Nov 17, 2023·edited Nov 17, 2023Liked by CDR Salamander
always been proud of my dad's Merchant Marine life. His was later, setting up atomic bomb tests near Eniwetok atoll, and the DEW line up in the arctic; surviving a satchel charge bombing in "French Indochina"; but merchant marine stories like this Fullbore heighten my appreciation of all he did and all they do................
Since guns aren't the primary weapon anymore, I think most ships, if they are sunk, are going to die in a hail of missiles and/or guided bombs, or a guided torpedo. It seems like we'd see the HMS Hood scenario more than this one.
Great post. It's hard to imagine anything like the merchant marine in a current conflict since we have almost no commercial shipbuilding capability. So many policy mistakes letting key industries atrophy into nothingness.
Great story. I volunteer at the National WWII museum and we have a section dedicated to the Merchant Marine contribution to the war. This would be an excellent additional story to highlight. Keep up the excellent work.
Pro Publica had an excellent summation of the USS FITZGERALD collision. Confusion and lack of GQ training hampered the efforts to save the ship. (They did, thankfully) One selection stood out, and that was the Officer melting down and crying in the corner of CIC repeating "I F'd up, I F'd up" instead taking change and carrying out the duties assigned. I believe the Chief grabbed the leadership reins after that.
I read everything I could get my hands on about that collision. My first thought was, "How could that even happen?" So many people were just going through the motions of watchstanding. It was incomprehensible to me, having spent my career in CIC and on the bridge. That collision happened in June 2017. To date, AFAIK, only the OOD (a LTjg) took responsibility by owning up to her failures and accepting her punishment. The CIC Officer/CIC Watch Officer (an LDO LT) , the TAO (a LT) and the Captain are still lawyered up. What all 4 of these people did rises to the level of criminal negligence. With no accountability, there will be no improvement. https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fallmarineradio.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F06%2F0621a.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=f7ac364a8c3342f80c1a99910d3747000ebcfec79e842cc2cbd7a75b42331951&ipo=images
Lack of accountability is the major issue overall. Not just for military faults but also in the political realm. Standby for heavy rolls in the near future.
There was confusion in the transfer of the throttle control to the lee helm, ordered by the OOD. That was really at the root of the collision. Of course there were training issues and watchstander selection issues, but the collision was destined from the moment of the throttle transfer. I am providing a brief link below citing the user interface. A more detailed reading indicates that the helmsmen were confused by the drop-down menus on the helm screen. There is too much wrong here to unpack in this post, but responsibility for this mess of a helm lies at the feet of the acquisition officials who chase elegant technology over operational simplicity when Sailors are under stress. And, I'll wager that not one of them has paid the smallest price for their dereliction of duty. Their job is to equip, but protect, Sailors when they are in a gunfight. They didn't!
Got that right. Look at the port schedule: "she was on her maiden voyage - San Francisco - Bora Bora - Auckland, New Zealand - Melbourne - Port Lincoln, Australia, Durban - Capetown - and bound in ballast for Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana." What mariner wouldn't look at that list and think "Some mighty good libs in that batch".
Stories like this one are your other great strength in these columns. I particularly like the point made about cross training! There's a "compare and critique" to be made between this column and yesterday's "Diversity Thursday" -- the crew of the Stephen Hopkins weren't on a fast ship intended to go in harm's way, but, to paraphrase Kipling, when fate laid upon them their task, the crew of the Hopkins did not shame the day.
We used to do that during REFTRA at GTMO. Not so sure now. BTW: This is Captain Mongo--I have somehow offended the substack gods and reincarnated---and the system won't let be go back.
Aye! FTG and REFTRA… I was assigned air detachment and we were married up with our frigate the Elmer Montgomery for our 90 cruise in Saratoga BG. We unfortunately failed OPPE just before GTMO and our REFTRA scores were less than stellar. We were welded to the pier with no Liberty until the ship passed. The air det flew off and parked our helo over on the Leeward side but we had to ride the LCC back everyday on the last launch to windward landing and report aboard. No Liberty. Finally the crew passed. We even became so proficient in fleet ex and work ups and cruise that we won the Battle E for our DESRON. oh the GTMO blues.
