The Silent Service

On 14 October 1939, Gunther Prien penetrated the Royal Navy's primary base at Scapa Flow where he torpedoed and sank the battleship Royal Oak and returned home to instant fame.

USS Squalus sinks off of New Hampshire in 1939. New rescue equipment is used to rescue half of the crew.

Today's theme is the Bowfin Story.

The captain of the USS Gato plays a hunch (or is it something more than a mere "hunch"?) to rescue downed American airmen.

USS Swordfish travels to the Lembeh Straits on Celebes to discover how an Imperial Japanese air base is being supplied.

Extensive effort to rescue a downed pilot off enemy held island beach from a reef. Early success versus an enemy destroyer. CDR Samuel D Dealey commanding.

American submarine is sent to rescue missionaries from Japanese held island, but one does not want to leave.

Fed up with his routine chores in the gallery, the cook of the USS Sunfish, Teddy Aldridge, requests an active combat station for the next engagement with the enemy. The ship's executive officer assigns him a Browning automatic rifle for use during surface action.

Laying mines off the Japanese-held harbor of Saigon was a tough job at best; but, with one of your own mines stuck in the torpedo tube and an enemy destroyer closing fast, it was a downright nightmare.

A renovated 18-year-old sub is sent to sink a Japanese cruiser.

This was Operation Barney where 9 US Subs entered the Sea of Japan in June 45. They were the "Hellcats" squadron. They wreaked havoc on Japanese ships with the loss of only 1 sub.

On her first war patrol in June of 1944, the USS Cavala's captain obeys orders despite a tempting target. His disciplined conduct sets up the great American victory of "The Marianas Turkey Shoot."

The skipper of the USS Hawkbill vows revenge when a Japanese minelayer sinks the USS Lagarto.

The USS Cod boarding party was stranded for 52 hours on a Japanese junk before they could be rescued.

When the Navy learns that Japanese freighters are hugging the coast of Japan in order to evade US submarines, the Trigger is sent to the area to lay mines to force Japanese shipping out into deeper waters. USS Trigger (SS-237) a Gato-class submarine. From 3 Dec 1942 to 22 Jan 1943, the submarine conducted a combined minelaying and offensive patrol, in waters surrounding Japan. On 20 December, she began planting a minefield off Inubo Saki, Honshū. Trigger planted the northern half of the field and was working on the southern part when a cargo ship passed her, heading into the newly-laid mines. Five minutes later, a violent explosion rocked the captain of the Trigger gets to see the freighter while an escort circled her. The submarine later heard another explosion from the direction of the minefield and, when she surfaced the next day, found the field was covered by smoke.

During the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies the S-38 attempts to rescue survivors from a British destroyer. She rescued 58 Royal sailors from the HMS Electra which had been sunk the day before.

US subs provided lifeguard duty. Saving downed allied pilots. The USS Aspro did that just outside Tokyo, Japan in Aug. 1945 at great risk to all aboard.

Follows the beginning of the Bergall's third war patrol to Lombok strait. The highlight of the patrol is to use the new "cutie" torpedo to eliminate escorts that threaten US subs passing through the straits.

Submarine Commander questions his own judgment and beaches himself in administrative duty. He returns to sea and commands another sub to sink one of the biggest warship prizes of the war.