THE SILENT SERVICE

[Music] I'm Rear Admiral Thomas M Titus retired in the entire history of undersea warfare it is doubtful that any submarine ever experienced more bit of frustration or endured so much agony as a USS purge a first-class fighting ship manned by a well-trained and efficient crew she commenced hostilities with every expectation of a long and successful career but from the very start the perch was dogged by almost every kind of misfortune that could befall a submarine our ability to take it and the heroism of a crew is a shining entry in the records of the silent service 27th 10th 1941 three days after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor at Manila while the attack came as no surprise the state of unpreparedness is best described by the message radioed by the pilot of applying for a sighted enemy planes please notify next of kin [Music] which the two engines out of commission had no choice but to limp out into the waters of Manila Bay and submerge in retrospect it was an indication to troubles to come two weeks after the bombing of Manila to purge now in fighting trim was on a maiden war patrol off Formosa her captain was Lieutenant Commander David a period of pounding mill Virginia the executive also is lieutenant BR Van Buskirk of San Diego California lieutenant JG Katie shank of Mount Vernon Washington was a gunnery officer and the tenant jf Ryder of Portland Oregon was diving off all of the officers and men wear for combat they got it on Christmas night what's the normal approach course 1 7 0 left 2 1 7 0 all ahead full left 2 1 7 0 all ahead full sir open outer doors forward standby I've got the TBT on the lead ship been estimated range to five double-o standing by forward all the doors open sir stand by [Music] but something went wrong the last talk Peter was running erratically the rudder which normally flicks quickly from one side to the other to keep the torpedo on its course had stuck on full right the deadly load of high-explosive turned around and streaked right back towards approach [Music] and come up to the bridge [Music] captain at first off Peter prematurity the good thing it did it was a circular run came right back at us left full rudder all ahead full have been defective we've had our first sinking first circular run I ever saw was heading right for us when it approached me exploded about thirty yards away a fine way to start the war yeah vanilla had been declared an open City Fort Darwin in Australia was now the base of operations for the submarine it was considered imperative that this knowledge be kept secret as long as possible on the night of March the 1st the perch was steaming on a westerly course approximately 12 miles northwest of Surabaya Java there's a clear moonlit night enemy ship captain just off the port bow I see them two destroyers where the bridge [Music] anybody hurt no sir no injuries man check the damage I see there's a hole of the conning tower water just above the deck I don't know whether we can dive come on up we've got to dive dive name what's the damage we took in some water through that hole it's sealed up now good the antenna trunks ruptured captain the radio is flooded out better get it fixed Ben how much water do we have here I didn't get a chance to get a good fix captain if our position is correct the chart showed 200 feet you want a pedometer reading no you better not risk if they can pick us up on that sound here let's get an observation bearing mark range mark 1,800 yards angle on the bow starboard 20 the present course you'll be positioned for stern to attack make ready the stern tools make ready the stern to and rig for depth charge rig for depth charge whether we get this fellow and not the second destroyer will be all over us coming in at high speed take it down 180 feet [Music] under 10 feet 145 feet [Music] captain we're in the bottom in 147 feet all stop [Music] [Applause] [Music] he's starting another run and going off right overs we're being powdered into the mud that in exploding the lowest this one underneath and that'll be a what sounds like a death charge landed on deck it's rolling off must have bottomed before making it set depth you better go below and see what damage we sustained see if we can pull a free visor all back one-third lost power on the port shaft captain full voltage ground on both batteries alt stop let me know as soon as you've got some power we'll get out from under this you just have to sweat it up son it's okay captain just don't like Sydney and pred you got a power on the starboard sham and after an hour of maneuvering he baited the Destroyers captain great surface to inspect the damage all the antenna insulators are broken take a look at the periscope fan number two was frozen in the well yes sir depth charge fragment that must be a bushel of them yeah periscope lenses are broken captain both of them yes sir and they're both flooded engine room aye aye captain how does it look number one main engine ran away on starting number four camshaft is broken can you get underway number two main motor is gone captain starboard shaft is out of line I've got number two engine on battery charge and number three is ready to go ahead on propulsion we can make about one third speed but we're gonna rattle like a bucket of bolts stop it ahead one third control room Katie what's the damage our depth gauges are gone that last string broke every one of them we have to dive again we'll be stoned blind no periscopes and no depth gauges how weak the leaks well we got one break at that second string of charges open the battery exhaust valve and the next one receded it maybe our Luck's changed that wrench was batted but not out she had a full load of top Peters and her deck guns were intact creeping along their one-third speed on the starboard screw she went looking for a bang an hour later with dawn only two hours away two destroyers possibly the same to probe into sight captain Hart made for the bottom two at feet deep stopped all the machinery the noise from the warp shaft would be a dead giveaway unfortunately she had already been cited by the destroyers [Music] why don't they get it over [Music] the telephone is on sir control rooms in rural telephone circuit to dead captain telephone and alive circuits are surely safer relay system all voters have to be passed by messenger [Music] the sound heads out of commission captain I can't hear a thing but deaf as well as blind but we're not dead yet [Music] any casualties just some bruises captain think their God it seems like it but we'll have to stay down till it gets dark conserve all the air you can how does it look captain not too