USS BASHAW (SS-SSK-AGSS 241) May
30, 2001
COMMENTS
AND MEMORIES
From 1943
Plankowners to the last Commanding Officer
What's your Bashaw story? Shipmates and others would like to hear from you.
Send to: Jim O'Dea, 2142 East River Rd, Grand Island, NY 14072 or e-mail to: bobpalmer@home.com
(Note:
Lloyd Hall wrote this letter in the summer of 2000. He died in October, 2000.)
I am
a Plankowner of the Bashaw. I was aboard
for the first 3 patrols and was transferred off while we were in the Admiralty
Islands. I do not recognize any of the
names from the list you sent, but I didn't think I would ever forget any of the
names of the old Sub men I served with but to be honest I remember very few of
them.. I did come across a menu for a Thanksgiving Dinner for 1944 and would
guess that was the last I saw of the Bashaw [56years ago]
No, I was aboard her in San Diego in
the late 60s. I had gone down to meet our son Robert as he came in on another
boat and there was the Bashaw tied up at the Sub base. I asked the Skipper for
permission to come aboard and had a nice visit with him. My commanding officer was R. E. Nichols, Lt.
CDR, and absolutely the finest Skipper a sub crew could serve under.[I also
served under the worst on the 4th and 5th patrols of the Flying Fish in 1943.]
I was
the last C.O. of Bashaw. We were
actually on our way to WESTPAC and were turned around and sent home a few days
after arriving in Pearl from San Diego.
To say the least all of us were very disappointed. We'd worked really hard to get ready and had
gotten outstanding comments from COMSUBPAC and staff when they inspected us on
arrival at Pearl. Not bad for the
oldest operating sub in the world at that time!
She
was a great boat and was blessed with a super crew. We turned her in at Mare Island.
Night before we arrived off the sea buoy at San Francisco we took her to
test depth for the last time. I ordered
the pharmacist mate to empty out the medicinal booze locker and we made up a
tub of fruit punch in the forward torpedo room. Alongside was a tub of seawater.
Each of us put and hand or foot into the seawater to get
"exposure" and then had a drink...a toast to the old girl on her last
dive (and surfacing).
I
believe I was the last of the crew to leave the ship a couple of weeks later
when I transferred her to Mare Island.
That was 30 years ago but the memories are still clear.
I
assumed that Bashaw would be used as a target and thought this was the proper
way for the old girl to make her last dive.
In fact this was included in my 'farewell remarks' over the IMC on our
last test dive.
In
fact, I lost track of the actual disposition of the ship. Then many years later, after my USN
retirement in 1975, I was living in LA (1975-1994) with my company's offices on
the waterfront in San Pedro. I had
joined the board of directors of the LA Maritime Museum. One of the more interesting collections we
had was various brass items (mostly builders' nameplates) from ships that had
been scrapped by National Metals on Terminal Island. One of our fellow directors, Roy Coates, was the consumate
scrounger. He served in the old cruiser
Houston in pre-WWII days and learned that 'trade' early on.
Anyway,
he worked at National Metals and would take the most interesting brass off most
of the ships they scrapped. In one
corner of the museum was a 'submarine corner' with a watertight door, a working
diving alarm (a delight for the kids), diving board ('Christmas tree'), etc.
In
the past I had not paid much attention to this stuff. Then one evening we were having a reception of some sort in the
museum and I found myself, glass of wine in hand, standing in that corner. I looked up and there was the builder's
nameplate from Bashaw!
I
grabbed Roy and asked him about the other stuff and he confirmed that most of
it was from the same ship. The WT door
was the one between the FB and Control.
A door that I had gone through at various rates of speed (depending on
who had the conn) during my time on board.
So the mystery was solved in a most curious way.
I always wondered where 'my' ship had
gone and now quite by accident/coincidence/fate I had the answer.
Thank-you
for the information you have provided so far.
It has been wonderful to go back in memory.
I was
on the Bashaw from March 1969 until final decommissioning in late September
1969. I qualified August 31, 1969 on the way back from Hawaii. She was the oldest boat in commission at
that time.
A
little side note about two of the people I served with. The captain, Don Walsh was a marine
biologist. He was on board the Trieste with the Frenchman that went to the
bottom of the Mariana's Trench off the coast of Guam in 1963. The only time anyone has gone to the deepest
part of the oceans of the world in a manned submersible. He also requested a special run off the coast
of Baja when the gray whales were migrating.
We sat dead in the water for hours while the whales came by and rubbed
the boat. It was an awesome sight and
feeling. We actually put people in the
water with them.
The second person was an E-8 radioman
named Daneen (sp?). He had served on
board the entire time she was in commission. When they decommissioned her, He
went to the newest SNN in the fleet in Hawaii.
When I went to see him later he was crawling through the bilges in
dungarees qualifying. EVERYONE on that boat (I cannot remember which one) held
him in the greatest respect I have ever seen.
I believe Adm. Rickover even called him sir. He wore his WWII war patrol pin with pride. He definitely commanded respect. P. S. He
could not swim!!
The Bashaw was a great place to grow
up as a 17 year old reporting on board.
It's amazing how often you think back to your first boat and realize
just how important it was to establishing a career.
