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Post by keyboy on May 20, 2017 21:43:07 GMT
Patrol After Action Reports are due no later than June 3rd, 2017. I have allowed two weeks to submit reports to ensure those that don't want to do a patrol every week aren't lumbered. Should you want to do a patrol every week, you can always create and take out another boat. March 4th 1942Good morning gentlemen, I won't take up much of your time, as I know that you are preparing to get underway. We have all patrol areas covered this month; but please just ensure that if your patrol is in the China Sea, then you will need to remember that you will be in shallow waters and as a result, you will not be able to dive towards or below test depth. For most of you, this is only your second patrol, so there is no need to take silly chances. Remember your training and use the experience of your last patrol to guide you and your crew back home next month. God speed. - Captain Lyndon Woodbury - SUBRON Commander
Ships on Patrol:USS Neptune - Gridz USS Grunt - crushedhat USS Blackfish - keyboy USS Seal - tamari USS Defiant - wsmithjr USS Cuttlefish - gregory smith USS Stingray - captbridge USS Catfish - cajun Currently at Sea
None RefitUSS Haddock - keyboy - April 1942 --------------------------------- Special Instructions: None--------------------------------- [P1a]Patrol Assignment 1942 Jan-Jun Patrols
China Sea ( Shallow Water - Cannot exceed test depth)USS Catfish - cajun SolomansUSS Neptune - Gridz PhilippinesUSS Grunt - crushedhat USS Stingray - captbridge Philippines (T)None Java SeaUSS Blackfish - keyboy USS Cuttlefish - gregory smith IndochinaUSS Seal - tamari USS Defiant - wsmithjr Important Information needed in Patrol Report
Boat Name and ID: Commanders Name: Patrol Assignment: Successful Patrol: Yes or No Number of Freighters or Tankers Sank: (Include ship name) Number of War Ships Sank: (Include ship name) Capital Ships Sunk: (Include ship name) Total Tonnage Destroyed: Special Assignment Completed: Yes, No, or N/A Refit Time: Awards Requested:
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tamari
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 38
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Post by tamari on May 21, 2017 19:15:24 GMT
Boat Name and ID: USS Seal SS-183 Commanders Name: Oscar Garrard Patrol Assignment: Indochina Successful Patrol: Yes Number of Freighters or Tankers Sunk: 2 (Pilgane Maru, 5300 tons / Tokushima Maru, 6000 tons) Number of War Ships Sunk: 0 Capital Ships Sunk: 0 Total Tonnage Destroyed: 11,300 Special Assignment Completed: NA Refit Time: 2 months (1 hull damage), -1 month for aborting patrol early, Ready in June 1942 Awards Requested: Battle Star, SCPI
Transit to patrol area uneventful. The first night in our zone, a pair of large freighters + escorts sail right to us. I order a surface torpedo attack at medium range, firing fore and aft at both ships and a minelayer escort.
2 duds on the first freighter, 1 hit that only slowed down the second one a bit, and 1 hit that damaged, but did not sink, the escort. We followed the damaged ships into the next evening, and then started an extended engagement that saw us fire *8* more torpedoes at the freighter, hit 8 times, and get 8 duds. During one of our attacks, the minelayer landed a few shots of gunfire before we submerged, knocking off a .50 cal gun and damaging a diesel engine for a couple of hours.
Finally, just before dawn, the escort changed course, and we had an opportunity to hit the freighter with the deck gun. It was a tough ship, and we expended over half of our 3-inch ammo, but the Maru finallly settled into the water. We cleared the area before any other escorts arrived.
A week later, another pair of ships was spotted with escorts at night. We did another surface attack, with only the forward tubes, 2 torpedoes at a small and large freighter. 4 hits, 3 more duds, but one did go off and slow down the large freighter. This time, an escort, a DE class vessel, laid an effective barrage of depth charges. Seal took hull damage, the aft doors were jammed, blocking our only remaining fish, and the other .50 cal was lost. The most damaging hit was in the engine compartment, with another diesel engine down and heavy casualties.
Luckily, the DE lost our trail and moved off. We repaired the engine and regained contact with the damaged freighter, and she was alone. After another surface engagement, we sank her with the last of our deck gun ammunition.
The aft torpedo doors were repaired, so we had 3 torpedoes we could still use. However, we were out of gun shells, and that had been our only reliable weapon. I decided to end the patrol early, feeling the fish were useless after 14 out of 17 hits were duds. It didn't seem prudent to risk the boat further with a limited amount of unreliable weapons, and the multiple KIAs in the engine room had put a dent in crew morale. We'll see if the brass agrees that I didn't take "silly chances" and continue on patrol.
