack
24:50and trapped
24:51in shallow waters.
24:54Getting away
24:55will not be easy.
25:00Flucky has one option,
25:02a decoy.
25:03There are various maneuvers
25:04you can make
25:05to try to get away
25:06from the sonar beam,
25:07but you can also try
25:08to make a fake sub
25:09that will attract
25:11the sonar's attention
25:12and let you just leave
25:14the area.
25:15During World War II,
25:16there are various kinds
25:17of decoys that are invented
25:18to produce what looks
25:20like a submarine echo.
25:23Flucky orders the crew
25:24to jettison the boat's
25:25mechanical decoys,
25:26creating a sub-sized cloud
25:28of bubbles.
25:33All I have flagged
25:34for 40 seconds.
25:36Flight 4, rudder.
25:37In a desperate attempt
25:38to get out of there alive,
25:40USS Barb executes a series
25:41of sharp turns,
25:43all the while ejecting decoys
25:44that fill the sea
25:45with loud noises
25:46in the bubbles.
25:51All stop.
25:52Left forward runner,
25:52one minute.
26:00Eventually,
26:01Flucky's maneuvers
26:02elude the escorts
26:03and they escape
26:04to the open ocean.
26:04Over the multiple-day skirmish,
26:09nine torpedoes
26:10are fired
26:10with no hits.
26:12On the other hand,
26:14USS Barb sustains
26:1514 barrages
26:16of at least
26:1744 depth charges
26:18and bombs.
26:20They are lucky
26:21to come away
26:21with their lives.
26:24Flucky later speculated
26:25that the torpedoes
26:27failed so often
26:27because the water
26:28was so shallow.
26:29Up periscope.
26:30As far as Barb,
26:31you know,
26:32I think the interesting
26:33part about her
26:34and really about Flucky
26:36is he sort of epitomizes
26:39the hyper-aggressive
26:42war-fighting skipper.
26:44He really was,
26:45you know,
26:46the breed of cat
26:47that you had to put
26:48in charge
26:48of these sorts of vessels
26:49because they were
26:50hideously dangerous.
26:51The risks were terribly high.
26:53So this is a man
26:54who is very aggressive,
26:56wants to do anything
26:57he can to hurt the enemy
26:59and is willing
26:59to take incredible risks
27:01to make that happen.
27:04four days later,
27:07Barb spots another ship.
27:11The small coastal freighter
27:13zigzags,
27:14so Flucky decides
27:15to try one of his
27:16homing torpedoes.
27:18After the frustrating
27:19attacks on Teratsuki,
27:21Flucky puts four cases
27:22of beer in the cooler
27:23for good luck.
27:24USS Barb fires
27:29the homing torpedo.
27:37It hits right on target.
27:39Direct hit.
27:42Flucky orders
27:43Barb to the surface.
27:45The freighter
27:46is sinking fast.
27:48Barb is surrounded
27:49by debris from the boat.
27:52It gives Flucky an idea.
27:54He orders a small team
27:55to board the sinking vessel
27:57to recover any documents
27:59that could provide
27:59intelligence
28:00about local conditions.
28:08As they pore over
28:09some of the maps later,
28:10they realize
28:11they've hit the jackpot.
28:13The best charts Barb had
28:14of the area
28:15were decades old.
28:16The Japanese maps
28:17were much newer,
28:18more importantly,
28:20they identified
28:21the minefields
28:22laid out by the
28:23Japanese Navy.
28:27From June 29th
28:29to July 18th,
28:31Flucky uses his full arsenal
28:33of rockets,
28:34deck guns,
28:36and torpedoes.
28:37They sink the freighter,
28:39destroy a communications station,
28:41an army barracks,
28:43and rocket a factory town.
28:45There is no military response
28:47for a very good reason.
28:51With the recent fall
28:52of Okinawa
28:53on June 21st,
28:55the war had entered
28:56a new phase.
28:56The Japanese government
28:58and the Imperial Headquarters
28:59started to preserve
29:01all the resources
29:03and assets
29:03preparing for the U.S. invasion.
29:06So anything happens,
29:07no response,
29:08no military response.
29:10So even they know
29:11U.S. Marines are there,
29:12just let them do that.
29:14Japanese Army reports
29:17of the attacks
29:18reach Lockwood,
29:19who in turn demands
29:20a report on Barb's activities.
29:23Commander Flucky
29:24breaks radio silence
29:25to transmit an update
29:26of USS Barb's actions.
29:29Navy brass in turn
29:30share the reports
29:31with other submarine captains.
