Operation Seadragon

[Music] I'm R Admiral Thomas M Dyer's retired in the submarine service dangerous situations are common place but in this story we will watch sea dragon as she struggles with two of most deadly and dreaded emergencies that can befall an undersea boat December 1942 America had been at War one full year a year of few triumphs and many bitter frustration Sea Dragon went to war on the day it started and by the end of the war she had a proud record on the evening of December 19th 1942 Sea Dragon found himself under the Lash of Japanese destroyers for 16 hours she had been viciously attacked with dep charges relentlessly held below the surface the men in our submarines didn't expect to get away Scott free they expected to hear the depth charges exploding around them was part of the game but this attack on C Dragon had been going on too long 16 hours now Commander Pete farell of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania was Skipper of sea [Music] dragon should be on their way you think about them coming down to the water yeah inocent little black barrels full of t andt with our name on them I don't mind those so much the ones I don't like of the whom may concern [Music] jobs that one sounded closer boy they really have us nailed with the Sak what's the skipper going to do I don't know if we surface the Destroyers will kick our teeth in we can't stay down here much longer boy would I give for a breath of Pennsylvania Air Pennsylvania Air any air we've about had in bra what are you here Destroyer propellers fading he's shifting back to Long scale sir you think could be I think we're on the outside of that P Jack not far outside but outside you think he's lost it maybe let's wait and see ask Mr Rue to test atmosphere for CO2 please tell Mr R the captain want to test the CO2 CO2 test 6% 6% Rising fast 6% Rising 10% were woozy 15% were dead all the CO2 absorbance spread any Oxygen bottles left this is the captain atmosphere now tests 6% I want all hands to use as little air as possible no unnecessary exertion don't move if you can help it all who can please lie down when it hits 8% I'm taking her up no matter what's waiting for us if we're going to get it let's do it shooting not lying down here what do you here propellers fading flowing you got me your account 150 RPM they're going away too sir I think Jack what would you do if you were a Japanese can Skipper looking for his sub well after dropping dep charges for 16 hours without hitting anything I'd go home and claim I'd sunk the whole us Fleet I heard dep Charges going off very far away there you go taking the whole us Fleet let's go up propellers heading toward us what does it sound like to you I don't know sir so slow three maybe four nights listen to it Jack yeah I think so too there's a Japanese sub down here with us question is does you know where we are we've got to find out I'm going to make a 90° turn to the right let me know if the sub turns right too i i p ahead 1/3 come right to 277 P head 1/3 come right to 277 he's turning Captain he's right with us okay so he knows where we are we can't shoot him this far down he can't shoot us sir atmosphere test 8% Jack we got a surface it'll be Doggy Dog what's the pra of the mo could be where Captain full moon now Rising put us down Moon from give me a course there going to be any Silhouettes in the lovely Pacific it's going to be him not us course 187 will do it sir come left to 187 all ahead 1/3 come left to 187 all ahead 13 son keep the bearings coming this is the captain I think the Destroyers have lost us but there's a Japanese submarine trailing us there's almost no air left in the boat so we haven't got much Choice we've got to go up so as soon as we get in position we're coming up shooting stand by in the after Torpedo Room open the outer door at 50 ft well here we go I don't mind taking on a carrier or even a battle wagon but slugging it out with another submarine giv me the creeps take her up to Periscope dep s keep me posted he's dead as stern of us sir up [Music] scope down scope lovely lovely Moonlight all over the place why does the moon have to be so dark on bright out here when you can't do anything about it okay we'll surface but let's make sure we're the first to shoot tell Mr Miller as soon as the main induction opens I want those engines on Fast and a head flly speed all a head flank what's he trying to do run away it looks like it why not stick around and fight it's an even match I'm not the skipper stand by the jam air we might have to go right back down again so pump in every pound you can [Music] get fire one fire two both Torpedoes fired electrically sir both running hot through very well look out be alert for tedo Wes coming this way if he's headed straight toward us our chances are hitting are about zero all I want to do is shake them a little nothing like Torpedoes coming at you to make you spoil