----------------------------------------------------------------- NAVY & MARINE CORPS WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE COMMITTEE A service of Navy Chief of Information Office (703)695-3161/DSN 225-3161 ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Silent Service: Submarines in World War II By CE1 Robert A. Germinsky, USNR Because of strict wartime censorship, the exploits of the Navyžs submarine force were little known to the American public during World War II. It was only after the war ended that the heroic and daring deeds of the "Silent Service" began to surface. Following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the submarine fleet was among the most capable of the Navy's offensive forces. Submarine Base Pearl Harbor was not a priority target of the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941, and the basežs facilities suffered only minor damage. This oversight on the part of Japanese strategists would cost them dearly as the war progressed. Life on board At the outbreak of hostilities, the submarine service had a mix of modern fleet boats and older S- R- and O-boats. The first two types were combat submarines, and the latter two types were training boats. (The term "boat" as used here is correct, because submariners always refer to their craft as "boats," rather than "ships.") At the beginning of World War II, life on board a submarine was extremely uncomfortable. Although always a hardship, living conditions improved as the war progressed. Air conditioning, more room and more refrigerated space for storing fresh food built morale and eased life on patrol. From a combat efficiency standpoint, the introduction of the all-welded hull (first used on the Gato-class boats) improved watertight integrity, reduced noise while running submerged and increased underwater speed. Radar, improved torpedoes and lessons learned from actual combat made U.S. submarines remarkable weapons. In short, when operated by skilled crews, they were highly efficient killing machines. Doctrine changed Prewar naval doctrine dictated that the submarine would be used against enemy naval shipping. This concept was abandoned almost immediately with the onset of hostilities. The U.S. submarine fleet was ordered to begin unrestricted warfare against Japan, and targets now included the Empirežs merchant fleet. Since Japan is an island nation dependent on the sea for survival, Americažs war planners knew that cutting Japanžs supply lines would greatly reduce her ability to wage war. This strategy of attacking merchant shipping was successful beyond even the most optimistic projections. Over the course of World War II, U.S. submarines sank 1,113 Japanese merchant ships totaling 4.8 million tons, and 201 naval combatants adding up to 541,000 tons. In sum, American submarines and their crews sank 1,314 Japanese ships for a total bag of 5.3 million gross tons. Success, cost counted Submarines flying the Stars and Stripes accounted for 55 percent of all Japanese vessels sunk in World War II, an amazing statistic considering that the submarine service was one of the smallest combat arms in the American military. Some individual "champion" submarines should be mentioned. The submarine that bagged the highest tonnage was Flasher, with a final scorecard that read 21 ships for 100,231 tons. Flasher also bagged the most ships: 26. The champion submarine in killing other submarines was Batfish, which, in a period of three days, sank three Japanese submarines. Finally, the champion for largest ship bagged in one attack was Archerfish, which sank the Shinano, a 59,000-ton aircraft carrier. Yet, as with all success stories, there was a price to be paid. Fifty-two submarines and their crews were lost by all means in World War II. Sealion was the first, irreparably damaged in the aerial bombing of the Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines, on Dec. 10, 1941; Bullhead was the last, lost approximately Aug. 6, 1945, somewhere in the Java Sea. Casualties totaled 374 officers and 3,131 enlisted. This loss rate was among the highest of any branch of the U.S. military in World War II. In terms of boats, the 52 lost represent 18 percent of all submarines that saw combat duty. The loss rate in boats and crews, while high compared to other types of ship losses by American forces, is remarkably low when compared to submarine losses sustained by Germany and Japan. Germany lost between 700 and 800 U-boats, while Japanese losses totaled 128. While recent research into Japanese records has yielded some information, the way that many American submarines were lost is open to conjecture. Aerial attack? Depth charges? Mines? The final answers will never be known. Sailing for the most part alone and in enemy-held waters, these deep sea predators perished, usually with all hands, without sending a final message. The term "Silent Service" could also accurately describe their end. Sources Morison, Samuel Eliot. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. 4, Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942-August 1942. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1955. Roscoe, Theodore. United States Submarine Operations in World War II. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, 1949. Willard, Susan F. "Warfare Beneath the Sea: WWII's Silent Service." VFW Magazine, April 1993. Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II by All Causes. The Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, Feb. 1947. United States Submarine Losses, World War II. Division of Naval History, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Navy & Marine Corps World War II Commemorative Committee Navy Office of Information (CHINFO) The Pentagon, Room 2E352 Washington, DC 20350-1200 -----------------------------------------------------------------