I reported aboard the Bashaw in the
spring of 1969 and rode her to Pearl and then back to San Francisco for
de-commissioning. Upon arrival in San Francisco, we were ordered to strip the
Bashaw and prepare her to be towed to sea.
Once at sea the navy intended to use her as a target. I was reassigned to the USS Razorback (SS
394) just prior to the Bashaw leaving the ship yard, so I only know that's what
the navy intended to do with her.
I left the Navy in 1970, after 11
years and five boats and later joined the Utah Army National Guard. I am presently the Command Sergeant Major
(E-9) for a Special Forces Group.
(Also
see John Newkirk's comments for Forsyth's recollection of Bashaw's rescue of
aircrew.)
I
remember at least one low frequency communication test. When operating with another friendly sub we
tried beating with a sledgehammer on a hull frame in the forward torpedo room
in a rudimentary code. We beat on the
frame so much that it became distorted and we had to weld on a steel plate for
continued operation. We also had a
circular seven foot low frequency hydrophone developed by the Sound Lab mounted
under the superstructure forward. It
looked like a big TV satellite dish except it was not solid. I can't remember if it was part of the
sledgehammer experiment or not. Anyway,
we were pretty primitive in those days and trying almost anything to improve
communications and ASW tactics.
I
joined the Navy in 1949 and became an electronics technician. My first submarine was USS Remora SS-487.
Just after I qualified in 1952 I was selected for the Nautilus program.
SSN571. I was at Bettis and Idaho Falls
until spring of 1954 when I joined the ship in New London as an ET1. In April of 1954 I went to OCS and was
commissioned Ensign. Then to Bashaw in
San Diego under Cdr Charles Bishop, then Cdr Shead. The Exec at that time was Joe Williams, later ConSubLant.
From
there to USS Gudgeon SS567 in June of 1957 and on to WestPac and the incident
in chapter 2 of "Blind Man's Bluff" (note: refers to book of this
title.)
From
Gudgeon to Officers Nuc School and then to the SIC Prototype in Windsor, Conn,
where I became an instructor because of my previous nuclear experience.
Then
to commissioning crew of SSBN 608, Ethan Allen Blue. Thence to Tullibee SSN597 as Engineer. Then to USS John Marshall SSBN 611 Blue as Exec. To Casimir Pulaski SSBN633 Gold as CO; to
USS Francis Scott Key SSBN 657 Gold as CO.
To ComSubDiv 21. To Deputy Senior
Member of the Atlantic Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board. To ComSubLant Rep at
EB for overhaul submarines.
Finally to CO Submarine Support
Facility New London, where I retired in February 1979, just 60 days short of 30
years. Believe it or not I am still working although it has no relationship to
my career. My wife and I run an
out-of-print bookstore here in Leesburg, Florida.
I
reported on the Bashaw in January, 1961, a member of the first class of ensigns
to be assigned to subs since WWII. (Rickover's program to grow the sub fleet
was straining the manpower.) I had graduated from NROTC at Rice University in
1960 with a regular commission and immediately went to sub school in Groton.
Before
I left in December, 1962, to be engineer on the Archerfish (AGSS 311), my
assignments had ranged from Deck, Ass't Engineer, Commissary, Weapons and Communications. I was submarine qualified on the Bashaw
after a year on board
After leaving the Archerfish, I went
to graduate school and then to Texas Instruments. However, I stayed in the reserve (first the submarine reserve and
then in Naval Control of Shipping), and finally retired as Captain. After 30 years with TI, I took a buyout and
I now commute to Raleigh where I am a director with Semiconductor Research
Company.
I can
give you some (Bashaw history) during my time on board though the dates are
sketchy.
I
reported to Bashaw in the fall of ’56 (October, I think) after completing EN
school in Great Lakes. My orders were
to CSS-7 where I was further assigned to Bashaw. Bashaw was at sea when I arrived in Pearl, and did not return to
port for a week or so. I remember
waiting on the pier while she moored, catching a monkey fist to haul in a
line. When I walked aboard, seabag in
hand, the topside watch pointed to the hull number on the sail and said “See
that 241 there. That isn’t the hull
number, it is the temperature.” I think
I also remember that Joe Williams had just left as XO and taken command of
Bluegill, a sister ship.
I
question the date that Bashaw’s home port was changed from San Diego to Pearl.
I think she had been in Pearl for several years when I reported aboard but I
could be wrong.
Shortly
after I reported aboard - I can’t remember exactly when (maybe spring of ’57) -
Bashaw returned to San Francisco for a port visit after a big exercise with
lots of Navy ships transiting from Pearl.
I recall all the ships in the exercise steaming into San Francisco
harbor single file. We had several days
of liberty there before returning to Pearl.
Then
in 1957 Bashaw won the E and was rewarded with a liberty call detour to either
Australia or New Zealand on our way to WestPac. CO was Ted Shead.
Decision was made to go to Wellington, N.Z. We stopped in Pago Pago, Western Samoa, on the way for fuel. I have a Shellback plaque around here
someplace and when I run across it I can pin down the date.
We
spent a week or so in Wellington and were treated royally. As I recall, we were the first U. S.
submarine to visit Wellington since the end of the war.