Had an LDO ChEng on a Nimitz class. He had literally qualified for and stood every watch any of his men stood. Boards were fun. Present a problem and let the guy answer, then he'd pop in with "well, that's a good start, but what about the 1/2" valve above the forward bunk in 2-108-4-L, you know the one you have to bend around the locker to see?"
Any officer outside of professional staff corps (Medical or Legal) assigned to a ship should qualify to conn. Will they have the chance on a carrier? Less likely with the brownshoes needing the time.
During Operation Anaconda, a US Air Force Tanker coordinator, aboard the USS Kennedy to refresh aircrew on big-wing tanking procedures, ended up conning the ship for a while...
“Sluggo, it’s just like flying formation in your tanker. The only difference is anticipating rudder and screw inputs. Make one-degree heading changes at the helm, and only one-percent RPM changes on the inboard screws. Keep the two outboard screws at seventy percent RPM. Maintain eighteen knots speed and a two-hundred-twenty-five-degree heading on the computer monitor. The one-eighty stick on the Christmas tree there outside the window stays on Seattle’s waterline. Piece of cake, Sluggo.”
Hasara, Mark. Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit (pp. 200-201). Threshold Editions. Kindle Edition.
We often do not choose the battle, or even the war, we want. Sometimes the war or the battle chooses us. Cross-training and simulated deaths instead of those standard "by the book" REFTRA exercises might just save the next ship in mortal danger. Make training hard. It saves lives.
Great story. There was also an incident where a Dutch merchant vessel and an Indian manned corvette were attacked by two Japanese auxiliary cruisers and a shot from the merchant ship sank one of them. This from "Combined Fleet" http://www.combinedfleet.com/Hokoku_t.htm,
11 November 1942:
Indian Ocean. SW of the Cocos Islands. HOKOKU MARU attacks Captain Willem Horsman's 6, 341-ton Royal Dutch Shell tanker ONDINA and her escort, LtCdr William J. Wilson's, RINR, Australian-built minesweeper HMIS BENGAL at 19-45S, 92-40E. BENGAL closes the range with HOKOKU MARU to protect the tanker.
At 1545 (JST), HOKOKU MARU opens fire. Both ships are damaged in the ensuing action. AIKOKU MARU is 6 miles NW of the scene and closing. A lucky shot from ONDINA's 4-inch gun hits HOKOKU MARU's starboard torpedo tube which had just been loaded. After the ensuing explosion, a fire breaks out that rages out of control and reaches the aft magazine. More explosions follow that blow out her sides. At 1752, HOKOKU MARU sinks. [4]
AIKOKU MARU arrives and hits BENGAL. LtCdr Wilson, confident the ONDINA can outrun the AMC, disengages at best possible speed. AIKOKU MARU scores six hits on ONDINA and virtually disables her. Captain Horsman is killed. AIKOKU MARU fires two torpedoes at the tanker, but both miss. With her ammunition expended, ONDINA's crew Abandons Ship.
AIKOKU MARU rescues 278 of HOKOKU MARU’s crew. She fires a last torpedo at ONDINA and departs. Later, AIKOKU MARU departs the Indian Ocean for Penang, then proceeds via Singapore to Rabaul.
ONDINA's crew reenters the ship, effects temporary repairs and departs the area for Fremantle, Australia.
17 November 1942:
BENGAL makes port at East Point, Diego Garcia for repairs. LtCdr Wilson reports ONDINA as lost.
A Coast Guard manned subchaser did sink a German E-boat during the Normandy invasion. A USN destroyer sank a couple of German corvettes in the Med. The corvettes were former Italian ships taken over by the German Navy after the Italians switched sides.
