World War II Submarine Warfare - rare footage

They don't mention Admiral Clifton Sprague with his escort carriers, destroyers and destroyer escorts of Taffy 3 were the real heroes of the battle of Leyte Gulf, by turning back the Central Force of Kurita's strike force, against all odds. That is a whole story by itself and a brave one.

My grandfathers cousin was a welder at the Electric Boat Factory in Wisconsin where they manufactured submarines. He later was sent to naval yards in California to repair damaged ships. He told us that he would spend almost 16 hours working and would get 8 hours off when these ships came in for repair. Also, I went to a couple of seal seminars and learned that the seals used on periscopes and the drive shafts on submarines were from the Chesterton Seal Co. Most people don't think about the sea pressure that is exerted on a submerged vessel. But something has to hold the water back.

Served on the old diesel Boats, Nuke fast attacks, and SSBN's. Good boats, good crews. Wish I could do it again. Alas they don't take on 80 year old guys.

3:40 they forgot to mention that the Kaiser did not order unrestricted submarine warfare "just because", but because the Brits armed their civil merchantmen and opened fire at German vessels, which was a violation of international law.

I ment my great grandfather

my dad worked FDR and was in the submarine

Thanks so much... excellent documentary... great footage !

My very good friend and neighbor was on the Tang. Chief James Casey Elec Mate. Rest In Peace my friend.

says after Pearl no surface fleet existed to attack and hold back Japan, except the subs. Taking nothing away from those extremely brave warriors, it wasn't until around late 43 early 44 that the subs really began to make themselves known and felt. before then from a combo of timid, over cautious captains, as a direct result of faulty training and policy based on a naval stragety that was obsolete, battleship centered, and faulty technology in the Mk14 magnetic set, slow acceptance of that fact and slow remedy. After new highly aggressive captains began to emerge, along with far greater numbers and fixed reliable torps the results we're incredible in a very short time.
If it was how they said however, subs being the only weapon available to fight the Japanese and hold them back, then the war most likely would have gone the way the Japanese planned it all along with America agreeing to conditional peace as Japan would have offered. we would have lost midway and shortly after that lost Hawaii. With the histeria and terror of this, fully expecting mainland invasion, which could not happen as Japan didn't posses the assets or logistical reach but we didn't know that and thought they did, and with the german declaration of war adding to the general fear and panic, an unexpected offer of peace, at the cost of the Pacific and all previous possessions, with the possible exception of Hawaii, would have seemed a miracle in those early days. I can't see the American public doing anything but demanding immediate acceptance. They were terrified after watching what happened to Warsaw and Russia and with Japan in Hawaii we would have believed ourselves to be beat. Bit this did not happen because we had three, soon to be four, carriers that were able to immediately fight Japan and they did hold them back, first in the coral sea, preventing a Japanese invasion of Australia and then at midway, preventing that island from falling and breaking the back of the navy which ultimately proved to be the decisive turning point. The subs tried in the early days bit they just didn't have what it took to be anything other than a thorn I the japanrs side, an annoyance, until a couple years later. THEN they were decisive in a huge way.

"World War II Submarine Warfare" - more like US Submarine Warfare. Where are the Japanese, the Russians, the Germans?. Documentary my ass.

Very good documentary.

if it wasnt for the subs and the carriers holding off japan for a yr in the pacific they couldve invaded the mainland

They found the Submarine Wahoo lost in 1943 and found in 2006 where it was sunk ! click on link below for information !
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=26378

RESPECT !!!

Video also issued as Silent Victory.

This film footage is absolutely fantastic. I sure hope someone out there has the time, the latest technology and money to preserve the originals. Re-mastering and re-reproducing the countless bits of documentation of this war that still exist on film would find me placing orders for copies !
Tactics :
"Mush" Morton did what Admiral Halsey told his officers to do, that being,
. ". . . throw out 'The Book', because the men who wrote it never faced what we are up against." (I'm not sure that's word for word, but it's close.)
Torpedoes :
If memory serves, those firing pins were initially replaced with parts fabricated from scrapped aircraft propellers. It's interesting to note that the Japanese and Germans had excellent torpedoes from day one, but WE had crap. The officers originally in charge of the torpedo R&D debacle insulted and sometimes demoted valuable and rare submarine officers, due to what was referred to then as "Chicken Shit" bureaucratic attitudes.
Security Leaks :
See 50:00. I wonder what happened to the idiots who gave away the test depth of our submarines ? The biggest (and even to this day hard to dig up) problems with "loose lips that sink ships" came from politicians, there political hacks and senior military bureaucrats; usually stateside. Even General Ike had to dismiss one of his own high level staff officers for loose talk; in public no less. Being well placed socially, professionally and/or politically didn't keep you in the loop or in a sensitive position during WW2 when it came to this.
Most WW2 Vets I have spoken to hoped vehemently such fools were, well, let's say,
 . . . not ever allowed to re-produce and leave it at that.
(Unlike the traitorous media and political hacks of today who get promoted for it.)

I'm the galloping ghost of the Japanese coast,
You'll never hear me or my crew.
But just ask any man, off the coast of Japan,
If he's heard of the Trigger Maru.

Thanks to Capt. Edward L. Beach for putting this in one of his many history books.

Uncle Burnard had many friends and acquaintances in many Naval services during the Pacific war. One evidently had been on many patrols with this ship.
RIP U.S.S. Trigger 03/28/45
Yours was a job very well done.

666BlackSun,net

helo

U-Boats > All.

I think that the Japanese failure to make the oil storage tanks on Pearl the primary target was a tremendous mistake. Without oil, air and sea assets in and around Pearl would have soon been immobilized and then easily destroyed by Japanese attack forces. The fleet carriers that were not in port during the attack would have soon been rendered impotent, due to lack of bunker oil for the ships and avgas for the planes.