We
then went on to WestPac, completed a normal tour and returned to Pearl. Went into Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for
overhaul in late spring/early summer of ’58.
Earl Gregg and I left Bashaw about midway through the overhaul for
Nuclear Power school.
As to
my Navy career, after completing Nuke school, I went to prototype training at
S1C in Connecticut. Stayed there for a
couple of years as an instructor, then went to commissioning crew of Plunger
(SSN 595) in ’61 at Mare Island.
Plunger as assigned to a Division in Pearl after construction. I made Chief and then Warrant Officer in
’66.
Reported
to USS Hunley (AS-31) in Holy Loch, Scotland.
Two years later, to Pearl Harbor Shipyard as Nuke Ship Supt and later
Nuclear Repair Officer. Left that job
in ’72 to go to SubDiv 12 Engineer for three years. Transferred to San Diego in ’75 as Asst Mat’l Officer,
CSS-3. From there to CO San Onofre
(ARD-30), San Diego’s floating submarine drydock, for a two year command
tour.
Then
to Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) in Washington, D. C. (I think
I was the first LDO to complete ICAF).
Then back to San Diego as XO, Subase, another brief stint as CO San
Onofre for a second time, then retired in Feb, 1984 with 28 years of service,
all of it in the Silent Service.
After retirement, I went to work for
Southern California Edison in generation and customer service, retired from
there in 1995. I now teach, own a
consulting company, and play as much golf as I can.
Re Kray's remark "I'm the guy who fired the .45
in the radio room. Oops."
Soderback: I did not remember (Kray's ) name but I sure do remember him. He
was going on a guard mail run and accidentally fired the .45 in the radio
shack. I was in the control room and heard a loud thud. I looked in the radio
shack and there was Jesse with a very startled look on his face, like he had
just (four letter word probably unknown to most of you sailors) his pants and
he probably did. I laughed then and I still laugh at the thought of it today.
The moral of the story is never to let an ET have anything more lethal than a
screw driver lest he hurt himself or others.
Kray: Good memory, Wes. But I'm proud to say that
my pants were spotless -- I had lots of experience with unexpected events in my
life. Such as the time at Pearl when I pulled
up on the dock with a pickup truck full of recharged fire extinguishers from
Base Supply. Ray Foresman came running
up, out of breath, and asked me for an extinguisher. I told him that I hadn't
entered them in the log book, so he would have to wait. So Ray ran back to
Captain Maxwell, who was fighting a fire in the periscope well, and said....
I was
assigned to the USS Bashaw as a Signalman 3rd class two weeks before it was
commissioned at Electric Boat Company in Groton, Conn. I think I was only one of three who were
still on it when it was decommissioned at Mare Island at the end of World War
II. I served under CO's Nichols, Simpson
and Everly and left the boat as a Quartermaster 1st class..
I have a piece of material taken from
the Bashaw which I have kept as a souvenir.
When the boat went on patrol it was decided to remove the topside phone
which could be released to the surface in case of emergency. I have the plaque that was attached to the
phone: "USS Bashaw Sunk
Here."
Sorry I can't make it to the reunion
since I am cruising Mexico on my 40 foot sailboat Liberty Call. This is my 3rd year cruising and still love
the lifestyle! I was CO BASHAW in
67-68, the next to last CO before Don Walsh.
I was
on the Bashaw in 1944/45 during the 3rd and 4th war patrols. I was then assigned to the USS Bergal and on
which I made the last two war patrols.
Operated out of Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, Australia, also Milne Bay,
New Guinea and Subic Bay, Phillipines.
Since
my discharge in January 1946, I served in the Buffalo Fire Department for 39
years, starting as a firefighter and serving the last eight years as a deputy
commissioner.
Yes, I do think about the sub days and
the many men that I knew on the subs that are still on patrol somewhere in the
deep Pacific.
I
put the Bashaw in commission as an SSK in November 1953 and at one time the
Bashaw was the best boat with the best wardroom and best chiefs in the
Navy. CTM Porky Lammer was COB, the
best I had in 21 years. I joined the
Navy in 1940 and stayed on subs, never on surface craft, before retiring in
1961. My WWII boat was Peto, in which I
made eight runs starting out in Brisbane.
If Bashaw had Fairbanks engines I
would rate her at the top of the list, but I was on four GM and four Fairbanks.
I
was in the commissioning crew and made the first four runs on Bashaw. I was in the after torpedo room and was 1/c
during the third and fourth patrols.
My most memorable day on Bashaw was
Christmas 1944, when we were driven down by Jap patrol boats about 4 a.m. and
depth charged all day before we finally surfaced and passed through Lombok
Strait on our way back to Perth.
Received
orders for new construction in May 1943.
Very happy, as I had been operating on S-18 (SS123) out of Dutch Harbor,
Alaska, (in terrible weather) since early 1942.
We
put Bashaw in Commission in 1943. After
shakedown we pulled into Key West about Christmas of that year. Following training there, we proceeded to
Milne Bay, New Guinea, arriving in March 1944.
Bashaw
made three runs out of Australia and three out of the islands. We were sent back to Mare Island for
overhaul and were on our way for 7th war patrol when the war ended.