29:32The submarines get these reports
29:35from sub-pack
29:36about Commander Flucky's
29:38accomplishments,
29:39and he's already famous.
29:41He's a Medal of Honor recipient,
29:42but these just add
29:44to his legend.
29:45But Flucky isn't finished.
29:47Rather than rest
29:48on his laurels,
29:49he will continue
29:50to press the attack.
29:52He has one more idea
29:53to put to the test,
29:54one that will define
29:56his legacy.
29:56July 18th, 1945.
30:05USS Barb sits off
30:07the east coast
30:08of northern Japan.
30:10Commander Eugene Flucky
30:11considers an unusual target
30:13for a submarine.
30:15He's been studying charts
30:16and his own observations
30:18and noticed there's trains
30:20that travel at this hub
30:21on the Karafuto Island.
30:24Infrastructure on the island
30:26is less developed
30:27than the mainland.
30:29The railway running
30:30along the coastline
30:32is practically the only means
30:35to carry the staff
30:36from the southern part
30:38to the north
30:38and northern part
30:39to the south.
30:40Flucky decides
30:41that he wants to target
30:42the train and the tracks
30:44to do maximum damage
30:45to the Japanese war effort.
30:47This kind of precision
30:48will need more
30:49than deck guns or rockets.
30:51Members of the crew
30:52will have to go ashore
30:53and plant explosives
30:55on Japanese soil.
30:57Commander Flucky has
30:58scuttle charges
30:59on board the submarine
31:00that use a timer.
31:01They recognize that the timer
31:02is a problem
31:03because he doesn't know
31:04what time the train
31:05is going to pass.
31:06He also realizes
31:07that a remote detonation
31:08isn't going to work
31:09because that would require
31:11leaving somebody ashore.
31:12If Flucky wants to blow up
31:14the train and the tracks,
31:16they will have to come up
31:17with another solution.
31:18When presented
31:19with challenges,
31:20he solicits feedback
31:21from his crew
31:22and gets a response
31:24from one of his electricians,
31:26Hatfield.
31:27Billy R. Hatfield
31:28knows how to create mayhem
31:30as a descendant
31:31from America's infamous
31:33Hatfield-McCoy feud.
31:35Hatfield had worked
31:37in West Virginia
31:37on the railroad
31:38and he knew
31:40the train would cause
31:42the rails to sag
31:43and he proposes
31:45putting a microswitch
31:46underneath those rails
31:47to be the source
31:49of detonation.
31:51It's an innovative plan.
31:53They would use
31:54one of the 55-pound
31:55scuttling charges
31:56every submarine carries
31:57in case it needs
31:58to be destroyed
31:59before falling
32:00into enemy hands.
32:01Hatfield will fashion
32:02a microswitch
32:03to trigger the explosive
32:05circuit
32:05and mount it
32:06to a block of wood.
32:07It should work
32:09something like this.
32:10The microswitch
32:11and scuttling charge
32:12are wired to a battery.
32:14When the train
32:14passes over,
32:16the slight sag
32:16of the rail
32:17should depress
32:18the microswitch
32:18and complete the circuit,
32:20triggering the blasting cap
32:21to detonate the explosives.
32:31For four nights
32:32they prepare,
32:33observing the train
32:34and hoping for a change
32:35in weather.
32:36Commander Fluckey
32:37is waiting
32:38for an overcast night.
32:39That time of the month
32:40was a nearly full moon
32:42and that is good
32:44for lovers,
32:45bad for landing
32:46forces ashore.
32:48He uses that time
32:49while he's waiting
32:50for those conditions
32:51to train the crew
32:53in the weapons,
32:54the gear,
32:55and the tools
32:56that they will need.
32:57And the crew
32:58manufactures some tools
32:59by tearing up
33:00their own deck plates
33:01and cutting them
33:01into shovels
33:02and pickaxes.
33:03on July 22nd,
33:08after four bright
33:09moonlit nights,
33:10the barometer drops
33:11and some clouds
33:13move in.
33:15As with other missions,
33:16he orders
33:17four cases of beer
33:18put in the cooler.
33:19950 yards
33:26from the beach,
33:28Barb halts
33:28and launches
33:29the rubber rafts.
33:34But the overcast night
33:36means poor visibility
33:37for the raiders.
33:39So they land
33:40a little off course
33:41and they end up,
33:42instead of being
33:43on the beach
33:43that they intended,
33:44they're in
33:44somebody's backyard.
33:46A dog is heard,
34:04a light comes on,
34:05obviously causes
34:08a little anxiety.