My final ship was an Aegis CG. Within a few days of reporting I had to pass the drill of finding my way blindfolded from my bunk to my life raft and battle station. That was SOP for the ship. That was a first for me in 25 years. During the final drill in RefTra, the Mass Conflag, on an FFG, I was GQ OOD. The RefTra observer killed me first to begin a drill. With my dying breath, I passed the conn to my noob LTjg JOOD. He performed like a champ. Impressed the hell out of the CO. Then the observer killed the Captain. It was very heart-warming to see people rise to the occasion, even as more of the new leaders were killed off. Sort of reminded me of the old adage, "The first thing you do after reporting aboard is to start training your relief." Great article.
Superb! Thanks so very much. My uncle, my father's older brother, Stinson Wood, was a Merchant Mariner during all of World War II. He was on merchant tankers and was twice sunk by German submarines in the area between the US and South America. And, both times, he and his crew members were rescued by the US Coast Guard. He also served in the Pacific during the latter days of that war, was at anchor somewhere in the South Pacific, when subjected to a Japanese kamikaze attack, and the ship closest to them was hit. He survived, and was the first skipper of one of the first super tankers in the Esso (now EXON) fleet.
Of all the services, which is the one that has the LEAST difficulty meeting recruiting numbers?
Bear with me here, this is directly related to Sal's questions and unstated conclusions...
The answer to the question is of course, Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, your favorite bunch of degenerate crayon eaters, the US Marine Corps.
Why? The Marine Corps sells pride in self and service far better than the other services. We don't focus on benefits etc..
Now, the Marines have a philosophy that bears mentioning here, central to our ethos and self-image.
EVERY Marine is a Rifleman, and EVERY Marine officer is a Rifle Platoon Commander.
No matter what other duties they may focus on, no matter their MOS and career, at their most basic level, every Marine is first inculcated with the basic skills, morale and ethos of the rifleman.
How, you ask, does this relate?
The Navy would benefit greatly from a comparable philosophy.
Every Sailor is a gunner's mate, and every SWO is a gunnery officer. (I'm a Marine so forgive if the terms could be better) Every other skill learned and assigned must be built atop that foundation.
Because if the warship can't shoot, what f***ing purpose does it serve? Therefore the job EVERY sailor must be able to step into must be to MAN THE GUNS.
When was the last time a new sailor (other than those explicitly pursuing special warfare or related fields) really thought of themselves as a gunner first.
Day 2 of Navy basic training should include hosing down floating targets with a .50 cal. It's not like we don't have enough surplus .50's and ammo to do that for the next 1,000 years
Bring the focus back to FIGHTING. That's what a Navy is for.
Every ship I commanded had a rack of rifles on the bridge. I required all bridge warchstanders to practice with those rifles. Also the entire crew had to qualify with rifle and pistol. My gunners Mates spoke fluent Ma deuce.
When I was a wee lad, back in the 1950s, I had a Bluejacket's Manual. It included a section on the care and feeding of the M1 Garand rifle and something about shore parties, in which participation was not limited to the Marine detachment.
When I was a wee lad in the 1950s, I had my dad's1943 Bluejacket's Manual. It had the 1903, Garand and Johnson Automatic Rifle. Also a whole section on Landing Party equipment, tactics and training. At GTMO we used to delivery our landing party ( a rifle squad) to the tender mercies of the Marines for training.
Don't mean we give up on it, otherwise what the hell are we all doing here reading Sal's sight instead of getting drunk? (not that those are necessarily mutually exclusive activities)
always been proud of my dad's Merchant Marine life. His was later, setting up atomic bomb tests near Eniwetok atoll, and the DEW line up in the arctic; surviving a satchel charge bombing in "French Indochina"; but merchant marine stories like this Fullbore heighten my appreciation of all he did and all they do................
and the sad, sad state of our merchant navy, now.
Since guns aren't the primary weapon anymore, I think most ships, if they are sunk, are going to die in a hail of missiles and/or guided bombs, or a guided torpedo. It seems like we'd see the HMS Hood scenario more than this one.
It will be bloody and fast.
Great post. It's hard to imagine anything like the merchant marine in a current conflict since we have almost no commercial shipbuilding capability. So many policy mistakes letting key industries atrophy into nothingness.