I stayed on diesel boats until 1957,
then went into recruiting and retired in 1960.
I
relieved Bob Maxwell as commanding officer on December 9, 1961. I was relieved by Jack Lyman on December 14,
1963.
Bashaw
memories are many, and I will share two.
We
were working up for a special operation where periscope photography was to be
very important. Our target for the
exercise was another boat on the surface.
As we approached submerged, it seemed as though their whole crew was on
deck and all over the sail with binoculars.
We got excellent close-in photos and were undetected. Extra liberty was the prize to spot us, we
later found out.
Another
time a Division Commander was riding one of his boats working up for
deployment, and challenged us to detect him.
We were given vertical separation so that we could safely get very close
to each other.
Bashaw
rigged for ultra quiet as I imagine the other boat did as well. Our fabulous sonarmen detected a very faint
intermittent ringing sound from the other boat and we achieved a firing
solution and simulated firing. We had
the range, course and speed right on.
We
opened up for another run with the same result. Immediately after simulating firing a furious voice came over the
underwater telephone. "This is the
Division Commander, range check."
As before, we had him cold and he couldn't believe it.
Getting
back to Pearl we informed the other boat that they needed to check for
something loose topside which they had been unable to hear, but our great ears
did.
As
to my career after Bashaw, I had a fascinating tour in OPNAV where I headed up
a group to produce the PBR, a river patrol boat for COMNAVFOR Vietnam. Probably the greatest challenge was finding
$9 million in the Navy budget to pay for the 31 boats.
Following
Army War College I had a tour in New London which included a year as a
DIVCOM. After a tour at the JCS I
commanded LaSalle, the Middle East Force flagship home ported in Bahrain. My
final tour was Chief of Staff for the NATO submarines, located a half hour
outside of London.
Retiring
in 1979, Phyllis and I have been very involved in volunteer work through the
University of New Hampshire Sea Grant.
We take programs into schools and also teach at a nearby science center
taking groups of all ages onto the rocky shore and salt marsh. We enjoy travelling and usually make three
trips a year.
We regret that we will be on one of
our trips for the reunion. We send our
very best to all Bashaw sailors.
One
Saturday in 1956 we were south of Oahu with a party of VIPs from the U.S.
Congress. At periscope depth we went to
battle stations - at full speed - when both converters blew out. Proper terminology eludes me here, but the
boat went pitch black, bow and stern planes went to full dive. I was on the sonar tracking team in the
wardroom. The next thing I knew I was
standing on the forward bulkhead of the wardroom. Somehow Gracie Fields found the bow buoyancy valve, - blew the
tank - and, I believe a few more after that.
Observers on a nearby destroyer said we surfaced at about a 75° angle -
past the sail!! At this time I was
standing on the after bulkhead of the wardroom.
Back at Pearl, we repaired to the
White Hat Bar on Beretania Street for medication. God Bless Gracie.
I
was attached to the Bashaw for most of 1945 on board the tender USS Euryale,
submarine division 182 until we got to Japan on Sept 28, 1945. There we outfitted the aircraft-carrying
Japanese subs I-38, I-400 and the I-401 for return to Pearl Harbor. (Note:
these subs carried two or three small seaplanes. Catapulted off the deck,
landed at sea and recovered by crane.)
A
trip to Kure followed, sinking about 200 Japanese two-man subs.
After a return to Sasebo it was
decided to bring back two 800-ton sleek, fast Japanese submarines. They were
the I-201 and the I-203. I was then
reattached to the USS Kraken but rode the I-201 back to Pearl Harbor. Engine troubles required stops at Guam and
Eniwetok. Trip took 31 days and arrived
at Pearl in February, 1946. Rode the
Euryale back to San Francisco, then to the East Coast for discharge.
In
the 50's, Bashaw had a snorkel added, sound silencing system, two tubes from
forward room removed and the latest and greatest sonar system installed.
At
that time she was redesignated a Hunter Killer and hull designation changed
from SS to SSK (Submarine Hunter Killer).
As Nukes were put into the fleet the older boats were redesignated to
Auxiliary General Submarines, i.e., AGSS. This was to comply with international
agreements about how many attack submarines were allowed. In reality, we did the same work, with less
money, and lower priorities for repairs.
Bashaw was decommissioned and recommissioned several times over her
life. It was a money thing. For major hull conversion, sometimes a boat
was decomissioned, most of the crew transferred off and then later
recomissioned after the yard period. I
made the WestPac on her in 65, she did one more six-month WestPac trip and
decomissioned for the last time about 68 or 69.
Keep the water out of the people tank.
I considered the Bashaw and its crew
one of the best when I served aboard from 1960-64. I was looking forward to the reunion and seeing the shipmates
that I served with but due to medical problems, I am unable to travel at this
time. God willing, I am looking forward
to the next reunion.
I
joined the Navy on October 13, 1943.
After boot camp, MOMM school, Submarine school and Submarine diesel
school, I was shipped to the Submarine Relief Crew in Brisbane, Australia. The first submarine I worked on was the
Bashaw. I asked the COB to go to sea
with them. Wish granted; we left on
Bashaw's fourth war patrol.
