THE SEADRAGON

[Music] I'm Rear Admiral Thomas M Titus retired in the submarine service dangerous situations are commonplace but in this story we will watch sea dragon as she struggles with two of the most deadly and dreaded emergencies that can befall an undersea boat December 1942 America had been at war one full year a year a few trials and many bit of frustrations 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 19 1942 sea dragon found himself under the lash of Japanese destroyers for 16 hours she had been viciously attacked with depth charges relentlessly held below the system the men and our submarines didn't expect to get away scot-free they expected to hear the depth charges exploding around them was part of the game but this attack on sea dragon had been going on too long 16 hours now commander Pete Fowler of Pittsburg Pennsylvania was skipper of sea dragon [Music] should be on their way think about them coming down through the water yeah you know some little black barrels full of teeth teeth with our name on it I don't mind though so much the ones I don't like of it to whom it may concern' jobs that one sounded closer or they really have us nail to the stake what'd you do I don't know if we surface the destroyer kick our teeth then we can't stay down here much longer boy would I give her a breath of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania air any air we've about had it Bravo what are you here destroy your propellers feeding and shifting back to long scale sir do you think that being I think we're on the outside of that pattern jacket not far outside but outside do you think he's lost us maybe let's wait and see ask mr. rue to test atmosphere for co2 please tell mr. rue the captain wants a test for co2 co2 test 6% 6% rising fast 6% sir rising 10% we're woozy 15% were dead all the co2 absorbing spread and the oxygen bottles left this is the captain atmosphere now test 6% I want all hands to use as little air as possible no unnecessary exertion don't move that you can help it all who can please lie down when it hits 8% I'm taking you 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 are you here propellers hating slowing is every account 150 rpm they're going away too sir I think Zak what would you do if you were Japanese can skipper looking for sub well after dropping depth charges for 16 hours without hitting anything I'd go home and claim I sent the whole US fleet I heard depth charges going off very far away hold us sweet let's go up propellers heading tortoise what does it sound like to you I don't know sir slow three maybe more nuts listen to it Jake you know I think so too does the Japanese sub down here with us question is does he know where we are we've got to find out I'm gonna make a 90-degree turn to the right turns right - hi I said put ahead one-third come right to - 77 for the head one-third come right to - 77 he's turning captain he's right with us okay so he knows where we are we can't shoot him this far down you can't shoot us sorry atmosphere test 8% Jack we got a surface that only dog-eat-dog what's the pose of them home couldn't be worse captain full moon now rising put us down moon from give me a course gonna be any silhouettes and the lovely Pacific it's gonna be him not us of course 187 will do us here come back to 187 all ahead one-third coming up to 187 all ahead one-third Sun 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 way are 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 standby in the after torpedo room open the outer doors at 50 feet well here we go I don't mind taking on a carrier even a battle wing it's smoking it out with another submarine give me the creeps take her up to periscope depth Tom keep me posted he's dead astern of us up scope [Music] down scope lovely lovely moonlight all over the place why does the moon have to be so doggone bright out here when you can't do anything about it okay we'll service but let's make sure we're the first to shoot until mr. Miller as soon as the main induction opens I want those engines on fast and ahead flight speed well the head flank what's he trying to do run away it looks like it well why not stick around and fight it's an even match I'm not the skipper stand by to jam air we might have to go right back down again so pump in every pound you can get [Music] fire one fire to both the PTO's by electrically serve both running hot control very well look out the alert for defeat awaits coming this way if he's headed straight toward us our chances are hitting her about zero all I want to do is shake him a little nothing like torpedoes coming at you to make you spoil your aim sure hope our town reports high speed propellers coming toward it torpedoes look out can you see any wakes nothing yet sir yes here they come one two three there four of them Sir there they are should we swing her captain father Jack [Music] he shot himself a beautiful spread of fish he's gonna Spock stin and there's no time to turn dive I knew I don't want to be pinned down there again he's coming right up our back he'll come right to one eight seven and hold it sound collision alarm I'm trying to give these fish the smallest target I can hell he's right 1/2 degree glide 1/2 degree Tyson that's right now hold it how much longer skipper none stand by close but no cigar we're gonna need a new paint job on the portside when we get home well we got work to do now we're gonna get him sub sink stuff wait'll they hear that back at Pearl I don't know we only have four fish left and they're in the forward torpedo tubes I guess we're gonna swing around and try to get a broadside shot at it I wonder why the skipper doesn't change course this way we're just getting further away from the target I'll go bend the throttles captain he isn't gonna fight it over he's just gonna run away do Ethan capsules two engines on battery charge here - on propulsion ahead standing very well even captain low pressure blowers are back in business a bridge how's the weather now what's eating the skipper I don't know maybe squishing