THE SQUAILFISH

[Music] I'm Rear Admiral Thomas M dijkers retired the story you're about to see is true it concerns two submarines inescapably linked by faith the facts about these ships are a matter of official record the story of their cruise might well be that of every man who served his country and ships beneath the sea we call this chapter the squirrel fish in a few minutes you'll know why on May 23rd 1939 the USS squalor stood out to sea for a test dive in the waters off Portsmouth New Hampshire [Music] aboard the vessel war a full complement of officers and men and a naval architect it was a routine exercise and then knew that jobs there was nothing out of the ordinary off the Isle of Shoals the otter was given to execute the dive still everything routine smooth [Music] she went down but now instead of leveling off kept going down down suddenly what had been routine became a frantic emergency a mechanical failure and the valve wouldn't close the squalor became a headline in the morning papers she settled on the bottom in 240 feet of water trapped in her four top peter rome still alive 33 men they find a smoke rocket red signaled for emergency distress operating close by les assistantship sculpin sighting the smoke-rocket scope and spread the alarm by radio and set for the scene herself [Music] you're through boy finished uh-huh hey what's the matter with you huh I'm just thinking about the squareness nothing we can do Lily get there come on boy your deal do you know Lenny Harrison yeah why oh he was transferred to the square last couple of days ago electricians made stuff nice guy yeah we went to school together you and everybody huh house kind of hoping he'd be with us yes to bed well my let's play stop thinking about it in response to the sculpins dispatch the rescue ship Falcon and others are soon on the scene [Music] a diving bell was attached to the boat escape hatch of the sunken ship and miraculously 33 men were saved the sculpin like an anxious relative standing by amongst the survivors as electrician's mate Leonard Harrison next rounds on me nights are night okay okay but I want to tell you one thing I wouldn't be sitting here tonight like this if it weren't for you guys on the scope oh I assure you would somebody die found you it's a long time down there just wait listen boy you're a hero didn't do anything but you're a hero name in the papers and everything guys in the interval the ones that didn't get out what come on come on let's make up sure the next ones are on me Lenny good to have you back boy hey or more the same three months later Navy salvage crews raised the spoilers from the bottom [Music] she was taken to Portsmouth Navy Yard and work began to recondition it here at the latest what they're refitting escuela you kid now they've been working on it for a couple of months now he's her ride I got a Paulo knows it's gonna be tough finding a crew floor she's a jinx wanna know she got back all right didn't she I mean if you were transferred to her you wouldn't squawk uh-huh guess I'm not superstitious wouldn't get me inside her for double tape you got too much imagination Willy about a year after squalor said sunk she was recommissioned for active service and her name was changed to sailfish the Navy knew and understood the feelings of submarine 'as who remembered it would have misgivings about sailing on the old squalor so they decided to give her a tough skipper and a picked crew whose imaginations for less prone to be fanciful sculpin and sailfish both joined the submarine force Asiatic fleet sailfish skipper had amongst his jobs dispelling the shadow which still lay over the resurrected so she had yet to prove herself four days before Pearl Harbor in Manila another link was added to the chain of events which drew tighter the bond between the sculpin and the old squalor now sailfish a new man joined the sculpins crew electrician's mate Leonard Harrison reporting for duty sir Hey look what I dug up Lenny orders he's replacing falling hey Lenny you know what they're calling your old ship the Swale fish how do you like that get it weightless sailfish sailfish yeah I heard anybody know where she is oh she's not here wouldn't you know just our luck who do the whole division come on I'll show you around December 7th 1941 Pearl ha [Music] [Music] [Music] December 8 vanilla it was happening there as well but headquarters had known of us coming the submarines had already taken up control duties among them sculpin and sailfish they were at Z when the raid started now at the time for sailfish to prove herself [Music] look like troopships 304 escorts bearing mark down scope they'll fire a three torpedoes from the for shoot three fish Brett set the depth of 20 feet well let's get rid of that squirrely stinks huh this is a shooting observation of scope [Music] no change bearing mark three three six range mark one eight five oh shoot fire one [Music] fire two fire three [Music] thirty-second destroyer get a set up and by shoot figure it out call PETA slide at the troopship either mister went too deep the fourth aimed at the destroyer might have hit but it could not be confirmed the Sailfish went deep to escape the escort vessels our first test had not been an unqualified success the autumn of 1942 sailed fish in the sculpin were once again brought together this time for patrol duty out of Brisbane Australia and March of that year sailfish had sunk a first vessel to come a gallon Maru an aircraft ferry and the shadow of her bad luck that it's shrouded her was left it wasn't like a broken leg and he gets this and you seen the nurses here we go out on patrol duty and he gets this don't know what the old sculpting's gonna do without you really I'll be thinking of it I'll bet well we gotta be moving really catch up with you when we get back hey so long boy in October of 1942 sculpin was on a fifth patrol in the des mark archipelago area far from Brisbane and the Sailfish up to now she'd had a share of bad luck Baldy top Peters heavily escorted convoys but today was her day [Music] first syncing 4731 ton transport nami numero eiffel 39 hey I wonder how Willie's getting on I wonder how those nurses are making out are you kidding he wouldn't stand a chance they're all officers you know Willy golf inside the Sumiyoshi Maru approximately two thousand times [Music] once again I look him pepitas ran straight and truth easy mark score two for the scoping in a week she was well named like the namesake of