Being
a F1c (MOMM) non-rated and the youngest man on board (had just turned 19), I
was assigned mess cooking for my first 30 days on board. Flossie was our cook; I think he was a
CPO. We stopped in Darwin on our way
north and there I got my first taste of gilly (medicinal alcohol) while most of
the crew was ashore on a beer and ball game outing.
One
night I was talking to Rutledge, our baker, as he was in the galley picking
weevils out of the flour before making bread.
The flour, sugar and coffee was stored in the engine rooms and it seemed
to be a good temperature to make the weevils grow.
Anyway,
we headed south after seeing some action and both fuel and rations were
short. Emergency rations were beans and
brownbread that had been stored in #3 reserve lube oil tank. There was plenty of that to eat, but that
was it. We spent Christmas Day 1944
north of the Lombock Straits and somehow Flossie had saved enough pretty fair
rations, including coffee, for a decent Christmas dinner.
That
night we went through the straits with some resistance from Japanese patrol
craft. Used the dinky engine for
propulsion as it took less fuel than a main engine. We entered Exmouth Gulf and got some fuel from a yard oiler
there, which was itself almost high and dry, and then headed for Fremantle,
where we came in on the clean fuel oil tank (very last fuel in the
system). We were a couple of weeks overdue
and it felt pretty eerie to be told about it.
We were dubbed "The Galloping Ghost from The China Coast."
This was New Year's Day, 1945.
After two weeks rest leave in the
Wentworth Hotel, Perth, we headed north for the fifth and sixth war patrols, then
to the States for a major overhaul and then back to the Pacific. We were on our way to Pearl Harbor when the
war ended, so back to Mare Island for Bashaw decommissioning in November or
December, 1945. I retired on April 1,
1966, as an ENCM (SS).
It
was great to hear about some of my old shipmates and see some of the
pictures. Sorry I haven't written
sooner but being retired I have been busy and moving around a lot.
I
recognize all of the men in the pictures but it is very difficult to remember
names. I have not kept in touch with
any of the crew but it would certainly be great to know how many are still
alive.
The
three (war-time) CO's were: R. E. Nichols, Hoke S. Simpson and George E.
Everly. I felt very lucky to serve
under these officers as all three were considerate of the crew and not looking
to take a lot of chances just to make a name for themselves.
After
finishing boot camp I was sent to signal school, then to submarine school in
New London. I came out of school as a
Signalman 3/class (SN 3/CL). About two
weeks before finishing Sub. School I was assigned to the Bashaw being built at
Electric Boat Co. in Groton, Conn. I
remained on board until it was put in the mothball fleet at Mare Island.
I
have never talked much about my war experiences to anyone except my three
sons. It would be wonderful to talk
with some of my shipmates and put some of our experiences on paper.
Wish I could help with some of the
addresses. Give my regard to any you
hear from and if they will give me their address I will write.
I
was XO of Bashaw from July 1962 through September 1964. Howard Crosby was CO when I reported aboard;
Jack Lyman became CO in December 1963. I relieved J. D. Hovater as XO.
Highlights
during my time aboard Bashaw included a special op shortly after I reported and
a Westpac trip at the end of my tour.
In between were two great years of operating in and out of Pearl and
visits to the west coast and the outer islands. At some point during that time Bashaw’s designation was changed
from SS to AGSS. The home port was
officially changed from Pearl to San Diego on 1 July 1964, in the middle of our
Westpac trip.
We
had departed from Pearl on 2 March 1964 to begin the Westpac trip and got to
San Diego on 3 October. There were many
highlights of that tour but one of them was in early August when the Gulf of
Tonkin incident occurred.
We
had just finished our last scheduled ASW services and were scheduled for a port
visit to Nagoya, then to Yokosuka, then home.
We were initially assured that our schedule would not be affected, but
halfway through the visit to Nagoya we received orders to get ready to leave in
six hours and proceed to an assigned patrol station. There was a tremendous
flurry of activity, we departed on time, and spent an unscheduled three weeks
on patrol to finish off our Westpac commitments.
Shortly
after arriving at San Diego I was relieved as XO by Don Lawrence, and I left
Bashaw in October 1964. I then went to
Charleston as CO of Chivo for two years.
I then had shore and staff duty at NOL White Oak in Silver Spring,
Maryland; COMASWFORLANT Staff in Norfolk; and the Naval Safety Center, also in
Norfolk.
I retired in 1976 and stayed in the
Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. I worked
for a couple of defense research contractors, BDM and Comptek Research, before
retiring for good in July 1993.
When
I left Bashaw in San Diego in 1965, I went to NROTC at Brown University for a
three-year tour and thence to COMSUBLOT 8 in Naples, Italy. While there the Dolphin Scholarship
Foundation published "Dolphin Tales with a Dash of Salt." I wrote a few stories there and would like
to share this one. (I think I still have the Plan of the Day.)
When a
diesel submarine goes on patrol it is normal routine to shift working hours
from day to night. This means that the noon meal will be served at midnight and
breakfast and dinner will be reversed accordingly.