Great story. I volunteer at the National WWII museum and we have a section dedicated to the Merchant Marine contribution to the war. This would be an excellent additional story to highlight. Keep up the excellent work.
Pro Publica had an excellent summation of the USS FITZGERALD collision. Confusion and lack of GQ training hampered the efforts to save the ship. (They did, thankfully) One selection stood out, and that was the Officer melting down and crying in the corner of CIC repeating "I F'd up, I F'd up" instead taking change and carrying out the duties assigned. I believe the Chief grabbed the leadership reins after that.
Officer should be cashiered. Exactly what a Chief should do.
Cashiering may not work. The Admiral Byng treatment may need to be rolled out.
Shooting one to encourage the others is no longer allowed by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court does not serve aboard ships of war
I read everything I could get my hands on about that collision. My first thought was, "How could that even happen?" So many people were just going through the motions of watchstanding. It was incomprehensible to me, having spent my career in CIC and on the bridge. That collision happened in June 2017. To date, AFAIK, only the OOD (a LTjg) took responsibility by owning up to her failures and accepting her punishment. The CIC Officer/CIC Watch Officer (an LDO LT) , the TAO (a LT) and the Captain are still lawyered up. What all 4 of these people did rises to the level of criminal negligence. With no accountability, there will be no improvement. https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fallmarineradio.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F06%2F0621a.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=f7ac364a8c3342f80c1a99910d3747000ebcfec79e842cc2cbd7a75b42331951&ipo=images
Lack of accountability is the major issue overall. Not just for military faults but also in the political realm. Standby for heavy rolls in the near future.
I have said many times how much I hated my Fleet time in the 80's - and that it was a FAR better Fleet than we have now.
There was confusion in the transfer of the throttle control to the lee helm, ordered by the OOD. That was really at the root of the collision. Of course there were training issues and watchstander selection issues, but the collision was destined from the moment of the throttle transfer. I am providing a brief link below citing the user interface. A more detailed reading indicates that the helmsmen were confused by the drop-down menus on the helm screen. There is too much wrong here to unpack in this post, but responsibility for this mess of a helm lies at the feet of the acquisition officials who chase elegant technology over operational simplicity when Sailors are under stress. And, I'll wager that not one of them has paid the smallest price for their dereliction of duty. Their job is to equip, but protect, Sailors when they are in a gunfight. They didn't!
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/11/uss-mccain-collision-ultimately-caused-by-ui-confusion/
This would indeed make a helluva war film. Drachinifel also has a good retelling in one of his videos.
Got that right. Look at the port schedule: "she was on her maiden voyage - San Francisco - Bora Bora - Auckland, New Zealand - Melbourne - Port Lincoln, Australia, Durban - Capetown - and bound in ballast for Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana." What mariner wouldn't look at that list and think "Some mighty good libs in that batch".
A big 16 inch Full Bore!
Stories like this one are your other great strength in these columns. I particularly like the point made about cross training! There's a "compare and critique" to be made between this column and yesterday's "Diversity Thursday" -- the crew of the Stephen Hopkins weren't on a fast ship intended to go in harm's way, but, to paraphrase Kipling, when fate laid upon them their task, the crew of the Hopkins did not shame the day.
"I particularly like the point made about cross training!" - You get it.
We used to do that during REFTRA at GTMO. Not so sure now. BTW: This is Captain Mongo--I have somehow offended the substack gods and reincarnated---and the system won't let be go back.
Figured it was you. (Who would want to steal and use that picture?)
:-)
That is a rock solid SWO visage, Captain. Pay no attention to Jetcow1.
No way you'll remoo-ve that comment.
Aye! FTG and REFTRA… I was assigned air detachment and we were married up with our frigate the Elmer Montgomery for our 90 cruise in Saratoga BG. We unfortunately failed OPPE just before GTMO and our REFTRA scores were less than stellar. We were welded to the pier with no Liberty until the ship passed. The air det flew off and parked our helo over on the Leeward side but we had to ride the LCC back everyday on the last launch to windward landing and report aboard. No Liberty. Finally the crew passed. We even became so proficient in fleet ex and work ups and cruise that we won the Battle E for our DESRON. oh the GTMO blues.