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Post by keyboy on May 23, 2017 9:32:39 GMT
Boat Name and ID: USS Blackfish Commanders Name: Kurtis Mayfield Patrol Assignment: Java Sea Successful Patrol: Yes Number of Freighters or Tankers Sank: 6 - Kokuyo Maru (4700t), Yaei Maru (1900t), Chihaya Maru (1200t), Shinkyo Maru (2700t), Shiranesan Maru (4700t) and Mayasan Maru (9400t) Number of War Ships Sank: 0 Capital Ships Sunk: 0 Total Tonnage Destroyed: 25,700t Special Assignment Completed: N/A
Refit Time: Standard +1 month
Awards Requested: Navy Cross for LCDR Kurtis Mayfield Request for Navy Unit Commendation Battle Star for Sub Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia for crew
Crew Names: Crew Skill: Trained
LCDR Kurtis Mayfield Chief Engineer: Lt Larry Wilson, USN Pharmacist's Mate: PhM1c Earl Coleman, USN Executive Officer: Lt Christopher White, USN 3rd Officer: Lt (jg) Bobby Bryant, USN
March 9th 1942 After the VIP evacuations of the last patrol, the crew and I were looking forward to our first real patrol.
March 15th 1941 The positive news that we received during the past couple of days centred upon American troops landing in Nouméa, New Caledonia. On the flip side, we heard that the Japanese had landed troops in the Solomon Islands
A week into the patrol and I got the shout from the watch commander that I wanted, after he had spotted smoke on the horizon. This was to be our first convoy attack in the Java Sea. We stalked our prey patiently and waited for the sun to set; tracking the convoy from a distance and not alerting the escorts. Then as the light went, the crew jumped to their tasks and we made our first attack. I took her to close range and avoided early detection and once surfaced, fired the bow torpedoes at two of the freighters and the aft torpedoes at the freighter and an escort, before diving once again. All ten torpedoes hit from close range; half of the bow torpedoes failed to detonate, however the three that did, managed to deliver the coup de grace to both the Yaei Maru and the Kokuyo Maru. Half of the aft Mk 14’s were duds and as a result, the two detonations resulted in the escort being badly damaged and the Chihaya Maru sinking by the stern. Unfortunately, the escort detected us and whilst our erratic movements negated some of the potential damage, we still suffered some minor flooding. We had been detected, so I gave the order to dive below test depth. After a few minutes had passed, it was evident that a second attack was not forthcoming and the escort had lost contact. The gamble paid off and I waited for another seven minutes before we reached periscope depth and I gave the order to remain in contact with the rear of the convoy.
With the convoy at long range, three small freighters had been identified and so the bow torpedoes were fired equally between the three smaller freighters. I was amazed that four of the torpedoes hit, but then equally disappointed that three of them failed to detonate. One torpedo was enough for the passenger ship though and the Shinkyo Maru sank by the stern. At this range the escorts failed to detect us so I once again looked to follow the convoy. This time the Sea gods didn’t favour us and the convoy had slipped our net.
April 3rd 1942 During the past three weeks we have seen no action, but received plenty of news, both good and bad. A few days after the encounter with the convoy, we received the news that General Douglas MacArthur had arrived in Australia and had been named as the supreme commander. Yesterday we received the dreadful news that Over 20,000 sick and starving American troops had been trapped on the Bataan Peninsula and that the Japanese had make landings on New Guinea, most importantly at Hollandia. At around 09:00, the watch commander spotted a dim light off the starboard aft and as a result we got in for a closer look. I had been presented with an unescorted freighter and so the gun crew were readied as we closed nearer. The ship was identified as the Shiranesan Maru (4700t) and it slipped beneath the waves, after the gunnery team unloaded with full salvoes from the 3” Deck Gun.
April 7th 1942 Just before midnight, contact was made and after identification; the Mayasan Maru was to be our final target and its escort our final evasion on this journey. After surfacing at long range and readying the Mk14’s from aft tubes, all four fish were targeted towards the passenger ship; one fish missed and one failed to detonate, so two torpedoes struck the hull on the starboard side, resulting in the ship listing to starboard and the coup de grace had been completed. The final four torpedoes fired from the bow tubes ran straight and true towards the escort. Three actually hit the escort, but only one detonated and that only slowed the escort. Whilst submerged, detection was avoided and we once again headed for Australia with about two weeks to go.