During a
five day underway Operations Readiness Inspection, one of the test problems
presented to the Pearl Harbor based boat, BASHAW, was to shift to a patrol
routine. Upon completion, in order to
return to a normal meal time schedule, the Executive Officer published the
following note in the Plan of the Day:
"In
order that Saturday's meals will be served during in port hours Saturday,
Saturday's meal will not be served starting Friday night. Instead, Monday
night's evening meal which was skipped (in order that Tuesday's Meals could be
served starting Monday night) will be served Friday night at 1915."
Anyway,
sorry I will miss the action there in Colorado. I expect to be in Arizona next week to visit with a brand new
grandson. Next reunion, pick a less busy month!
Do you remember the 3rd class aux man
who said, "If you guys would remember to put a water seal on the face
bowls in the after battery head, it would be twice as less smelly!.
I
started as one of those 'ghost riders', the name given to Admiral Grenfeld's
jocks who were assigned to a boat so we could continue to receive sub pay. Actually, we did work on the boat until noon
before going to practice.
I
reported aboard Bashaw in late February or early March of 1958. Just after the baseball season started, I
was cut from the team and stayed aboard Bashaw as a full time crew member. I was a TM2 at the time and served as the
torpedo spare parts petty officer. I
lived in the forward torpedo room.
In August of 1958, Bashaw was deployed
to Westpac as the tensions between Formosa(Taiwan) and China escalated. I threw off number one line as the boat left
and proceeded to Treasure Island where I was discharged. When I got home, I joined the Naval Reserve
and served two weeks annual training duty on several boats until my retirement
in 1985.
Bashaw
is the best diesel boat I ever served in.
I was on her in New Zealand and remember standing topside and the other
guys and I couldn't find an ugly woman on the pier. That was really a good
port!
I retired in 1967 in
Charleston, SC. Served on two FBMs.
JOHN
NEWKIRK 1955-58
We
had a good crew during my three years aboard.
Three exceptional officers were Joe Williams, Fred Stelter and Jim
Forsyth. (I used to babysit for Forsyth
in Hawaii.)
Here
is an article from the Chicago Tribune about an incident involving Bashaw that
occurred in December 1956.
Bomber Falls; Sub Rescues 3
Undersea fleet
hunting 7 others
Honolulu (AP).
A two-engine Navy patrol bomber on air-submarine maneuvers crashed at
sea Wednesday night. The Navy reported
three of the 10 men aboard were rescued by a sub.
Seven submarines and four planes searched the
flare-lighted ocean for the seven missing airmen. Two escort destroyers raced toward the scene, 26 miles east of
Kauai - a point roughly 40 miles northwest of Oahu on which Honolulu is
situated.
Three survivors, picked up shortly after the
crash by the submarine Bashaw were identified as Lt. K.C. Guedel, pilot;
Lt.j.g. E. J. O'Malley, co-pilot; and Lt. j.g. Roger S. Smith, navigator.
Another P2V patrol bomber on the maneuvers
reported the crash when its crew spotted small flares on the dark sea. The
plane radioed the submarine to go to the rescue. The bomber was from the Barbers Point Naval Air Station, Oahu.
Other subs in the search were the Bluegill,
Sterlet, Carp, Bugara, K-2 and K-3. Joining them were the escort destroyers Carpenter and Sproston.
The
article is correct except for references to other P2Vs and flares.
We
were on a night training exercise and had made sonar contact with a potential
"enemy" sub, then radioed a carrier which directed a P2V to our
location. At periscope depth we put on
our deck lights. The plane soon
arrived, flew over the length of the ship and we gave them the relative bearing
of the contact.
I
was on the scope and followed their tail lights as they sped off. They missed the angle and captain Shead
radioed them to try again. On the
second try I was following their lights again when they suddenly blinked
out. Shead could not raise them on the
radio and correctly assumed they had gone down.
We
surfaced and on battery power went searching.
We soon started seeing debris and although we were using the signal lamp
as a searchlight, there seemed little chance of finding anyone. What saved the day was their whistles. We
soon found three of them. The others
all went down. After they were aboard
we found out they had no idea what caused the crash.
Thanks for the chance to reflect on 3˝
years that made a difference in my life.
MORE ON THE RESCUE FROM JIM
FORSYTH 1954-57
I
also remember the incident of the P2V crash at sea off Oahu. It was an ASW exercise using aircraft. We were submerged and operating with
Bluegill or Bream between Oahu and Kaui.
The other sub was submerged and snorkeling about 30-40 miles NE of us
and on detection we called in and vectored the aircraft on the bearing of our
contact.
On
this occasion the aircraft passed over so low that he could be heard in the
conning tower. Several minutes later
sonar reported an explosion on the bearing of the vector. After several minutes of calling on the
radio Captain Shead aborted the exercise and surfaced. We immediately went along the vector and
radioed our suspicions to Pearl.
It
was completely overcast with 20-25 knots of wind. Very difficult to see or hear.
We finally found some debris and shortly thereafter we were able to
rescue the survivors, three as I recall.
Later information indicated that the pilot had flown the plane into the
water. I'm sure there was an investigation
but whether it was pilot error or some mechanical failure I never heard. I was the OOD during the search as I recall.
