Unrestricted Warfare , livre ebook

U NRESTRICTED WARFARE
U NRESTRICTED WARFARE
How a New Breed of Officers Led the Submarine Force to Victory in World War II
James F. DeRose
Foreword by Roger W. Paine Jr.

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material:
Forest J. Sterling: Quotations from Wake of the Wahoo , by Forest J. Sterling, copyrighted 1960, 1997, and 1999.
Little, Brown and Company: Quotations from Warfish , by George Grider and Lydel Sims, copyrighted 1958.
Presidio Press: Quotations from Clear the Bridge and Wahoo , both by Richard H. O Kane, copyrighted 1977 and 1987.
William R. McCants: Quotations from War Patrols of the USS Flasher , by William R. McCants, copyrighted 1994.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2000 by James F. DeRose. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc.
Published simultaneously in Canada
Design and production by Navta Associates, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, email: PERMREQ@WILEY.COM.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
DeRose, James F.
Unrestricted warfare: how a new breed of officers led the submarine force to victory in world war II / James F. DeRose.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-38495-X (alk. paper)
1. Wahoo (Submarine) 2. World War, 1939-1945-Naval operations-Submarine. 3. World War, 1939-1945-Naval operations, American. 4. World War, 1939-1945-Campaigns-Pacific Area. I. Title.
D783.5.W3 D39 2000
940.54 41-dc21
00-024299
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prologue
PART I FIRST-YEAR FAILURE
1 Day of Infamy
2 A Stumbling Start
3 Warriors Gather
4 Frustration
5 Intrigue
PART II MORTON LEADS THE WAY
6 Everything Clicks
7 Success and Excess
8 Days of Fury
9 Luck Falters
10 Luck Vanishes
11 Loss of Wahoo
PART III WAHOO s WAR CONTINUES
12 O Kane in Charge
13 The New Avenger
14 Reluctant Lifeguard
15 Prize Patrol
16 New Preparations
17 Torpedo Troubles in Ashcan Alley
18 Fortune s Crest
19 Catastrophe
20 Submarine Sweep
21 Final Victory
Afterword
Appendix I: Top Skippers of World War II: Tonnage Credited
Appendix II: Top Skippers of World War II: JANAC Assessment
Appendix III: Top Skippers of World War II: Tonnage Percent Overestimated
Appendix IV: Wahoo Sinkings and Tang Sinkings
Chapter Notes
Sources
Index
FOREWORD
Ex communi periculo, fraternitas (From common peril, brotherhood)
For those who may wonder how members of the submarine community manage to achieve the high morale and unity of purpose that are so characteristic of the silent service, the above credo of the U.S. SubVets (U.S. submarine veterans of World War II) provides at least one answer. The close, even claustrophobic living conditions, the lack of privacy, and the sacrifice of family relations inherent in submarine living all militate against such a commitment. Two things make it not only possible but even desirable. First: inspirational leadership, often (and in fact, usually) from one man, the ship s captain. And second, the realization that you and each one of your shipmates are mutually dependent on each other for your very life.
The Navy s ground warriors, the U.S. Marines, successfully stress the dependency factor in their boot camp indoctrination, so much so that over the years a remarkable number of marines have chosen to mask the explosive effect of a live grenade with their own bodies to protect other marines nearby. Greater love hath no man than this
Important though the brotherhood concept may be, in the submarine service the inspirational leadership of the captain is vital. Besides relating directly to each crew member, he must exude self-confidence; his wisdom and determination must be beyond the doubt of any observer. The best submarine skippers are born that way ; those who are not must learn how by taking lessons from a pro in action, or by direct exposure to events that lead to lasting impressions of quality leadership.
The younger officers portrayed in this book were fortunate to have learned their lessons from some of the finest pros in the business. In my case, I was off to a fast start with Lew Parks and Slade Cutter in Pompano . Then followed Mush Morton, Dick O Kane, and George Grider, all with stellar leadership qualifications and, as time progressed, with command records to prove it.
The first skipper of Wahoo -very much a product of the prewar emphasis on caution-lacked self-confidence, yet tended to trust few judgments but his own; as a result he literally burned himself out in the course of two patrols. The tragedy is that he had the finest talent in the submarine force at his disposal but did not know how to use it. To the surprise of everyone, the same ship, with the same cast of characters, under new and inspiring leadership, proceeded to open the door to new heights of the kind of unrestricted warfare that had been mandated more than a year before.
When the leadership crisis was solved, one other stumbling block remained: malfunctioning torpedoes. Whatever could go wrong with them, did. They ran deeper than set; they often exploded prematurely; when set for contact, they were often duds; and worst of all, they could and did make circular runs to come back and hit the firing submarine. The damage to morale and the number of ships lost because of these faults are both beyond calculation. The war was surely prolonged needlessly because of this material deficiency.
To tell the story of how this cast of young studs learned their lessons from the pros, as well as from direct experience in the crucible of war, the author has traced their careers through their interactions with each other, and with the common enemy and the associated peril. Mr. DeRose did not serve in submarines, but he has been very near those who did. It is fascinating to follow his exposition of how we grew through the war years. He has listened carefully to our story, independently read and studied a great deal, and uncovered much information that was new and fresh to me. More than a story of men who rose to great challenges, this is also serious history. I hope that you will enjoy the experience of reading it as much as I have.
Roger W. Paine Jr.
Rear Admiral, U.S.N. (Ret.)
El Cajon, California
November 1999
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book grew slowly, its genesis in the many letters, phone discussions, and occasional meals with surviving participants in the only successful submarine campaign of World War II. When I tentatively decided to craft a story that linked the lives of my correspondents, the support from them was enthusiastic. Foremost among the men who encouraged me to continue was Roger W. Paine Jr., now a retired rear admiral, on December 7, 1941, the torpedo and gunnery officer on Pompano . A plank owner (a member of the original crew assigned to a submarine while it was being built) of Wahoo , he became her penultimate executive officer (XO), narrowly surviving her loss because of an unexpected, but correctly timed, case of appendicitis. He went on to become the youngest submarine captain of the war (S-34) , executive officer of Tinosa , and commanding officer of a new-construction boat, Cubera . Roger read the earliest half dozen chapters, gently setting me straight from the outset. He has continued to read and comment on ever larger manuscripts. Without his encouragement this book would never have been completed.
Many other men carefully proofread various versions of the work in progress. Special thanks must be shown to the those members of the crew of Tang who read the developing text as closely as it is possible for humans to do. Foremost among these are Clay Decker, the late Jesse DaSilva, Murray Frazee (executive officer), Bill Leibold, and Larry Savadkin. If I didn t get it right, it is my fault and none of theirs.
Other submariners also gave their time to this project, notably John B. Alden, whose knowledge of World War II submarine attacks is truly encyclopedic. I am also indebted to the late Richard H. O Kane, who expanded on details of the texts of both his books and generously shared additional information on Wahoo and Tang with me. He also steered me to others who could provide additional help.
And there are the associate submariners : George Logue, whose brother was killed on Wahoo and who gave me every assistance, from copies of Robert s diary to translations of Japanese attack reports with accompanying maps; Dr. Frederick Milford, whose analysis of the torpedo problem was instrumental in my understanding of this scandalous weapons failure; Steve Finnigan, curator of the Force Museum in Groton, who got me copies of everything from TDC manuals to ONI 208-J recognition manuals; and Akiro Kado, chief of the I