GRADUATION NIGHT AT "CONVOY CAMPUS"

In early 1944, a new operational plan for American submarines in the Pacific was devised by Adm. Charles Lockwood and Capt. Richard Voge. The submarines were divided into wolfpacks and sent out to designated patrol areas to disrupt Japanese
shipping.  The chief Tactical Officer of one of the packs was Cmdr. T. B. “Ben” Oakley aboard the Growler (SS-215). Two other submarines were in Oakley’s group - the Sealion II (SS-315) captained by Cmdr. Eli T. Reich, and the Pampanito (SS-383)
skippered by L/Cmdr. P. E. Summers.

The wolfpack was given the nickname of “Ben’s Busters” and assigned to Japanese shipping lanes in the South China Sea, code name Convoy College.  On 6 Septembr 1944, a Japanese convoy consisting of six ships and five escort vessels departed Singapore, bound for Japan. Two transport ships among the group
were crammed with Australian and British prisoners of war. The Rakuyo Maru was packed with 1300 POWs, while the Kachidoki Maru carried an additional 900 prisoners - including survivors from the Prince of Wales and Repulse. Tankers loaded with crude oil made up the balance of the convoy. On the night of September, two cargo vessels from Manila joined the flotilla and the convoy headed north.

If the above sounds interesting to you....just click on this LINK

WW II'S GREATEST UNSOLVED MYSTERY

Why Was There Not A Single Survivor from the Doomed Cruiser 

HMAS SYDNEY?

In one of the strangest sea fight of all time, both combatants managed to sink each other.  Yet while many of the German sailors survived, not one Australian officer or crewman lived to tell what happened in HMAS Sydney's last tragic moments.

Click HERE to read this incredible story 

PERRY AND HIS BLACK SHIPS

At a time when most men were contemplating a leisurely well-earned retirement, American Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, accepted the most challenging assignment of his long and successful Naval career.  Ordered to the Capitol by President Millard Fillmore, Perry was politely informed that a board of fellow Naval officers had nominated him to lead a provocative expedition to the barbarian land of Japan. Once there, Perry was to find a way to open trade with the mysteriously aloof Japanese. A younger brother of the famed hero of the War of 1812, Oliver Hazard Perry, Matthew well knew that the Japanese had refused to allow any significant commerce with their island nation for well over 250-yrs. Foreigners were simply unwelcome in this land of Lotus blossoms and bombastic samurai warriors. Even accidentally shipwrecked sailors were met with unwanted cruelty and hatred that saw them tortured and imprisoned with absolutely no provocation.

If you'd care to give this piece of history a read....click HERE

USS YORKTOWN "THE FIGHTING LADY"

As the United States was drawn into World War II,  it had only five attack carriers - Lexington, Saratoga,
Yorktown, Enterprise, and Wasp. The Navy’s first carrier, the Langley, had been converted to a seaplane tender. The Ranger was not fast enough to be considered for action in the broad Pacific, and the newest, the Hornet, had not yet undergone her shakedown cruise. With these carriers the U.S. Admirals had to fight the Japanese until some of the new Essex-class carriers were built.

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THE PRIDE OF BALTIMORE SAILS AGAIN

During the War of 1812, President James Madison tried to overcome the small size of the American Navy in regard to that of England’s mighty Royal Navy by issuing what were known as Letters of Marque and Reprisal to private shipowners. This legal document allowed the owners of these private vessels to arm them to act as privateers, or, essentially, as legal pirates, representing the young American Republic at sea.

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THE "LITTLE PIGS" THAT WENT TO WAR

Hard riding, wet, and cramped, the “L” boats of World War One were a far cry from today’s spacious nuclear submarines. A veteran of the early submarine service recalls what it was like aboard a “Pig Boat” more than 90-years ago


HERE is his story

COLLECTING SCALE SHIP MODELS

Regular readers of sea classic novels, ship histories, as well as sea venture history most likely have visited maritime museums and therefore appreciate how the numerous precisely executed ship models on display
enhance one’s understanding of Naval history. You may even be a ship model builder, or collector. I’ve frequently made use of pictures of ship models and
miniature nautical dioramas to illustrate my historical articles on ships and seafaring. They usually provide a clearer image of the actual ship than do hasty, blurry action photographs of the vessels or paintings and woodcuts by landlubberly artists who distort the proportions and fudge the details. It’s particularly true of depictions of ships before the advent of photography in the 1830's. Further, the model allows one to examine the “full hull” perspective - often lacking in illustrations of ships at sea - as well as to examine the ship from a variety of angles.

This is a "TWO" Part article....
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A SHIP FOR ALL SEASONS [BRITISH "OCEAN" DESIGN]

Adapting the British “Ocean” design for the Liberty’s to American standards required some effort. To ensure that the conversion went smoothly and efficiently, the Maritime Commission called on the firm of Gibbs and Cox in New York, the naval architects who had done such a superb job on the original designs of the SS America, the great luxury liner that was known as America’s Ship of State. Their modifications gave a ship suited to the requirements of the times. The simplicity of their design facilitated the prefabrication process and welding.

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CRUISE OF THE USS IROQUOIS, 1889-90

In 1889, the Iroquois was sent to Samoa, to reinforce American forces in the aftermath of the 1889 Apia cyclone. Her engines broke down after leaving Honolulu and she spent the next eighty-two days being blown around the Pacific before washing up in Port Townsend, Washington. After repairs at Mare Island, during which forty of her crew deserted, she again set out for Samoa. Future Marine Corps commandants George Barnett and Ben Fuller served on her during this episode. Returning from Samoa, Iroquois arrived Mare Island on 24 April 1892 and decommissioned there 12 May 1892.

Click HERE to read the article

Bud Shortridge

MOMENT OF DECISION

I'm sure many of you are like me in the viewing of many, many pictures of the aftermath of the December 7th Pearl Harbor slaughter of our Pacific Fleet.

One thing though that you don't come upon too many times and that is a first hand accounting from someone that....he was there....he was on one of the big battle-wagons.

Well I have one from a gentleman that lived it....not a long article....but I warn you if you got a weak stomach...I would pass this article up....  Oh yes there was clean up....but the living could do much 'rebuilding' until the dead was removed from the sea......and believe me "there was a lot of bodies..body parts....and even body items that I don't even wish to mention here.

Click: HERE  to read the article

Bud Shortridge

THE "SHOWBOAT" USS NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55)

NICKNAMED THE "SHOWBOAT" THE PROUD AND VICTORIOUS 'NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55) SERVED ALL THROUGH WW II EARNING A TOTAL OF TWELVE BATTLE STARS.
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The third Naval ship to bear the name 'North Carolina (BB-55) was laid down 27 October 1937 by New York Shipyard.  At 35,000 tons displacement, she is "long and wide".  Launched 13 June 1940, she was commissioned at New York 9 April 1941.
First commissioned of the Navy's modern post-WW I battleship, North Carolina received so much attention during her fitting out and trials that this is how she gathered the nickname "Showboat."  North Carolina completed her shakedown in the Caribbean prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, and after intensive war exercises, entered the Pacific 10 June 1942.

HERE is her story.

Bud Shortridge

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