April 19th 1942 Arrived in Brisbane, Australia, after traversing the rest of the Arafura Sea and finally getting to the Coral Sea, with no enemy contact on our way to the mainland. As we reached port, we heard a rumour that Tokyo had been attacked by the US in an air raid. Refit will be completed during May and June.
USS Blackfish will be ready for a patrol in July 1942.
Patrol report submitted by Lieutenant Commander Kurtis Mayfield of the USS Blackfish, Subron 9, Pacific Fleet.
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Post by gregorysmith on May 24, 2017 6:53:57 GMT
Boat Name and ID: USS Cuttlefish Salmon Class Commanders Name: Lcdr Don Henley (Gregory Smith) Patrol Assignment: Java Sea Successful Patrol: No Number of Freighters or Tankers Sank: (Include ship name) 0 Number of War Ships Sank: (Include ship name) 0 Capital Ships Sunk: (Include ship name) 0 Total Tonnage Destroyed: 0 Special Assignment Completed: N/A Refit Time: Standard one month. Awards Requested: None. What a horrible patrol.......started off with no contacts, as we sailed merrily toward the Java Sea and our assigned area. In the first patrol box, we spot the 5,900 ton freighter "Shozan Maru." Seemed promising enough....but despite having 5 more patrol boxes to go, I decide to fire a full spread from medium since it was daylight. I didn't want to risk following to night, as we don't yet have that new radar that's been promised. The good news...our fire control was superb. The bad news.....thunk! thunk! thunk! thunk! Hydrophones reported hearing 4 distinct impacts with no detonations. I decided to submerge and not follow, as we had plenty of time for more encounters. We easily eluded the escort. For the next month and a half, we saw.....nothing. At the end of our supplies, we headed back to Brisbane empty-handed. I formally request an investigation into our torpedo detonators. Something seems horribly wrong. Respectfully, Lcdr D. Henley PS> this patrol fully illustrates my normal policy of following that first ship until you get a sinking, and therefore, a successful patrol. My decision not to follow him was a bad mistake. You can't guarantee another chance
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Post by crushedhat on May 24, 2017 20:25:10 GMT
24 April 1942USS Grunt enters the harbor at Brisbane Australia, a broom tied to her periscope and obvious signs of damage to her hull. Standard Report FormatBoat ID: USS Grunt Successful Patrol: Yes Number of Freighters or Tankers Sank: 3 Number of Non-Capital Warships Sank: 1 Capital Ships Sank: 0 Total Tonnage Destroyed: 8,800 Special Assignment Completed: NA Refit Time: 3 Months due to Hull damage, ready Aug 42 Awards Requested: Gold Star to Combat Patrol Insignia for entire crew Battle Star for Submarine Silver Star for LCdr Neil Balaton Purple Heart for PhM1c Dale Johnson, FM3c John Hammond Narrative: We left Brisbane on 3 March, the same day the Japs were attacking Broome on the other side of Australia. Hearing about the Japanese landings on New Guinea, I wondered if we’d get a shot at any of the invasion fleet. Turns out the answer was ‘no.’ We were passing the southern end of the Dutch East Indies when we heard they’d surrendered. It may have been part of the occupying force that the lookouts spotted the morning of the 9th. In any event, we were able to crash dive before the Jap pilot spotted us. The night of the 23rd we encountered a small troop transport (3,100 tons) accompanied by a 1-GO class escort (330 tons). I made a surface torpedo attack from medium range, firing three fish each at the transport and the escort. Sound reported at least three duds, though the remaining torpedoes did the trick. On must have hit the escort right in the boiler as, our night vision returning after a spectacular explosion, there was nothing left of the little ship. This allowed us the satisfaction of watching the troopship go down. Continuing our circuit of the Philippines, we were off the east coast of Luzon the last day of March when the lookouts spotted smoke. Investigating, we found a small freighter (2,600 tons) escorted by an Akikaze class DD (1,300 tons). I ordered Grunt to periscope depth and initiated a torpedo attack from medium range, firing two torpedoes at the freighter and four at the tin can. Sound again reported at least three duds, the only effective hit being against the DD, but not enough to sink her. The Jap skipper was a determined old cuss and, despite the damage to his ship, attacked. We suffered some damage to the pressure hull and attendant leaking. Both PhM1c Dale Johnson and FM3c John Hammond were injured by equipment knocked from its mounts. I ordered the boat deeper and we managed to lose the DD under a thermocline. Knowing the DD was wounded, I went in pursuit, catching them shortly after nightfall. I conducted a surface torpedo attack at medium range, firing the last four bow torpedoes at the DD and the fours stern tubes at the freighter. Five of the eight fish were duds! The Akikaze avoided taking any additional damage though the freighter suffered a couple of hits, breaking her