Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Neal Stevens
The Wahoo story would be perfect.
A bad luck sub, whose conning tower-sleeping skipper is relieved.
A gangly Kentuckian PCO takes command, with a hard-ass XO who everyone thinks is a little crazy.
The skipper institutes an XO on scope, CO overall technique that worries the officers and crew.
They get orders to recon Wewak harbor, and have to use an Aussie school book to make a map.
The crew, who had never had a gung ho skipper before, finds out that to the skipper, recon a harbor means sneak in and sink ships, in 50 feet of water.
Upon entering the harbor, a Japanese DD comes steaming out and the skipper orders a down-the-throat shot... which misses and alerts the DD.
They fire again as the DD bears down on them... do or die here... and miss again.
One last shot and if it misses, game over... and it blows the DD all to hell.
The crew gains confidence. The XO becomes a better leader and officer. The CO keeps everyone cool.
A dark period where, after sinking a Japanese troop ship, the CO's face clouds and he order the gun crews to shoot the swimmers.
Then on to the other patrol, where they sank the whole 5 ship convoy...
Then the CO and XO part, with the XO going to his own boat, and the ill-fated Sea of Japan patrol and the death of an American hero.
This kind of history writes itself.
|
You forgot the part where, out of torpedoes, the sub skipper decides to take on another destroyer with their deck gun. Then, when the destroyer charges after the sub, the skipper decides that discretion is the better part of valor and sends a message to Pearl Harbor: "Another running gun battle--destroyer gunning, Wahoo running..."
Jim