Charles A. Lockwood - Sink Em All: Submarine Warfare in the Pacific

By CHARLES A. LOCKWOOD All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

First Printing March 1951 Second Printing April 1951

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form 'without permission in 'writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in magazine or newspaper or radio broadcast .

The author has re-written, for inclusion in this volume, portions of two articles published in The Saturday Evening Post: Our Pacific Sub Commander Tells How We Gave the Japs a Licking Underseas, (July 16, 23, 30 of 1949) and Were Betting Our Shirts on the Atomic Submarine , (July 22, 1950).

To my comrades of the Silent Service, and in memory of those who did not return .

FOREWORD

By Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, U.S. NAVY

For this factually accurate and technically correct account of operations of United States submarines in the Pacific in World War II no more appropriate title could have been chosen than Sink 'Em All, a statement easily confirmed by the record. As British airmen are credited with saving Britain in those critical days after Dunkirk, so our gallant submarine personnel filled the breach after Pearl Harbor, and can claim credit, not only for holding the line, but also for carrying the war to the enemy while our shattered forces repaired damages following the treacherous initial attack of the Japanese, and gathered strength for the long march to Tokyo. Because of the complete absence of publicity regarding our submarine operations during the war, and due to an understandable letdown in public interest in war news following the surrender of the Japanese in Tokyo Bay, the American public is largely unaware of their great debt to that relatively small but closely knit force which had, at its peak, not more than 4,000 officers and 46,000 men, of which number some 16,000 actually manned the submarines.

It is to be hoped that this interesting narrative will be widely read, and that the exploits of our Silent Service will take their proper place in the minds of our citizens. Certainly no one is better qualified to tell this story than the author, Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, U.S. Navy, retired, who commanded our submarines in the Pacific during the greater part of the war. He writes with complete authority and authenticity, and has skillfully added to an official account that friendly human touch that makes its perusal an exciting pleasure.

Of particular interest to coming generations of submariners is his account of the troubles and frustrations due to faulty design of the exploders in the submarines principal weaponthe torpedo. In the correction of these defects the author played a leading and very personal partas indeed he did in all aspects of the submarine war against the enemy, culminating in the penetration of the mine barriers blocking the entrances into the Sea of Japan in the last year of the war. The author was prevented from leading his submarines through the dangerous minefields by the firm refusal of his Boss, the writer of this Foreword, who could not afford to risk his Commander Submarines Pacific in such a hazardous venture. We had many fine submarine captains but only one Lockwood.

There are few families in this country who were not touched by the war through the service of sons, daughters or near relatives, and there are still fewer servicemen and women who are not indebted to our submariners in some way or other. I have in mind particularly the 504 airmen of all the services who were rescued from almost certain death of drowning, or worse, by the timely presence of lifeguard submarines. And this is only one of the numerous phases of submarine activity during the war. From lone wolf tactics to large scale co-ordinated actions with the surface fleets the submarines played their part with uniform success.

Reconnaissance missions and clandestine visits to enemy-held islands for supply and personnel rescue were commonplace. But let the author tell these tales of valor and daring.

What part can we expect our submarines to play in future wars? It is a sad commentary that weapons of war are seldom (if ever) outlawed or eliminated for reasons of humanity. It is only when such weapons become inefficient or ineffective against their counter measures that nations no longer include them in their arsenals. By this standard submarines will continue to be an important part of navies for the predictable future. And for this reason this narrativeSink Em Allwill be an important addition to the reading list of all who like to be well informed. It will undoubtedly be interesting reading to former Japanese shipowners and naval men, and to (disturbing thought) possible aggressors whose plans run counter to the interests and security of our country.

Because of the high standard of daring of the many submarine captains involved in this account, there will appear to the readers to be a certain similarity in the story of each individual submarines operations. However, in fairness to each individual crew of officers and men it would be wrong to compress the story into smaller space because to do so would necessitate omitting important successes. The very repetition of the many exploits of high standard are a tribute to the efficiency of the submarine as a whole and to the officers and men who trained them for battle.

AUTHORS PREFACE

Just after his appointment as Secretary of the Navy, I received a most gratifying letter from the Honorable James V. Forrestal. It ran:

My dear Admiral:

I have been getting quite a number of congratulations lately and I feel this morning like congratulating somebody else, so this is to tell you that I think the work of your submarines recently has been splendid. That is an understatement, but some day I hope the full story can be told.

James Forrestal

This gracious and sincere tribute from a very great Secretary I passed to all submarines in our nightly news letter.

In Sink Em All, I have attempted to tell the full story in so far as I know it. Due to space limitations of this book, many fine stories of daring exploits have been omitted much to my regret. To present the complete picture of the soul stirring exploits of the Silent Service would require a volume several times the size of this one. Many of the tales it contains were related to me by commanding officers, just in from a patrol, over a cup of coffee in the wardrooms of their own submarines with the soft whirr of ventilation fans and the acrid smell of diesel oil lending realism to their words. Others have been drawn from patrol reports, from the booklet U.S. Submarine Losses, World War II, and from the original Submarine Operational History, World War II, compiled by my Staff and that of my successor, Rear Admiral Allen R. McCann, during or just after the war. My diary and personal files have been used to verify names, dates and incidents.

So many shipmates and friends have assisted me that it is impossible to name them all. High on the list of these are Captain Jasper Holmes and Commanders Barney Sieglaff and Chick Clarey. _ ^

Percy Finch assisted in cutting and tightening up the original manuscript to get it down to size.

Last but not least of those to whom I am grateful is my wife, Phyllis Irwin Lockwood, without whose enthusiasm, keen advice and tireless fingers, the work could never have been completed.