in half and quickly sinking. Again the Jap DD attacked, Grunt undergoing several rounds of depth-charging though not taking any significant damage before the DD broke off engagement. Much as I wanted that wounded DD, I decided I had pushed my luck enough with this old salt and did not pursue. The night of 3 April we crossed paths with another small freighter (2,800 tons) and escort (Momi class DD, 1,000 tons) making for Samar. With only four torpedoes left, I didn’t feel I had enough to attack both the freighter and her escort. Expecting a counterattack, I decided to go with a submerged attack from medium range, firing all four fish at the freighter. Again, three of the four fish were duds! The freighter must have carrying munitions as the one torpedo that hit lit up the sky and the target quickly sank. The Momi inflicted more damage on our hull bfore I was able to lose her by going deep. All our torpedoes spent, we continued to patrol as we gradually made out way back to Australia. News along the way was a mixed bag, with the fall of Bataan followed by the bombing raid on Tokyo. Grunt tied up alongside USS Griffith midmorning on the 24th. While our injured are almost fully recovered, it will take the maintenance crew a bit longer, two extra months, to repair the damage to the hull. It looks like the crew will be enjoying the sights and sounds of Brisbane until August. Respectfully submitted, Neil Balaton, LCdr, USN, commanding USS Grunt
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Post by wsmithjr on May 26, 2017 4:02:41 GMT
Boat Name and ID: USS Defiant SS-1764 Commanders Name: Benjamin Sisko Patrol Assignment: Indochina Successful Patrol: Yes Number of Freighters or Tankers Sank: 2 (Seinan Maru - 1300 tons, POW Ship Kachidoki Maru - 10500 tons) Number of War Ships Sank: 0 Capital Ships Sunk: 0 Total Tonnage Destroyed: 11800 Special Assignment Completed: N/A Refit Time: 1 month (no damage) Awards Requested: SCPI Gold Star, Battle Star
The USS Defiant left Brisbane shortly after the rest of the fleet and made the uneventful transit to the South China Sea to patrol between the Philippines and China.
The third week in, she came across a lone small freighter. Maybe the Japanese thought the South China Sea would be a safe area, or perhaps this ship, the Seinan Maru weighting 1300 tons, was too small to be worth an escort. The 5" deck gun of the Gar-class sub made short work of the small ship.
In the fourth week, fortune smiled on the Defiant as a large freighter was spotted, again unescorted. Upon moving in for a closer look, it was postiively identified not as a freighter, but as the Kachidoki Maru which was being used to transport POWs from the Phillipines. We were not sure where they were actually taking the POWs, but we didn't bother asking. The crew was able to safely evacuate and recover 78 prisoners before sending the 10,500 ton Kachidoki Maru to the bottom.
Not about to unnecessarily endanger the lives of those former POWs, the Defiant immediately returned to Brisbane at top speed without further incident.
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cajun
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 13
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Post by cajun on May 29, 2017 18:54:35 GMT
Boat Name and ID: USS Catfish - Gar class Commanders Name: LCdr Dreux Barbier Patrol Assignment: China Sea Successful Patrol: Yes Number of Freighters or Tankers Sank: 2 - Shoju Maru, Kori Maru Number of War Ships Sank: 0 Capital Ships Sunk: 0 Total Tonnage Destroyed: 3100 Special Assignment Completed: N/A Refit Time: 1 month Awards Requested: SCPI, Battle Star
The China Sea was very slow these couple months. We ran across only 2 small ships, and they were not escorted. Thanks to the dud torpedoes, all of our damage was done to these ships by deck guns.
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Gridz
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 15
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Post by Gridz on Jun 1, 2017 1:07:01 GMT
Boat Name and ID: USS Neptune SS-1875 Commanders Name: Dave Patton Patrol Assignment: Solomans Successful Patrol: No
Number of Freighters or Tankers Sank: 0 Number of War Ships Sank: 0 Capital Ships Sunk: 0 Total Tonnage Destroyed: 0
Special Assignment Completed: No Awards Requested: N/A
Refit Time: 1 month (no damage)
Events: Nothing.... really... Nothing... No encounter at all... (First time I got that! lolll)
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Post by captbridge on Jun 4, 2017 1:07:56 GMT
Boat Name and ID: USS Stingray Commanders Name: LCDR Edward Roland Patrol Assignment: Philippines Successful Patrol: Yes Number of Freighters or Tankers Sank: (1) LP Chifuku Maru (5900t) Number of War Ships Sank: 0 Capital Ships Sunk: (1) CV Taiho (31,000t) Total Tonnage Destroyed: 36,900t Special Assignment: N/A Refit Time: 1 month Awards Requested: Navy Cross for LCDR Edward Roland, Battle Star
After a successful extraction last patrol we thought we drew the short straw by being sent yet again to the Philippines, it turned out to be anything but that.
