Author: FTB1(SS)

They Saved the World One Life at a Time

The photograph shows young men, weary but smiling, crowding the deck of the USS Tigrone as she lies quietly in Apra Harbor, Guam. Behind them, the harbor waters reflect the early morning light. Beyond that, the haze of a world still at war. The camera captures aviators in patched uniforms and borrowed gear, the crew of Tigrone standing near them with the same sea-worn posture common to submariners. It’s a moment frozen in time, but the story behind the picture runs deeper than the Pacific waters they traversed.

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Bump… Whoops…

 

A “Sub”-Par Afternoon: When the Ferry Klamath Kissed the USS Trepang

The sun was still high over the San Francisco Bay on July 1, 1944, as the ferry Klamath rumbled across familiar waters. She was no stranger to the waves. By then, she had been carrying passengers and vehicles between Richmond and San Quentin for years. On that day, she had 120 souls and 30 cars aboard, lazily making her last run of the afternoon.

But what was normally a routine trip quickly turned into a nautical curiosity, and then a minor catastrophe.

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Triumph Below – Tragedy Above: USS Sturgeon Sinks Montevideo Maru

The sun had barely set on June 30, 1942, as USS Sturgeon continued her patrol northwest of Cape Bojeador, slipping beneath the waves at dawn and surfacing at dusk as she had done for days. The ocean was quiet, routine. But just after 10 PM, the monotony broke. The watch spotted a darkened ship to the south, cutting through the sea under the cover of night.

At first, the angle of the sighting made it seem like the vessel was heading north, but careful observation quickly corrected that. She was moving west at high speed, clearly having just exited Babuyan Channel and making for Hainan. This was no dawdling freighter. She was moving fast, at least 17 knots, and zigzagging to avoid detection. A valuable target.

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