your aim sure hope our down reports high speed propellers coming toward us Torpedoes look out can you see any waves nothing yet sir yes here they come 1 2 3 there are four of them sir yeah they are should we swing her Captain hold Jack he's shot himself a beautiful spad of fish he's got us boxed in and there's no time to turn D I don't want to be pinned down there again he's coming right up our back Helm come right to 187 and hold it sound Collision alarm what's going on sir I'm trying to give these fish the smallest Target I [Music] can help he's right at half degree right at half degree I answer that's right now hold it how much longer Skipper none stand by po but no cigar we're going to need a new paint job on the port side when we get home well we got work today now we're going to get him sub SN sub why till they hear that back in Pearl I don't know we only have four fish left and they're in the forward torpedo tubes I guess we're going to swing around and try to get a broadside shot at her I wonder why the skipper doesn't change CT this way we're just getting further away from the target follow go back to maneuvering and find out why we can't get more speed I'll go bend the throttle cab he isn't going to fight at all he's just going to run away [Music] Bill even Captain two engines on battery charge sir to on propulsion ahead standard very well even captain low pressure blowers are back in business sir good Bri sir how's the weather now a cloud in the sky sir does feel a little wetter than this very well what's eating the skipper I don't know maybe he's wishing now he stayed and fought it out with that sub bridge bridge I how long before Dawn it's breaking now daylight in another 5 minutes what are we going to do I'm going in and talk to the captain I'll go with you Captain yes the bridge reports only minutes before Dawn sir you want to take it down no you mean you want to stay on the surface during daylight sir yep have the office of the deck change course to 090 and ring Up full speed I IAC let me know when the batteries have a full charge and I mean full nice may I ask where we're going sir ball propul sir that's right isn't that where the Japanese are basing their subs for this area yes sir but would you expect to find a Japanese Sub in Pearl Harbor no sir they won't be expecting us either that bird that took a shot at us last night is going to get her right where he lives you mean you're going into the Harvard raal we might even tie up at the duck I couldn't stick around last night because he would have pulled those destroyers back on us but no dog gone Japanese sub is going to shoot at my boat and get away with it yes [Music] sir did we get a full battery charge R every am [Music] captain take it down [Music] ah he ought to be here by now but I can't see him yet I see the five and dime on ra Ball's Main Street I didn't realize it was such a big Bas wait a minute here he comes what do you know this guy is coming home on the surface guess he wants to hear band music well he's going to hear music a little thing called fish tune from sea dragon stand by for a setup bar Mark 058 range Mark 2,000 y down scope steady as you go steady as you go I sir it's going to be a straight bow shot up scope uhoh down scope what's the matter the bomb are coming out from Revol look like a Betty we better a high tailed out of here forget about that sub not yet he's probably escorting sunny boy back home he hasn't seen it yet well he'll sure look when he sees four torpedo AES coming out of us up scope up and down down real fast I just want to flash the minute he sees torpedo AES he's going to fly over and plaster it down scope I know when the water this clear he can see the fillings of my teeth but look all he's got in the racks is an ordinary surface bomb I got a good clear look at it it's not a depth charge it'll explode when it hits a surface most of the force will be dissipated in the air it'll only Shake us up only Shake us up well maybe rattle us around some but I think we can take it with no damage and I want that sub this is a shooting observation open the outter doors forward he's getting set to shoot stand by final one finally Two Fire [Music] electrically fire [Music] three what the number three torpedo jammed in the tube and his running hot all stop Jack stop everything in this boat that vibrates everything you take charge th Mr to Ru I'm on the way there's another he's breaking [Music] up over speed control link finally cut and stopped her where is she in the tube I thinkig she Jed about halfway out there did you try to close the outer door yes sir she wouldn't close that's why I think she's about halfway up that tube that bomb we took probably Jarred her out you want me to try to close it again no I don't want to do anything to jar that fish it must be fully armed the slightest movement will set her off now maybe we could tuck it down the tube with the