FOOTNOTE (Bob Palmer): In April, 2001, I was able to contact a sister, cousin, and niece
of Lt. Kenneth C. Guedel, pilot of the downed airplane. They report that he was about 34 at the time
of the crash and eventually served about 17 years in the Navy. He died in 1992 and left no immediate
survivors. According to the family, the
official investigation of the accident determined that it was caused by a
faulty altimeter. His niece, Linda H.
Edwards, asked that the following be published: "My mother also wants to take this opportunity to express
her deep gratitude to the crew of the Bashaw for rescuing her brother."
GEORGE
KLUG 1957-59
My
enthusiasm for the Bashaw Reunion ran high until I realized that before I could
reminisce about the good old days on the Bashaw I needed to know names, places
and events to reminisce about! With my
great lack of recall as a result of a 1982 massive brain stroke, I have
searched old records and came up with the names of a few shipmates from
1957-59.
I few
from Hawaii to Japan and rode a Japanese destroyer for two days to meet Bashaw,
then relieved Ted Shead as CO the next day.
In turn, I was relieved by Mike Leddick two years later. Both occurred
in Japanese waters while deployed to WestPac. My first XO was Jim Strong (wife
Polly) and lasted only for one special operation in Soviet waters. He was
replaced by Chuck Lowery (wife Leila), who stayed until I departed Bashaw.
The
remainder of the wardroom was a parade of young, bright lieutenants who spent a
year on board getting their Dolphins and were then sent off to nuclear school.
(I felt like I was running a senior high/college training school.) A few of these men were: Kemp Stallings, Jay Ransom, Chuck Smith,
Fred Shilling, Herb Trenham, Fred Stelter and Gus Hubal. I'm still searching my
memory for the one or two C.O.B.s, but no luck.
It is
frustrating to be without a memory, but at the same time I'm pleased to have
what I've got. Names and numbers remain a problem. My language therapist
drilled me on the A-B-C's and 1-2-3's much like a kindergarten teacher. My
vocabulary and numbers are pretty good, but what I have is what I put there.
There is no retention of former brain power except for occasional snippets that
sneak out. Yet, most neighbors are not really aware of my medical history. The
best part of the mental exercises is that I've become pretty good in the stock
market, so some good is coming from it all!
Navy
life after Bashaw included two years as Submarine Repair Officer at Pearl when
the first three nukes, with their special upkeep problems, joined Squadron
Seven and the outfitting of all boats going on WestPac deployments. I invented
and installed a lot of equipment on Sargo to make her trip to the North Pole,
including an electronic iceberg detector, periscope TV and snorkel deicer
equipment.
Following
that assignment, I was sent to BuShips in Washington, where I had the full complement
of 149 diesel boats to mother for special repairs and construction. The reward
was admission to the Navy Post-Graduate School in Monterey, where I received a
Master of Science in Management.
A
two-year tour as Submarine Operations Officer on the Pacific ASW staff followed
next. That was a very interesting look at the anti-submarine side of things.
While there, Adm. Rickover decided on new promotion criteria that would prevent
anyone from making captain in submarine forces if he was not a graduate of
Rickover's nuclear training course. So I decided to retire 22 years after
graduating from the Naval Academy with 20 years in submarine-associated duty.
Some reward?!!
After
retirement, I worked two-and-a-half years for ComNavAirLant and BuAir, assisting
in preparing aircraft carriers, including America and Saratoga, for shipyard
overhaul.
I
then joined Westinghouse Electric for 13˝ years at their Deep Ocean Engineering
Facility in Annapolis. Then I sustained a heart attack, which resulted in a
five-bypass heart operation. Full recovery, but with some loss of long term
memory.
After
a one year R&R, the Anne Arundel Community College, near Annapolis, hired
me to manage the planning and construction of their new campus buildings. Very
interesting and professionally rewarding job. After five and one-half years and
four buildings, I had a massive heart attack/cerebral hemorrhage with major
loss of memory and assorted mental shortcomings, but no physical damage.
Well,
Bob, that's the long and short of it. It's been a great life - not fully
recovered, but enough to enjoy the good life of retirement in a waterfront
community. Audrey and I have been married for 56 happy years. We have one son,
two daughters, two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter, all within a
two-hour drive. Great life!!
Sorry I couldn't be at the reunion but
I've learned long ago after being a northern Wisconsin resident that trying to
vacation in snow county in March, is not for the timid or limited.
BOB
MAXWELL 1960-61
There seems to be some confusion about whether or not I was
a mustang. The answer is maybe, but not really in the classic sense. The facts are:
1. In
early 1944 while attending Huntington Park high school, near Los Angeles, I
took and passed an aptitude test given to all senior male high school students
by the government. I then received a letter that in effect said 'If you are
physically qualified you are eligible for officer training'. As I recall, I was
given a choice of service branch and asked to list my preferences from among a
list of colleges and universities.
2. I
chose the Navy because I was, and still am, allergic to foxholes.
3. I got
my third choice of college. (USC)
4. I was
sworn into the navy as an apprentice seaman (the lowest enlisted grade) on
April 17, 1944, while still a senior in high school. One week after graduation
I was enrolled at USC.
5. I did
wear an enlisted uniform while attending USC. It had one stripe on the cuff and
a white stripe around the right shoulder.