34:09On board the submarine,
34:21Flucky and the crew
34:22can only assume
34:22the raiders
34:23landed safely.
34:28They make their way
34:29around the house
34:29undetected,
34:31but then they find
34:31themselves in these
34:32bulrushes.
34:34Through the periscope,
34:35it looked like tall grass,
34:37but it was very noisy
34:38for them to make
34:38their way through.
34:56The men finally
34:57reached the tracks
34:58where the three guards
34:59fan out.
35:00Meanwhile,
35:01three people stayed there
35:02to dig away
35:04at the rocks
35:04and they were using
35:05these tools
35:06that were manufactured
35:06on board,
35:07but it was making
35:08a lot of ruckus.
35:10At one point,
35:11they are interrupted
35:12by machinist mate
35:13John Markison.
35:15Markison thought
35:16that there was
35:17a water tower
35:18on his end
35:19of the tracks.
35:20They found out
35:20it was actually
35:21a guard tower
35:22hand-occupied.
35:24Because their clanking
35:25of their shovels
35:26and pickaxes
35:26was making a lot
35:27of noise,
35:28they proceeded
35:28to dig out
35:29the rocks by hand.
35:30But before
35:38they finish
35:38the hole,
35:39a northbound
35:40locomotive
35:40comes barreling
35:41out of the darkness
35:42towards them.
35:45They died for cover
35:46at the very last moment.
35:54As the train
35:55passes,
35:55the engineer
35:56had his head
35:57sticking out the window.
35:58They thought for sure
36:00they had been detected.
36:02When the train
36:03is gone,
36:04the men set back
36:04to digging.
36:05They hollow out
36:06room for the bomb
36:07and the batteries.
36:08The most critical
36:22and dangerous step
36:23in this whole operation
36:24is connecting
36:26the micro-switch
36:27to the explosives.
36:29Commander Fluckey
36:29is so concerned
36:30about this
36:31that when he's
36:32talking to the
36:33saboteurs
36:33prior to the operation,
36:35he tells them all
36:36to be clear
36:37of the area
36:38when Hatfield
36:38is making
36:39the connection.
36:40Instead,
36:41what they get
36:42is all of them
36:43gathered around
36:43Hatfield
36:44and observing
36:45or supervising
36:46his operation.
36:47with the bomb
37:05wired,
37:06the raiders
37:06make a run
37:07for the rafts.
37:08The team signals
37:22as they leave
37:23the beach.
37:25That's them.
37:26The submarine
37:27got remarkably
37:27close to shore,
37:29but for untrained
37:31crews and rubber
37:32rafts,
37:32that's very challenging.
37:341.45 a.m.
37:36A trail of white smoke
37:38suddenly appears
37:39coming down the tracks.
37:40It's a northbound train
37:41carrying military personnel
37:43and it's coming up
37:44on the party
37:45a lot more quickly
37:46than they would have wished.
38:00July 23rd, 1945.
38:03Karafuto,
38:05Northern Japan.
38:07American submarine
38:08USS Barb
38:09breaks new ground
38:10as her crew,
38:12turned commandos,
38:13attempt to become
38:14the first submarine crew
38:15to attack a train.
38:17But as they make
38:18their escape,
38:19the train comes
38:20barreling down the tracks
38:21toward the explosive device
38:22they have just planted.
38:26And as the train approaches,
38:28all they can do
38:29is stop and watch.
38:30The report from Barb
38:52says that wreckage
38:54from this train
38:54was blown 200 feet
38:55in the air,
38:56and I don't doubt it.
38:56The results after that
38:58are a big fire,
39:00obviously,
39:01and a lot of
39:01secondary explosions,
39:03so it must have been
39:03pretty spectacular.
39:09When they see this explosion
39:11and they feel the rumble,
39:12time stops.
39:14They freeze
39:14and take it all in.
39:16And then the reality
39:17hits them.
39:18They start paddling again,
39:19and the commander
39:20starts to maneuver
39:21his ship to head out.
39:22The raiders make it back
39:32and scramble
39:33to safely board Barb,
39:34and the submarine
39:35slips away
39:36into the darkness.
39:44Back at sea,
39:46the crew celebrates
39:47their historic triumph.
39:48I think from Flucky's
39:56perspective,
39:57the more you read
39:58about his patrol reports,
39:59this is a guy
40:00who is just
40:01absolutely aggressive
40:03to a fault,
40:04and who takes this war
40:06very, very personally.
