| From: Pat Taylor To: venture233 Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 Subject: Re: Is That Your Final Answer? Heck, Steve...you snookered me!!! Had I seen the "rest of the story" ...that is- the entire granite memorial...I could have correctly ascertained that those numbers adjacent to the boats listed would have cited the downed US aviators rescued by our subs in the last year of the war in the Pacific. The number 22 for USS Tang now jumps right out at me...for Dick O'Kane, the skipper of Tang (and a Medal of Honor winner) got orders to be stationed as Life Guard off Truk Atoll when we launched our air attack there, 30 April 1944. On that day, Commander Dick O'Kane picked up 22 of the 35 downed aviators in that air battle. His story is breathtaking...as he would request friendly fighter air cover as he would maneuver within 2 to 4 miles off the beach to snatch pilots and crews...everything from a float plane from the North Carolina to a dozen Grumman Avengers...meanwhile under fire from Japanese shore batteries. Tang spent the day submerging...getting pilot locations, and then surfacing with her little 5-inch deck gun blazing back at the beach while running in to the next life raft. This very successful mission became the hallmark for SubPac's "OPERATION LIFEGUARD"...and secured from AirPac assurance that our boats on this mission would hereafter have dedicated air cover to bring these airmen back from the ocean. Later, the USS GUAVINA picked up some 17 downed aviators off Yap..all land-based pilots/crew...Army "flyboys". A full Pac Fleet OpOrder "SOP TWO" was put together by Admiral Lockwood...our Sup Pac Commander...based on the successful ops of these two boats, and the USS Mingo's daring rescues of pilots downed on the beach of several atolls..the sub actually beaching its bow on the sand shoals and the crew paddling in in their very own life raft to pick up these lads. You gotta know the moral booster those pilots got - as many future missions were most often accompanied with SOP TWO...all Halsey had to do when he would order up a carrier strike on Honshu was to issue "REQUEST SUBMARINE LIFEGUARD NEAR FOX 6 AT 0500 ITEM 10 JULY"...and SubPac would assign a boat to the strike area. The history books (of WWII submarine Ops in the Pacific) would record that the Lifeguard Mission was only second to sinking ships in mission importance... Anyway...that's what those numbers are all about... As far as the dolphin "wings" history...I did share that story with about a dozen sub classmates last year when I ran across the original - as told by Captain Crawford Eddy. I also sent it in to our Quarterly Review...a publication of our US NAVAL SUBMARINE LEAGUE...where it was printed - I think in the January 2001 issue...Here it is for your own review since you seem to enjoy sea stories from outside your own (ASW) community. A Little Dolphin History The following comes from a personal note found in my father-in-law's Class of 1926 (USNA) Fifty Years After book...wherein fellow classmates were invited to forward an anecdote and boast of grandchildren. This story is told by William C. (Bill/ "Crawf") Eddy...who, among other things, had been the featured cartoonist of the Log and a star oarsman on the crew at the Naval Academy. Here's the story... William C. (Bill or Crawf) Eddy, cartoonist par excellence, inventor, and electronics wizard, was one of the few who qualified in submarines without attending submarine school. He achieved this distinction while serving in S-35 on the China Station where, as some people claim, "Anything can happen." Regarding his submarine service, Crawf stated: "As you know, I had a hearing loss at the Academy which in its early stages I was able to cover up by reading lips. This worked fine until I went to China and transferred to the S-35 where, with typical Navy logic, I was assigned as Sound Officer on a boat which had the old binaural SC tubes which required perfect hearing in both ears to locate and track the target. As a result, the '35' hung up a dismal record in submerged attacks, but our failure gave me an idea of generating the sound into visual readings which would not require perfectly balanced hearing by the sound operator. With the idea in mind, I rotated to New London in the fall of '29 and was given space and some petty cash to develop the so-called 'Eddy Amplifier.' With my few dollars and even fewer capabilities in the field of electronics, I bought some cheap tubes, transformers, and parts from Kresge's, and built the Mk 1 Mod 1 which unaccountably worked on our first approach. Subsequent attempts with improved models proved equally effective which in time brought the development to the attention of Red Ruble, head of electronics, BuEng. Subsequently, the experts discovered that the bargain basement parts that I had been using were effective to the point where the 'E(sub p)I(sub g)' curve was distorted sufficiently to make the unit work. Knowing this, they 'designed in' the necessary distortion, and the units went into production at the Washington Navy Yard for Fleet Distribution. I was later granted a patent through the Navy for this gadget." While still at New London, Crawf and Simon Lake collaborated to build a 156 mc transmitter using a single modified 201A tube in a tin can atop a periscope for short-range inter-submarine communication. About this time, the medicos caught up with his deafness, which had become more acute, and he had to retire as a Lt(jg). (My note..Eddy was later recalled to active duty and retired as a Captain, USN). The following is quoted from a June 1977 letter from Crawf regarding a matter of interest to all submariners: "Back in 1922, I was on the Class Crest Committee and, using a 'bows on' photo of the (submarine) and adding two dolphins rampant, I came up with a design of the '26 class crest. About two years later, George Meale of Bailey, Banks and Biddle, mentioned that the submarine service was looking for a design for "Submarine Wings" to denote qualification in Submarines. Using my original sketches of the '26 crest, and flattening out the dolphins, we came up with the present submarine insignia which was adopted by the Navy. George gave me what purported to be the first dolphins struck from the dies, which I gave to my mother. I was very proud to reclaim this original dolphins after qualifying in the '35 boat'. The class might be interested in the tie-in between the '26 crest, the O-2, and the present Dolphins." Footnote: While I never had reason to study the Naval Academy's 1926 class crest before reading Eddy's letter to his classmates in the 50-Year After book...the similarity is amazing ... the bow on sub with planes rigged out and flanking dolphins...not yet straightened out as in our proud insignia... (see attached sketch) Just thought you'd like to know. PS...Bowplanes was our mascot for one Med patrol on the old Picuda (SS-382) ...the rascal jumped ship in Palma Majorca in 1957...someone said they saw him on the mainland, in Barcelona in 1960!!! Living with a lady that "does the castInettes"! PAT 
From: "venture233" To: "Pat Taylor" Cc: "Norman Palladino" Subject: Re: Is That Your Final Answer? Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 Pat-----Well I didn't want to make it too easy for you.....thanks for the Naval History lesson. You tell really great "sea stories". All the best, Steve Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 Subject: Re: dolphins/final answer From: Pat Taylor To: Norman Palladino, venture233 Norm...I hadn't planned on any of this reaching your web setup...I thought Steve and I were just "shootin' the breeze" on his "hooker" query to me on the dolphin 'headstones' he took pics of. PAT From: "venture233" To: "Pat Taylor" Cc: "Norman Palladino" Subject: Class Web Page Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 Pat-----You didn't look dumb at all.....you gave a most infomative reply, and ventured a reasonable response.....that was not designed to be a trick. It was only after all that great info you sent, that I thought it a good idea to share with the class. You are the "resident expert" when it comes to submarines. All the best, Steve |