Silent Killers: Submarines and Underwater Warfare

264 Pages·2011·10.87 MB·English

by  James Delgado

“A truly engrossing chronicle.” Clive Cussler
J A M E S P. D E L G A D O
S I L E N T K I L L E R S
SUBMARINES AND UNDERWATER WARFARE
FOREWORD BY CLIVE CUSSLER
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SUBMARINES AND UNDERWATER WARFARE
J A M E S P. D E L G A D O
With a foreword by Clive Cussler
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CONTENTS
Foreword 6
Author’s Note 7
Introduction: Into the Deep 11
Chapter 1 Beginnings 19
Chapter 2 “Sub Marine Explorers”: Would-be Warriors 31
Chapter 3 Uncivil Warriors 45
Chapter 4 Missing Links 61
Chapter 5 Later 19th Century Submarines 73
Chapter 6 Transition to a New Century 91
Chapter 7 Early 20th Century Submariness 107
Chapter 8 World War I 123
Chapter 9 Submarines Between the Wars 143
Chapter 10 World War II: the Success of the Submarine 161
Chapter 11 Postwar Innovations: the Rise of Atomic Power 189
Chapter 12 The Ultimate Deterrent: the Role of the 207
Submarine in the Modern Era
Chapter 13 Memorializing the Submarine 219
Notes 239
Sources & Select Bibliography 248
Index 260
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FOREWORD
F
rom the beginning of recorded history the inhabitants of the earth have had a
great fascination with what exists under the waters of lakes, rivers, and the vast
seas. They also have maintained a great fear of the unknown and very few wished
to actually go under the surface. In the not too distant past, they had a morbid fear
and were deeply frightened of what they might find. Only three out of one hundred
old-time sailors could swim because they had no love of water.
Yet the concept of the submarine and its protection from creatures of the deep
began to emerge, and as such, began to be designed and built. Few were successful
and took their creators to the bottom and never returned, but as it evolved, the
submarine revolutionized naval warfare and waged brutal battles beneath the waves
that sent hundreds of thousands of men to an early death.
James Delgado, a distinguished pioneer of sea history, prolific writer, and author
of over 20 books on ships and sea, and one of the world’s foremost marine
archaeologists, takes us through a fascinating history of the submarine; from David
Bushnell’s Turtlethat made the first underwater war mission in 1776 to the Confederate
submarine Hunley that became the first submarine to sink a warship, through the
notorious German U-boat battles to the huge nuclear-powered behemoths and
thedeep sea submersibles that explore the abyss.
Revealed in fascinating detail, Silent Killerscreates a truly engrossing chronicle of
the intriguing world of undersea vehicles.
Clive Cussler
November 2010
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
T
he premise and promise of the submarine as a means to reach Earth’s last
frontier, the depths of the ocean, has grasped public attention for hundreds of
years, and in the last century the potential of the submarine as an instrument of
war has increasingly commanded the attention of military minds. From hand-cranks,
steam, electrical batteries and diesel to nuclear power, and from hand-set explosive
charges to nuclear missiles, the submarine and the armaments it can deploy have
made it the world’s ultimate naval weapon. The earliest wooden submarines have
given rise to modern, titanium-hulled, fast, deep-diving, and stealthy “silent killers”
that can strike from anywhere in the world where there is deep water – even through
thick Arctic ice.
As an archaeologist with an interest in the role of technology in shaping society,
I have long been fascinated by the development of the submarine. That interest has
been honed by incredible experiences and opportunities to work with submarines.
This has included archaeological and historical research into the Type A Japanese
Midget submarines of the 1930s and 1940s and the detailed analysis of a
misidentified Japanese submarine in the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News,
Virginia (US), said to be a sponge-diving craft but actually one of Japan’s top secret
prewar prototypes for its Midget submarine force.
Following these earlier projects, I was later privileged to lead the effort to
document and study the 1865 Sub Marine Explorerafter encountering this forgotten
and anonymous submarine wreck off Panama’s Pacific coast. I was also able to lead,
while director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Canada, the reassembly and
restoration of Jacques Piccard’s famous PX-15, Ben Franklin– something that meant
a great deal of physical labor on my part and that of the staff and volunteers, scraping,
bolting, and rigging heavy machinery to be lifted by a crane. Which meant really
getting to know the sub. Other submarine archaeological adventures and projects
have included diving on the atomic-bombed submarine Pilotfishat Bikini Atoll, site
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of the 1946 naval nuclear tests, and participating in three National Geographic
projects to dive on and film the lost submarines U-21in the North Sea and U-215
off Roberts Banks in the North Atlantic as well as the archaeological identification
of the British submarine L-26 off the coast of Nova Scotia.
During my tenure with the US National Park Service, and as head of the US
Government’s national historic maritime preservation program, I had occasion to
learn more about many of America’s historic submarines in depth – if you will pardon
the pun – with many detailed tours of one of the Nishimura prototype midgets, as
well as HA-19, U-505, USS Bowfin, USS Cavalla, USS Pampanito, USS Lionfish, USS
Albacore, USS Becuna, USS Clamagore, USS Cobia, USS Croaker, USS Drum, USS Torsk,
USS Requin, USS Nautilus, and USS Silversides. In this capacity, I also personally
conducted the US National Historic Landmark studies for HA-19and USS Clamagore.
Since my Government days, my interest in submarines has extended to other tours
(including some where I was very kindly given interior access) of museum-displayed
craft in the US and abroad, including those of HA-14and HA-21and HMAS Onslow
in Canberra and Sydney, Australia, HMS Allianceand Holland No. 1in Gosport, UK,
Vesikkoin Helsinki, Finland, Peralin Cartagena, Spain, Fenian Ramand Intelligent Whale