6. The
Japanese surrendered about a year later, in 1945. I take no credit for that,
but who knows?
7. I was
immediately discharged from the navy when the V-12 program was discontinued.
8. To
finish college I joined the navy ROTC as a Cadet Midshipman and was
commissioned in June, 1947 as an Ensign, USNR.
If that
really makes me a mustang, I would of course be honored, but I do not make the
claim. I also was never a radioman. I did personally tap out a surfacing
message one time, but that was in San Diego on Redfish.
In 1961, during the second week of a three week refit
period at Pearl, Bashaw was asked if she could forego the third week and fill
in for a destroyer with a CASREP. This
meant the DD couldn't meet its commitment to act as escort for the ASR acting
as target for the Prospective Commanding Officers' School.
A check of scheduled work, plus the normal "Can
Do" attitude I had come to expect from the crew, allowed me to tell the
DIVCOM "Of course, Sir, we'd be delighted!" The crew got the word on
Friday that we would go to sea at 0630 on Monday morning and to prepare for
escort duty.
I arrived on Monday to find that the crew had made a sort
of SSK to DD conversion. The numbers on our sail now read 'DD 241' thanks to
letters cut from old charts and affixed to the sail with flour and water paste.
The sonar gang had worked over and tweaked up our seldom used BQS-2 active
sonar, even rigging a needed cooling system using Red-Devil blowers.
Because we were doing their job for them, the sick DD
provided us with a box of concussion grenades to use as practice depth charges
(PDC's).
Thus our little flotilla went to sea on time.
At COMEX for the first run we placed the ASR 2000 yards
astern and started our zig-zag plan. All was quiet until sonar reported
"Active sonar contact! 025 degrees relative. Range 3500 yards,
closing!" (Pretty damned good since the maximum effective range for the
BQS-2 was about 3750 yards as I recall.)
We got on the UQC and told the submarine "Charlie
Charlie Charlie - Stand by for depth charge attack."
The ASR was told to circle with her rudder over 15 degrees
to starboard. The sonar operator was
instructed to communicate directly with the helmsman via sound powered phones
to keep us pointed directly at the submarine and to advise the bridge of the
range at which the target was lost.
Finally, sonar reported "target last range 100 yards - dead
ahead"
After going for one ship length we announced "Mark
Fire center" and all of the men on deck heaved their PDC's, some of which
had the pins pulled and the handles were wrapped in toilet paper to let them
sink deeper before exploding. The apparent result was a hell of a racket aboard
our target. ( two dozen grenades would tend to do that )
The ensuing UQC conversations (CO to CO), while not
suitable for mixed company, gave me great personal satisfaction and proved to
the PCO instructor embarked in the submarine we attacked that Bashaw really
"Could Do" Well done! DD241.
I'm not
sure we ever really got that flour/water mess off the sail. That stuff really
dries hard!
R.
C. THOMPSON 1960-63
I
reported aboard Bashaw in June, 1960. I
was on the Swordfish (SSN579) the same time the Sargo (SSN583) had an accident
in the stern room. We were tied up
forward of Sargo. The Swordfish had to
replace Sargo and go to sea. I was left
in and was told I'd be going to the Sargo.
It just so happened that I saw Lt. Rose up at Squadron and asked if I
could get a diesel, thus ending up on Bashaw.
My
first CO was LCdr Maxwell. He was
great! He always wanted the best and
got it. He would come down to sonar and
listen to contacts. What a test. He would sit on the demolition charge next
to the BQR-4. We were up north on a training
mission. The last time I saw LCdr
Maxwell was in Yokohoma - Com Seventh Fleet 1962?
I
just finished reading Howard Crosby, Memories on Bashaw. I remember both stories. In fact, I was the sonarman who detected the
other boat. Upon checking for the noise
the other boat found a loose stantion up forward.
I
left Bashaw in May, 1963. I was ordered to the James Madison (SSBN629) and
later to Daniel Boone (SSBN629). By this time I wanted something else and
requested to be an ACINT specialist. It
was a super assignment which gave me a lot of time at sea and I rose many
submarines. I did this for ten years
and then retired in 1980.
I
went to work for the San (Diego?) Community College teaching Instructor
Training under contract to the Navy. I
retired from the college on July 1, 2000.
The reason for not being at the 2000
reunion was that I was called back to teach the Instructor Course in Naples,
Italy. I had planned to attend;
however, the timing was not right. Next
time I will be there for there are many more memories and, of course, Sea
Stories.
CHARLES
B. BISHOP 1954-55
Thanks
for the invitation to the March reunion.
Unfortunately, it came too late for us to change plans but perhaps next
time will work.
I relieved Tut Fry as CO in Sasebo in
July 1954. We finished the Westpac
deployment and headed for Hong Kong for R&R (and to pick up our new suits
from Ken Kee, naval tailor). Swim calls
in the Kuroshio were fun, but dispatch orders sent us to Kaoshiung, Formosa, to
provide submarine services to the newly formed ROC Navy. No problem, we thought, until a USN liaison
officer met us at the sea buoy and said we were to host 150 Chinese officers
for a tour of the boat … and they were waiting on the pier!! We must have set a record for the Navy's
fastest field day on the way in!