40:08You know,
40:08he wants to do
40:09anything he can
40:10to hurt the Japanese,
40:12and now that there's
40:12not enough ships
40:13around to sink anymore,
40:15well, I guess that means
40:16I've got to take the war
40:16to the Japanese
40:17right on their home turf,
40:18and that's what he does.
40:20Down, person.
40:28Meanwhile,
40:29rumors get back
40:29to Lockwood.
40:30He would like to know
40:31what Barb is up to.
40:33Admiral Lockwood
40:33wants another report
40:34from the Barb,
40:35but Commander Flucky
40:36is hesitant to send one
40:38because the logistics
40:39portion of the report
40:40would indicate
40:41zero torpedoes.
40:43Sure enough,
40:44his lack of torpedoes
40:45gets a swift
40:45come home from Lockwood.
40:47up periscope.
40:50But Flucky
40:51isn't ready
40:52to wrap up
40:52his patrol quite yet.
40:54Not surprised,
40:56Commander Flucky
40:56receives the order
40:57to return home
40:58and decides to come back
41:00by the most destructive
41:01route possible.
41:02He goes on a rampage
41:04of rocket and gun attacks
41:05along various
41:06shore installations.
41:09Eventually,
41:10he gets to the point
41:11where he's expended
41:11all his ammunition
41:12and all of his torpedoes
41:14and he's still failed
41:15to sink this one vessel,
41:17so he chooses to ram it.
41:23Flucky sinks the 15 vessels
41:25he needed to win the bet.
41:26On August 2nd, 1945,
41:35USS Barb returns to port.
41:41All eyes are on
41:42the legendary submarine
41:43as she enters the harbor.
41:46As Barb returns
41:47to Midway,
41:48she not only has
41:49her normal battle flag
41:50flying with all of
41:51the recent additions
41:53to it,
41:54including the train,
41:55but they have
41:56a streamer
41:57of smaller pennants
41:59that represent
42:00all the sandpans
42:02that were blown up
42:03in one of the
42:04shore bombardments.
42:06Lieutenant Commander
42:07Cornelius Callahan
42:08stands on the pier,
42:09ready to take over
42:10command of USS Barb
42:11for her next patrol.
42:13But the next patrol
42:14is never completed.
42:18Four days later,
42:20an atomic bomb
42:21is dropped on Hiroshima.
42:22A week after that,
42:24Japan surrenders.
42:25The war is over
42:26for Barb and her crew.
42:28Commander Flucky
42:29and his crew
42:30earn an astounding
42:31number of awards.
42:33In addition to his
42:34Medal of Honor,
42:35there's six Navy crosses,
42:3723 Silver Stars,
42:3923 Bronze Stars,
42:42a Presidential Unit
42:43Commendation,
42:44a Navy Unit
42:45Commendation,
42:46and a number of
42:47other individual awards.
42:49Despite all the medals,
42:51there is one that
42:51Flucky's crew never received.
42:54Commander Flucky's
42:54greatest point of pride
42:56is the one award
42:57his crew didn't get,
42:58and that's the Purple Heart.
43:00None of his sailors
43:01were ever killed
43:03or wounded by the enemy
43:04during his time in command.
43:07Another submarine
43:08would be named for
43:09USS Barb after the war.
43:11Eugene Flucky
43:12would continue to serve
43:13in the Navy.
43:14He is promoted to
43:16Rear Admiral in 1960
43:18and in that capacity
43:19would oversee the development
43:21of the Ballistic Missile Program
43:22onboard submarines.
43:25The rocket attacks
43:26were unprecedented
43:27and that has come full circle
43:29to our current technologies.
43:34Commander Flucky
43:35earned the Medal of Honor
43:36on the Barb's 11th War Patrol,
43:38but it's the 12th patrol
43:40that really stands out
43:41in submariners' minds especially.
43:44The fact that he sent
43:45his own sailors ashore
43:46to blow up a train
43:46is just the stuff of legend.
43:51Flucky envisioned
43:51and then demonstrated
43:53new ways
43:54to fight from submarines.
43:55And that's why
44:00he started to go
44:00to a rogue
44:01crew in the Navy.
44:01But he already
44:02was an ocean
44:03and this was
44:04a huge amount of
44:04event.
44:05And he wrote
44:06in the Navy.
44:07He was an ocean
44:07and he was a monster
44:08who said
44:10at the beginning
44:11of the year
44:12where he had
44:13his own sail
44:14in the Navy.
44:14And he said
44:15he was an ocean
44:16of a swell
44:18of a wave
44:18of an sail
44:20in the Navy.
44:21And the moon
44:22came out
44:23of the river
44:23of the island.
44:24And the only
Recommended
44:00
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