now he stayed and fought it out with that sub rich bridge hi how long before dawn it's breaking down I'm going in and talk to the captain I'll go with you captain yes the 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 you have the office of the deck changed cause two zero nine zero and ring up full speed Dyson let me know when the batteries have a full charge and I mean full nice yeah I asked for we're going sir for Bal Harbour propose 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 of this last night is gonna get a right where he lives you mean you're going into the Harvard or a ball they might even tie up at the dock I couldn't stick around last night because he would have pulled those destroyers back on us but no dog on Japanese sub is gonna shoot at my boat and get away with it yes sir we get a full battery charger all over every [Music] you ought to be here by now but I can't see him yet see the five-and-dime on RuPaul's Main Street I didn't realize it was such a big base wait a minute here he comes what do you know this guy is coming home on the surface guess he wants to hear bad music well he's gonna hear music a little thing called fish tool from sea dragon stand by first set up very mark Joe five eight range mark two thousand yards down scope steady as you go steady as you go - it's gonna be a straight bow shot up scope Oh Oh down scope what's the matter tsubame coming out the Raval giacoppetti we've been a hightail it out of here forget about that sub not yet he's probably escorting sunny boy back home he hasn't seen us yet sure the torpedo wakes coming out of this up scope up and down real fast I just want a flash the minute he sees truck anyways he's gonna fly over and plasterers downslope I know and then water this clear you can see the fillings in 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 one hits a surface most of the force will be dissipated in the air it'll only shake us up only shake is up well maybe rattle around some but I think we can take it with no damage and I want that son this is a shooting observation open the outer doors forward he's getting set to shoot stand by 101 [Music] fire three number three torpedo jammed in the tube and is running hot all stop Jack stop everything in this boat that vibrates everything you take charge promised to rule them on the way [Music] [Music] all the speed controlling finally cut and stopped it where is he in the - I think he's gentle about halfway opposite did you try to close the auto door yes sir she wouldn't close that's why I think she's about halfway up that to that bomb we took probably jarred are out 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 well maybe we could suck it down to two with the pump we might but if she broke away from whatever's jamming her and came back too hard against the rear end of the - Louie well maybe we could surface the diver could we can't surface everything the Japanese got in Rabaul is probably on its way to murderers now let's get a little water over our heads bill control drop it down to 150 feet and hold her there let's break this thing up hey we can't surface they'll be all over it's like a ten B we can't run for it the vibration might explode that fish while it's still in the - any concussion will set it off and that includes anything they drop on us and we can expect plenty pretty soon so hey 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 for the beating she's taken now she's stronger right here in the bow than anywhere else what breaks up submarines is concussion with a sea dragon sharp bow splitting their concussion I think she'll live with that torpedo in the tube she's not gonna be in the tube I'm gonna shoot it out chief I want six hundred pounds of air behind that fish and I want the biggest blast you can get yes sir conning tower start backing very slowly as soon as we begin to move increase speed gradually and keep on increasing until we're going astern 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 it because off the instant the air bangs against her captain let me handle the firing key and all the rest of you get out of here and dog the doors behind you and it's the father 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 gonna need a damage control party right now to keep from sinking 610 pounds so that's all I've got that ought to do it darling tom how are 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 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 a captain's my torpedo [Music] barolay would [Music] anybody hurt it does an agency like that fishes open this up somewhere get the outer door closed before we drop all compartments report damage control tell the diving officer we're taking water in up here evening captain one ahead sir dimly in maybe I can win two more matchsticks before we reach Pearl Harbor I feel just fine you really fought in the cold this afternoon wrong by the way did we did we not sink that submarine Sankar without a doubt we all had two hits and found her to break up and sink in an American submarine why don't you stay at home why did the actor venture out with Imperial Japanese Navy will surely sync all your boats and all of you in the Black Sea for instance just today Japanese air and sea forces sank your submarine sea dragon Mirabal with the loss of all the men in her the men you dare call themselves the red pirates of China coast oh it Taylor Canon commander Peter Farrell and all his crew I'll be back in a moment with our special guest is a pleasure to introduce to you commander Charles K Mello who is torpedo and gunnery officer the sea dragon Rallo an armed torpedo stuck in a 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 had got to be a thing on the sea dragon the wear earrings is there any truth in that well after Tokyo Rose put that red pirates label on us a lot of the men thought if we were parts we might as well dress the part well how about you just start carrying a Cutlass no I was a beard grower Rallo 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 service [Music] [Music]