After a quiet transit to the patrol area, we were immediately greeted by two contacts late on the first day in the patrol area. After shadowing the DD Momi and the large passenger ship Chifuku, we moved in just outside of close range for a submerged attack at night since it was early in the patrol. We fired four torps at the Chifuku because our fish haven't been reliable at all. Of the four fired, two hit, one detonating weakly but it was a hit. The crew was immediately grateful for firing at medium range as the Momi bore down on us immediately and detected us. We were able to do some evasive maneuvers and sustained superficial damage as the depth charge was far enough away. After evading detection were able to follow until the following evening and decided to fire four more at the Chifuku...all misses, the crew was in disbelief, honestly we all were and our sulking almost cost us our lives. The Momi, no doubt with a veteran crew, was able to pounce on us once again. Thanks to our crazy evading, we only took two hits, but they still hurt...Diesel engine 2 was knocked offline and the aft torpedo doors were hit hard. As we limped away and almost out of range the Momi unfortunately circled towards us and was able to reacquire us and another round of depth charging commenced. Fortunately when the Momi reacquired us we were already in a turn so we didn't get hit as hard as we could, but the Momi was still able to take Diesel engine 4 offline with a well-placed DC. Somehow we were able to escape detection, repaired both diesels and found the Chifku all alone...the Momi must have been consumed in taking us out. Whatever the case, we moved in close to give the boys some practice on the deck gun, and very quickly Chifuku was being pulled under the waves. It was a grueling two days, but it was worth it as the boys got knocked around and realized the other team really does want us dead.
The crew stayed on high alert figuring they would see something right away since the patrol got off with a bang, well, it got quiet for about a month and everyone started getting really antsy. Late into the patrol of our largest area I was up top talking with the guys when all of the sudden one of lookouts reported a large contact on the horizon heading almost straight for us. I had the nav plot an intercept course that would give us a perfect medium torpedo attack. There was hushed excitement as we ID'd the ship as the CV Taiho with a single DD escort, Kagero. We fired a spread of four at the Taiho and was greeted with four explosions, one breaking the back of the Taiho. The crew felt vindicated for the missed torpedos earlier in the patrol. The celebration was still on hold as we were ready for the Kagero to exact its revenge on us for sinking what it was supposed to protect, but the pings of the Kagero never really got close and we slipped away easily. The crew waited until the next evening to celebrate as we didn't see much going on. I did mingle with the crew in this celebration as it was a rare event to sink a capital ship and I wanted them to know I appreciated their efforts.
The rest of the patrol was quiet and we sailed into Brisbane to much fanfare as our sinking of Taiho must have made landfall.
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Post by keyboy on Jun 4, 2017 12:06:17 GMT
30th April 1942
To: Vice Admiral Thomas T. Tompkins
Submarine Squadron 9 (SUBRON 9) Report: Eight US submarines set sail from Brisbane from the 1st March 1942 onwards. I submit the following results.
Submarine | Freighters Sunk | Tankers Sunk | Warships Sunk | Capital Ship Sunk | Total Sunk | Status | USS Neptune | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 00 tons | Refit | USS Grunt | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8,800 tons | Refit | USS Blackfish | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,700 tons | Refit | USS Seal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11,300 tons | Refit | USS Defiant | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11,800 tons | Refit | USS Cuttlefish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 00 tons | Refit | USS Stingray | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36,900 tons | Refit | USS Catfish | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,100 tons | Refit
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| 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 97,600 tons |
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All eight submarines completed a successful patrol and each will receive a Battle Star.
All eight Captains completed a successful patrol and each will receive the Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia.
US Submarines Lost: NonePROMOTIONSNone AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
NAVY CROSSLCDR Kurtis Mayfield of the USS Blackfish
LCDR Edward Roland of the USS Stingray----------------------------- SILVER STAR
LCDR Neil Balaton of the USS Grunt---------------------------- BRONZE STARNone -------------------------------- PURPLE HEART Pharmacist's Mate: PhM1c Dale Johnson of the USS Grunt------------------------------- UNIT AWARDS None Sincerely yours
Captain Lyndon Woodbury, Submarine Squadron 9 Commanding
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