Clear the Bridge!: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang
Language: English
Pages: 480
ISBN: 0891415734
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Tang carried the war to the enemy with unparalleled ferocity. This is her story as told by her skipper.
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Would now want to go it alone. Eli was familiar with that area, having served on the China Station before the war and, as I remember, after hostilities commenced. Fraz had further discerned that both Sealion and Tinosa had indeed patrolled on the surface with SDs on and had been driven down frequently. Sealion had sunk her first ship of the patrol while en route to this rendezvous. Fraz withheld nothing about our method of operation, so they could try it for whatever it was worth. There would be.
Follow suit. The shaft tachometers in maneuvering showed an even 345, about ten turns high. Culp was in charge, and we were both satisfied. The after torpedo room was all business. Their true test would come with the firing plunger. “Captain, you put us in position, and we’ll blow her out of the sea!” Chief Torpedoman’s Mate Weekley had put his finger directly on our mutual responsibilities. I went forward to carry out mine, pausing in the messroom to look at our second plot; Tang was moving in.
The 40-minute horseshoe sweep, and now a full hour’s run northward. On topside the night was moonless, and our wake seemed brighter than the stars. It told of our rush, but where were we going in such a hurry when the deeper waters of the East China Sea were less than 50 miles ahead? “Slow to standard speed, Hank. I’ll see that the navigator has the word.” Tang lost her excess way quickly and settled into the quiet, easy aspect of a submarine on the prowl. Duty Chief Hudson had apparently taken.
Purpose. Soon our track looked like a sidewinder’s as we dodged lighted sampans clustered inshore of the 200-fathom curve. The lighted ones were easy; the hazard lay in those few that had not hung out lanterns. None appeared to notice us. A third main went on propulsion as we passed the 100-fathom curve, verified by an echo-sounding. The 50-fathom curve would come next, but we could still dive in ten. Tang slowed to 5 knots. The time was 2145 on June 24; the three-day-old moon had set, and we.
Ogden brought the chart, with dividers, pencils, and parallel rulers to the wardroom. Fraz went to work with the table as a chart desk. Navigating unquestionably provides the best way of learning an area. The seriousness and responsibility connected with the work and the constant plotting imprint an almost permanent memory. The first set of coordinates that Fraz plotted rang a bell for me; the second pair confirmed my suspicion. This was turning out to be essentially the same route I had plotted.