Barb's the sharp and dangerous this was a war to her liking [Music] in Brisbane Sailfish was getting ready for sea it was November Tormentum in first-class WC Wilson reporting for duty sir welcome aboard Wilson what was your last bullet sculpin sir she's a lucky boat and a good one but go with this yes sir I've heard sailfish fought hard that gear in the Battle of the Pacific in June of 1943 she operated around northern Honshu and Japan and in ten days sank two ships [Music] Earl hop and for sale fishin sculpin refitting the ravages of endless days at sea repair for the men arrested from war a few days in the world of normalcy Hey look at that hey Willie how long you been at Pearl I didn't yesterday so we all this calls for a celebration listen I'm not playing oh really I got a date a date yeah oh maybe she's got a friend two or three it's his girlfriend Lily yeah she's with the Red Cross he's stationed out here only found out about it today so what let's go with it oh sure sure okay but if she's got any friends pal you know me yeah I know you and I bet I'll see you later I never thought we'd be seeing each other like this really what would life what when you're down there in the submarine what do you think about oh think about a lot of things you you know I'd almost forgotten what you look like in a bathing suit well that's a nice [Music] funny what well back in New York we stood neck I don't like that word but you know I hadn't kissed you since we got here that's not my phone [Music] I wish you didn't have to go back what's nothing we got a great skipper it's nothing to it hey I'm artists yet have a will you wouldn't think there's any war out there there is not tonight so we come up on a broadside see I fire three four peanuts boom she's done finished a twenty thousand ton ship the point Maroof the skipper says Wilson you disobeyed orders I told you one torpedo Isis captain sir court-martial I deserve but he's not listen let's just keep this quiet just between us but I'm putting in for a citation for you you saved the Sailfish and I'm grateful right Lenny that's the way I heard it [Music] how do you like that bushwa and me saving the world for democracy USS sculpin left Pearl Harbor for patrol in the Caroline's she stopped to refuel at Johnson Island left on November the 7th 1943 a station was directly north of trucks to intercept any Japanese force during the Gilbert Islands campaign November the 18th she made contact with a large enemy convoy but our luck was running out family damage sent a depth charge attack she was forced to surface [Music] the enemy closed in the kill [Music] under orders All Hands abandon ship among them electrician's mate Leonard Harrison and his pal boney [Music] forty whence the virus of the stuffin but taking the truck island then they were split into two groups 20 and 121 in the other put aboard two aircraft carriers and sail for Japan one of the parties was a boy to carry a choo yo he was officially listed as an escort aircraft carrier twenty thousand tons you know this kind of reminds me of a joint I used to eat out of a Boston Post Road yeah like the beef sandwiches hot pink gravy and tastes like soft cardboard figure they got the same cook on this ship I mean it sitting beef that's what bothers me when he people make it okay how do you mean what I mean is you think we'll get back all right after the war's over sure sure we will I'd like to keep on living Sally and I want to get married yes well you never said anything well I've been trying to give it a secret buddy I'm putting it right now to be your best man good be good thanks honey I'm not very hungry December 3rd 1943 @ 17:45 USS sailfish was fighting a 40 to 50 knot winds visibility varied from 0 to 500 yards at 23:48 radar gotta contact ranged 9,500 yards and 10 minutes later three more targets with contact battle stations torpedo [Music] they coming into pretty close range fast too it's near thing in this but last contact probably the destroyer will come for the biggest pimp [Music] therefore three zero zero where the bread Perla bread die time [Music] hey you think really still the parol know what a guy did I ever tell you about the time you met a girl in Portsmouth the Japanese carrier was still unaware of the impending attack sailfish dove to 40 feet and came right to the court 340 degrees truth or a shot at the biggest ship on the radar [Music] battleship Korea make ready the forward tubes make ready to the four tubes steady on course range mark 2800 gods [Music] I got a signal boy this is gonna be a crazy guy very funny [Music] the end Brooklyn is laying be right here with us now Anna needs to be back on truck chasing some day will reduce blank range [Music] mark 2,400 yachts will shoot four torpedo set at 12 feet 10 degrees total spread open our torpedo tube doors forward open outer doors board open outer doors for me for some sleep yeah me too right [Music] it was 12 minutes after midnight when the torpedoes were fired shoot fire one fire two fire three fire for the unseen unknown targets escort aircraft carrier Chujo [Music] [Applause] don't hit number one and four chuckles you hear that boy whee [Music] here we go again rig for depth charge and I now as the battle continued sailfish pouring in on the wounded Karen the Japanese destroyers hunting at zero 942 the carrier was hit for the third time at zero 946 the Chuo was going down it was cheering aboard the sailfish and not a man knew that 20 survivors of a sister ship the sculpin were going down with her one only one survived the sinking and he was taken to Japan USS playlists' renamed sailfish a war record reads seven vessels sunk forty five thousand and twenty nine tons including the aircraft carrier Chujo of 20,000 tons she received the Presidential Unit Citation I'll be back in a moment I'm sure that every day we live makes us more aware of the irony of fate on that day in 1939 when the scuffin stood by the sunken squalor no one dreamed that they were helping to save an instrument that would eventually destroy a part of her own crew fortunately when the Sailfish sank the carrier Chujo she had no idea the scope and survivors were aboard but if a commanding officer had known what else could he have done can you imagine the frame of mind of a man in such a predicament think about it what would you do please join us again for another thrilling chapter of the silent service [Music] [Music] having 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