in Paterson and Sea Girt, New Jersey, USS Bluebackin Portland, Oregon, and RV Deep
Quest and Trieste II in Keyport, Washington. I have also had great tours of the
submersible Nautileat IFREMER in Toulon, France, rode in Mir 2to the bottom of
the Atlantic, 2½ miles down, and attended submarine flight school to drive (or fly)
the new Super Aviatorsubmersible. Obviously, submarines are more than an interest
– they are a passion. As an archaeologist, historian, and writer, Iknow first-hand from
these experiences, as well as research in the archives, how the submarine has changed
warfare and humanity’s ability to reach all parts of the planet.
A number of colleagues and institutions have provided information, advice,
reviews, and support through the years. I would like to thank the late Russ Booth,
a dear friend whose passion for USS Pampanito was infectious, as well as Clive
Cussler, Warren F. Lasch, Pete Capelotti, Mark K. Ragan, Michael “Mack” McCarthy,
Captain Alfred S. McLaren, Ph.D USN (ret.), P. H. Nargeolet, David Jenkins, David
Baumer, the late Toshiharu Konada of the Kaiten corps, Mike Mair, Gene Carl
Feldman, Donald Kazimir, Selçuk Kolay, Oguz Aydemir, Savas Karakas, the late
Jacques Piccard, Daniel Lenihan, Larry Murphy, Kevin Foster, Dave Conlin, Hank
Silka, Bob Mealings, Eugene B. Canfield, Rich Wills, Lisa Bower, Clyde Paul Smith,
John B. Davis, Mike Fletcher, Warren Fletcher, Bob Neyland, Chris Amer, Maria
Jacobsen, Paul Mardikian, John McKee, Bob Schwemmer, Doug DeVine, Carlos
Velasquez, Todd Croteau, John Wagner, Joe Hoyt, and John McKay.
The following organizations and institutions were also a great help: the Australian
National Maritime Museum, Sydney; the Estonian Maritime Museum, Tallinn; the
Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Istanbul; the Museo Naval, Cartagena, Spain; the Royal Navy
Submarine Museum, Gosport; the Imperial War Museum, London; the Chicago
8 Silent Killers
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Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois; Baltimore Maritime Museum,
Baltimore, Maryland; the Warren F. Lasch Conservation Center, Charleston, South
Carolina; The Friends of the Hunley, Charleston, South Carolina; Buffalo Naval &
Military Park, Buffalo, New York; Battleship Memorial Park, Mobile, Alabama;
Battleship Cove Museum, Fall River, Massachusetts; the Paterson Museum, Paterson,
New Jersey; Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the Naval
& Maritime Museum, Muskegon, Michigan; the Oregon Museum of Science and
Industry, Portland, Oregon; the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, Vallejo,
California; the USS Bowfin Museum and Park, Honolulu, Hawaii; the Connecticut
River Museum, Essex, Connecticut; the Vancouver Maritime Museum, Canada;
Patriots Point Maritime Museum, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina; the Wisconsin
Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin; the US Navy Submarine Force Library &
Museum, Groton, Connecticut; the Naval Undersea Museum, Keyport, Washington;
the Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, Virginia (US); the National Museum of the
Pacific War, Fredericksburg, Texas; the National Maritime Museum, San Francisco; the
National Guard Militia Museum at Sea Girt; the US National Archives, Military
Branch and Still Pictures Branch, Washington, DC and the US Naval History and
Heritage Command, Washington, DC; the Library of Congress, Washington, DC;
and the US Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland.
The review and editing of my assistant, Kathy Smith, once again made the task
of writing easier. I owe her my usual debt of gratitude. I also wish to thank the
Osprey team, especially Kate Moore and Emily Holmes. Last, but not least, I thank
my wife, Ann, for her constant support and love.
James P. Delgado
August 2010
Author’s Note 9
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Introduction
INTO THE DEEP
A
t the advent of the 21st century, the sea holds the unfortunate distinction of
being humanity’s largest battlefield, the result of millennia of naval warfare.
The bottom of the sea is littered with ships lost to combat that date to all
periods of history, among them hundreds of submarines, along with 65,000 lost
submariners, and thousands of other vessels sunk by submarines in the brief span of
the last century when these silent killers struck, often without warning, to send
ships and crews into the depths.
The heyday of the submarine came after centuries of experimentation, occasional
tragedies, and the perseverance if not stubbornness of inventors. While hindrances
along the way included the limits of technology, governmental indifference, and the
occasional intransigence of various naval establishments, the principal obstacle was
the nature of the sea itself. Though brimming with life, and covering two-thirds of
the planet, the sea is an environment hostile to humanity.
Would-be warriors of the depths faced two basic problems – the human need for
replenishable air in an aquatic environment in which we cannot breathe unassisted,
and the cumulative effects of pressure the deeper one descends. A sealed container
of air, without the technological ability to remove the build-up of carbon dioxide
andreplenish oxygen, quickly becomes toxic when a person breathes inside it. The
pressure cumulatively builds, every 33ft adding one unit of pressure, known as an
atmosphere. At one atmosphere, the pressure is 14.7lb/sq in (psi); at 103ft, the
OPPOSITE
pressure is 46psi of constant pressure. Early scientists were not unaware of these The diving bell, a
technology dating back
problems. Solving them would take centuries of trial and error.
centuries, was illustrated in
As technology advanced, the problems of submarine navigation became more cross-section in this 1785
French drawing.
complex. In 1880, at the advent of what would be the final push to the successful
Diminishing air, the threat
development of the modern submarine, the “qualifications essential to a submarine of suffication, cold, and
boat” were summarized thus: darkness were the
conditions that pioneer
divers faced when working
1. It should be of sufficient displacement to carry the machinery necessary for below the surface.
(Giraudon/The Bridgeman
propulsion, and the men and materials for performing the various operations. Art Library)
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