good I don't know whether we can get up enough power to break free of the mud main ballast tanks will roll there might just be the bends put a man on all 14 main ballast emergency vents to operate them by hand and pass the word every man is to wear or carry a lifejacket at all times are you going to abandon ship sir until we have to we may never get off the bottom ban but not much more than a Hulk why the lifejackets help the men to think we're gonna make it to the surface they needed [Music] throughout the daylight hours of March 2nd to purchase lay in the mud 200 feet down she was badly injured at hemorrhaging internally barometer and the boat was smashed and no one knew the pressure but the perch was not yet dead and the ship's company was not ready to give up orders had to be relayed by messenger there was a 240 volt ground on both batteries but power was finally returned at the starboard shaft by going ahead and a started maximum power in the starboard shaft the submarine was broken from the mud [Music] brace your feet like this now get a hold of his legs and hang on mr. Van Buskirk what are we doing this for with all the air leaks we built up tremendous pressure well that lets go he's gonna take off all right crack the hatch [Music] inspect the damage [Music] she's dead captain that's all just dead keep at it son there are two of the boats in the area if you could get a message out we get to the best captain deck guns are useless and kg says that none of the tubes can be fired we can't fight we can't run steer a course due north see if the auxiliary engine is capable of putting some charge in the battery we're going to have to make a trim dive before sunrise we've got to have time to pump the bilges capital the water on the engine room is almost up at the generators six hours that's as long as I can wait wooded submarine crawl through the night making about five knots steering of course is impossible the rudder could be moved only with difficulty to the left and as it reached the midships it would snap over quickly to full right no leaks was so bad the bilge pumps worked at full capacity who worked frantically in the half darkness ship the perch was no more than a broken iron fight but she would not give up they didn't know if it was possible to dive or if once down that ever surface again but unless they could submerge by daybreak capture was inevitable at 0 400 captain hurt auditor running died [Music] heavy I can't hold it low old fellas boil ballast tanks well ballast tanks captain saucony car had failed a thief we're shipping waters the hatches back to the half an inch opening all right open the hatch lookouts to the bridge [Music] keep working on defend we've got to make it see yes sir captain engine room hatch won't see water pouring in all right son we won't need it we're not going to dive again [Music] some we could not dive and on surfacing could not bring us turn out of the water only the flawed half of the deck was exposed of course was erratic and water in the engine room fail just was up to the generators it was only a matter of time before she lost weight completely approach was a dying ship I don't think we can keep her up much longer that's pretty certain captain if we have to scuttle make sure every vent is open we've got too much secret stuff to let it be captured kg get a sack for the code books and ciphers two appeals can't be fired but deck guns are out of commission we can't even dive there's no use of just waiting to get killed [Music] captain [Music] three destroyers [Music] both ends abandoned ship All Hands abandon ship when I give the signal fast the order to open all vents then get up on deck open all emergency back Oh [Music] is everyone out all out governor [Music] when you hit the water don't panic your life jackets will hold you up swim clear the ship but try to keep together you'll all be picked up good luck I don't think those events got opened where's kg in gone below all events were open [Music] there's Katie [Music] man they're gonna interrogate us so don't mention Darwin good evening you're the commanding officer tenant commander David heard of the purge I have a few simple questions I must ask understand what is your home base vanilla what Japanese to have occupied Manila they haven't when we departed and you been at sea ever since that's right please through your course under chart commander [Music] I don't think this is completely accurate that was our course - you know what that means commander got a pretty good idea then write in the dates [Music] [Music] [Music] that's the only two of them that's all I'm going to write what do you mean by that don't you remember the date I remember them but they're the only two that matter December 14th 1941 the date we departed from Manila and March 3rd 1942 that's today that's right the date approach was lost [Music] [Applause] I'll be back in a moment with our special guests you have just seen the nightmare of the perch the ship that despite the heroic efforts of a crew was plagued with bad luck from the start we have with us Commander BR Van Buskirk retired who is her executive officer then I'm sure everybody would like to know what happened to the officers and men of the perch after she went down the entire crew got into the water safely although we never thought kg shot was going to make it I believe that as a result of your report on cages actions he was awarded the Navy Cross yes he was and he deserved it I never saw a finer example of raw courage I don't think anyone will dispute that but possibly only a submarine ax would ever appreciate the courage it took to go back into an already sinking ship after everyone got in the water what happened we were all picked up I was interrogated just about in the same manner as a skipper I got this business - did they ask you to cha-cha course - they did but they made the mistake of unrolling the same chart I had only a second glance at it before one of the Japanese officers grabbed it but it was enough of course I drew on the fresh chart couldn't have been more than a quarter of an inch off the one the skipper drew captain Hirsch must have been pretty worried that your courses wouldn't jive I think he was but there was one thing about the skipper the rougher it was more quiet and calm he became I had enormous admiration for captain hurt he was a big man did the whole crew get home after the war all but five who died in prison camp before the war exam it must have been a terrific ordeal then I want to thank you for being with us I thank you Andrew be with us again when we bring you another dramatic and true story of the silent service [Music] the [Music]