Commander Salamander, that you for your inspiring story. Americans were men back then. I wonder how we today would measure up to those in your story.
America in 2023, when some of the men were men, and so were some of the women
I remember the battle and the accompanying picture from an article in the magazine, American Heritage.
The jobs you should know:
Two up, all the way down, and sideways as far as you can.
Had an LDO ChEng on a Nimitz class. He had literally qualified for and stood every watch any of his men stood. Boards were fun. Present a problem and let the guy answer, then he'd pop in with "well, that's a good start, but what about the 1/2" valve above the forward bunk in 2-108-4-L, you know the one you have to bend around the locker to see?"
He gets it!
Now, if he's the ChEng, can he also conn the ship, if it came to that?
Any officer outside of professional staff corps (Medical or Legal) assigned to a ship should qualify to conn. Will they have the chance on a carrier? Less likely with the brownshoes needing the time.
Heh.
During Operation Anaconda, a US Air Force Tanker coordinator, aboard the USS Kennedy to refresh aircrew on big-wing tanking procedures, ended up conning the ship for a while...
“Sluggo, it’s just like flying formation in your tanker. The only difference is anticipating rudder and screw inputs. Make one-degree heading changes at the helm, and only one-percent RPM changes on the inboard screws. Keep the two outboard screws at seventy percent RPM. Maintain eighteen knots speed and a two-hundred-twenty-five-degree heading on the computer monitor. The one-eighty stick on the Christmas tree there outside the window stays on Seattle’s waterline. Piece of cake, Sluggo.”
Hasara, Mark. Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit (pp. 200-201). Threshold Editions. Kindle Edition.
We often do not choose the battle, or even the war, we want. Sometimes the war or the battle chooses us. Cross-training and simulated deaths instead of those standard "by the book" REFTRA exercises might just save the next ship in mortal danger. Make training hard. It saves lives.
Great story. There was also an incident where a Dutch merchant vessel and an Indian manned corvette were attacked by two Japanese auxiliary cruisers and a shot from the merchant ship sank one of them. This from "Combined Fleet" http://www.combinedfleet.com/Hokoku_t.htm,
11 November 1942:
Indian Ocean. SW of the Cocos Islands. HOKOKU MARU attacks Captain Willem Horsman's 6, 341-ton Royal Dutch Shell tanker ONDINA and her escort, LtCdr William J. Wilson's, RINR, Australian-built minesweeper HMIS BENGAL at 19-45S, 92-40E. BENGAL closes the range with HOKOKU MARU to protect the tanker.
At 1545 (JST), HOKOKU MARU opens fire. Both ships are damaged in the ensuing action. AIKOKU MARU is 6 miles NW of the scene and closing. A lucky shot from ONDINA's 4-inch gun hits HOKOKU MARU's starboard torpedo tube which had just been loaded. After the ensuing explosion, a fire breaks out that rages out of control and reaches the aft magazine. More explosions follow that blow out her sides. At 1752, HOKOKU MARU sinks. [4]
AIKOKU MARU arrives and hits BENGAL. LtCdr Wilson, confident the ONDINA can outrun the AMC, disengages at best possible speed. AIKOKU MARU scores six hits on ONDINA and virtually disables her. Captain Horsman is killed. AIKOKU MARU fires two torpedoes at the tanker, but both miss. With her ammunition expended, ONDINA's crew Abandons Ship.
AIKOKU MARU rescues 278 of HOKOKU MARU’s crew. She fires a last torpedo at ONDINA and departs. Later, AIKOKU MARU departs the Indian Ocean for Penang, then proceeds via Singapore to Rabaul.
ONDINA's crew reenters the ship, effects temporary repairs and departs the area for Fremantle, Australia.