pump we might but if she broke away from whatever is jamming her and came back too hard against the rear end of the tube Bluey well maybe we could surface a divver could we can't surface everything the Japanese got in re ball is properly on its way to murderers now let's get a little water over our heads Bill control drop it down to 150 ft and hold her there my eyes Sir let's break this thing up a we can't surface they'll be all over us like a tent B we can't run for it the vibration might explode that fish while it's still in the tube any concussion will set it off and that includes anything they drop on us and we can expect plenty pretty soon so a we can't stay and we can't go B we can't stay down and we can't come up in fact Bill we haven't got any submarine at all all we got is an extension of a torpedo and an armed one at that Captain there must be some way out of this there is if it works she's a well-built boat we know that from the beating she's taken now she's stronger right here in the bow than anywhere else now what breaks up submarines is concussion with a sea dragon sharp bow splitting that concussion wave in half I think she'll live with that torpedo in the tube she's not going to be in the tube I'm going to shoot it out Chief if I want 600 lb of air behind that fish and I want the biggest blast you can get all right sir cutting Tower start backing very slowly as soon as we begin to move increase speed gradually and keep on increasing until we're going a Stern at emergency speed this is our only chance Bill we'll be going backwards at full speed when we fire that fish now if that Warhead will just delay a couple of seconds when she blows the fish will be far enough away to give us another chance of course if it goes off the instant the air bangs against her can't let me handle the firing key and all the rest of you get out of here and dog the doors behind you then if the bow of the ship blows off perhaps you can save the boat no bill if she goes off in the tube it won't make any difference where any of us are in this boat but if she goes off outside the boat and blasts open something in here we're going to need a damage control party right now to keep from sinking 610b sir that's all I've got that ought to do it cunning car how we doing Mr Miller doesn't think she can go any faster sir very well this is the captain we're going to try to shoot this hot fish out of number three I hope she clears the boat before she goes off if she doesn't it'll probably be the end of us we have to take that chance I just want you to know that we either do it this way or or we surrender and I don't think any one of us want to surrender good luck to all of you I guess we're all set who wants the honor of deciding Our Fate let me do it Captain it's my [Music] torpedo far away Bo anybody hurt CL hit those emergency lights that fish is open is up somewhere get the out of door closed before we drop all stuff all compartments report damage control tell the diving officer we're taking water in up here evening Captain want a hand sure deal me in maybe I can win two more match ticks before we reach PE haror how you feeling just by you really poured in the Cal this afternoon R say by the way did we or did we not sink that submarine you sank it without a doubt we all heard two hits and sound heard to break up and sink you foolish men in American submarines why don't you stay at home ah Tokyo Rose I wonder what that doll why do you dare to venture out where the Imperial Japanese Navy will surely think all your boats and drown all of you in the black Black Sea for instance just today Japanese air and sea forces s your submarine Sea Dragon near a ball with the loss of all the men in her The Men Who dare call themselves the red pirates of China Coast go shed a tear for Lieutenant Commander Pete frell and all his crew I'll be back in a moment with our special guest it is a pleasure to introduce to you Commander Charles K Millow who is torpedo and Gunnery officer of the Sea Dragon R an armed torpedo stuck in the tube fortunately doesn't happen every day just about everything happened to the Sea Dragon the first thing of course was getting bombed in Manila Harbor the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor that almost killed her but she survived to make quite a record for herself I hear a rumor that it got to be a thing on the sea dragon to wear earrings Is there any truth in that well after Tokyo Rose put that red pirate SLB on us a lot of the men thought if we were parts we might as well dress the parts well how about you did you start carrying a Cutler no I was a beard grower R you had a fine bunch of Shipmates in the sea dragon and I'm glad you could be here to represent them it's been a real pleasure thank you Admiral please join us again for another true and exciting story of the silent [Music] servicea the world in the fut to be [Music] in the Deep the