I ordered some submarine titles from Amazon.com some weeks ago and have finally gotten around to watching them. The first of the DVDs, National Geographic – Lost Subs, I had seen on television when it originally aired. While it only covers submarine disasters and just a few at that, the story of the Squalus was the most meaningful to me. As I watched the footage and listened to the survivors give their thoughts, I could not help to think that my Dad, as many times as he put to sea, could have suffered the same or worse fate as these crewmen. Indeed, had he not survived his war patrols on the Atule, I would not be here today.

Squalus had sunk during a test dive which showed the main induction closed but was still actually open. Tons of seawater poured into the engine room as sailors struggled to evacuate and the compartment was sealed. About half the crew survived in the forward half of the sub. As she became overdue the search was on. She was located by her sister sub, the Sculpin, which picked up the tapping from the survivors on the hull as she passed very close on the surface. The survivors were rescued in the first use of the submarine rescue chamber or diving bell designed for the purpose by Swede Momsen. The Terrible Hours, by Peter Maas chronicles the efforts to rescue those 33 men from 250 feet of water in 1939.

I’m sure most Subvets of World War II can relate the fate that linked Squalus and her sister Sculpin during the war. For first time readers, though, the Squalus after her sinking in 1939, was raised, repaired, and renamed by the Navy as Sailfish. Sailfish or “Squalfish” as she was somewhat irreverently called, survived the war with an impressive amount of tonnage to her credit. Sculpin was sunk by the Japanese, and her survivors were split into two groups and sent as POWs to Japan aboard two escort carriers. One of these, the escort carrier Chuyo, was sunk en route by Sailfish. The crew learned of Chuyo’s cargo when they recovered one surviving Sculpin crewman from the flotsam. The fate of Sculpin and her crew are recounted from interviews in the book, Back From The Deep, by Carl Lavo.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 28th, 2005 at 1547 and is filed under General, Navy Life, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.