17 November 1942:
BENGAL makes port at East Point, Diego Garcia for repairs. LtCdr Wilson reports ONDINA as lost.
18 November 1942:
ONDINA arrives at Fremantle.
A Coast Guard manned subchaser did sink a German E-boat during the Normandy invasion. A USN destroyer sank a couple of German corvettes in the Med. The corvettes were former Italian ships taken over by the German Navy after the Italians switched sides.
My final ship was an Aegis CG. Within a few days of reporting I had to pass the drill of finding my way blindfolded from my bunk to my life raft and battle station. That was SOP for the ship. That was a first for me in 25 years. During the final drill in RefTra, the Mass Conflag, on an FFG, I was GQ OOD. The RefTra observer killed me first to begin a drill. With my dying breath, I passed the conn to my noob LTjg JOOD. He performed like a champ. Impressed the hell out of the CO. Then the observer killed the Captain. It was very heart-warming to see people rise to the occasion, even as more of the new leaders were killed off. Sort of reminded me of the old adage, "The first thing you do after reporting aboard is to start training your relief." Great article.
Superb! Thanks so very much. My uncle, my father's older brother, Stinson Wood, was a Merchant Mariner during all of World War II. He was on merchant tankers and was twice sunk by German submarines in the area between the US and South America. And, both times, he and his crew members were rescued by the US Coast Guard. He also served in the Pacific during the latter days of that war, was at anchor somewhere in the South Pacific, when subjected to a Japanese kamikaze attack, and the ship closest to them was hit. He survived, and was the first skipper of one of the first super tankers in the Esso (now EXON) fleet.
Of all the services, which is the one that has the LEAST difficulty meeting recruiting numbers?
Bear with me here, this is directly related to Sal's questions and unstated conclusions...
The answer to the question is of course, Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, your favorite bunch of degenerate crayon eaters, the US Marine Corps.
Why? The Marine Corps sells pride in self and service far better than the other services. We don't focus on benefits etc..
Now, the Marines have a philosophy that bears mentioning here, central to our ethos and self-image.
EVERY Marine is a Rifleman, and EVERY Marine officer is a Rifle Platoon Commander.
No matter what other duties they may focus on, no matter their MOS and career, at their most basic level, every Marine is first inculcated with the basic skills, morale and ethos of the rifleman.
How, you ask, does this relate?
The Navy would benefit greatly from a comparable philosophy.
Every Sailor is a gunner's mate, and every SWO is a gunnery officer. (I'm a Marine so forgive if the terms could be better) Every other skill learned and assigned must be built atop that foundation.
Because if the warship can't shoot, what f***ing purpose does it serve? Therefore the job EVERY sailor must be able to step into must be to MAN THE GUNS.
When was the last time a new sailor (other than those explicitly pursuing special warfare or related fields) really thought of themselves as a gunner first.
Day 2 of Navy basic training should include hosing down floating targets with a .50 cal. It's not like we don't have enough surplus .50's and ammo to do that for the next 1,000 years
Bring the focus back to FIGHTING. That's what a Navy is for.
Every ship I commanded had a rack of rifles on the bridge. I required all bridge warchstanders to practice with those rifles. Also the entire crew had to qualify with rifle and pistol. My gunners Mates spoke fluent Ma deuce.
When I was a wee lad, back in the 1950s, I had a Bluejacket's Manual. It included a section on the care and feeding of the M1 Garand rifle and something about shore parties, in which participation was not limited to the Marine detachment.
When I was a wee lad in the 1950s, I had my dad's1943 Bluejacket's Manual. It had the 1903, Garand and Johnson Automatic Rifle. Also a whole section on Landing Party equipment, tactics and training. At GTMO we used to delivery our landing party ( a rifle squad) to the tender mercies of the Marines for training.
The Marine Corps you refer to has been taken over by the DEI crowd, just as the Navy has.
Don't mean we give up on it, otherwise what the hell are we all doing here reading Sal's sight instead of getting drunk? (not that those are necessarily mutually exclusive activities)