War Beneath the Waves: U.S. Submarines Quiz

Answer: They were volunteers

Although life on a submarine is rough if you are six feet tall or more, there were no maximum height regulations; you rapidly learned to duck your head when going through hatches or navigating the engineering spaces. There was no requirement that one be a native-born citizen, or even a citizen at all; many stewards were Filipinos. And many, if not most, submariners were in their teens when they made their first patrol; the youngest to die was only 15.

But one thing all submariners had in common is that they were volunteers.

The U.S. Navy has never forced anyone to serve on a submarine against his will.

Answer: Undergo a rigorous physical and mental examination

Submarine duty during WWII was some of the most arduous and demanding duty in the United States Armed Forces. Not only did you have to be in peak physical condition, you also had to be mentally stable and able to work well with others under very demanding circumstances and incredibly harsh conditions. If you were claustrophobic, antisocial, or easily upset, submarines were not the place for you! Only about 10% of all volunteers for submarine duty were accepted. One unusual reason a lot of volunteers were rejected, at least during the early stages of the war, was bad teeth.

There were no dentists on submarines! So many men were rejected because of their teeth that the Navy launched an investigation, and dental standards were eventually relaxed.

Answer: New London, Connecticut

The U.S. Navy's Submarine School was established in New London, Connecticut in 1916, and is still in operation today. Making it to Submarine School was no guarantee that you would become a submariner; over 50% of students "washed out." One test that eliminated many applicants was the pressure chamber; candidates were placed in a small room and compressed air was pumped in until blood began flowing out of their ears and noses; this was designed to duplicate the pressures experienced in a submarine at great depth. If you passed out, no submarine duty for you. Another test that eliminated many volunteers was the escape tower, where would-be submariners were required to ascend a 112 foot water-filled tower, using a primitive breathing device called a "Momsen lung." This device would, in theory, allow submariners to escape from a downed submarine if it sank in shallow water. Many users panicked and exited via one of the many escape hatches on the way up.

Enlisted men received six weeks training, and officers three months. Later in the war, the training period was cut in half, and some men were assigned to boats without attending Submarine School at all. If you survived the rigorous academic and physical training, you would be allowed to actually go to sea in one of the old, obsolete submarines docked at New London for training purposes.

Answer: The Pacific

The U.S. had a few submarines in the Atlantic, plus some stationed along the East Coast, but the vast majority of submarines during WWII operated in the Pacific Ocean. As a recent Submarine School graduate, you would most likely be assigned to a ship that was still being built or had recently been completed and was undergoing sea trials, or an older boat that was being overhauled at the Mare Island Naval Yard in California. Or you might be assigned to a submarine tender at Pearl Harbor or Midway Island until a submarine needed a replacement for one of its crew.

Answer: 80

The size of the crew varied according to the class of the submarine, but the Balao-class and Gato-class submarines typically carried a crew of about 80 men, 10 officers and 70 enlisted men. Considering all the work there was to do, this was not a lot of personnel. Submariners worked very hard and put in long hours while they were at sea.

A newly arrived sailor could be assigned any of a number of duties; helping the cooks in the galley was a typical first assignment. Once you had learned your way around the boat, you might be assigned watch duty as a lookout - searching the sky for enemy planes, and the sea for mines, enemy submarines, and potential targets.

Answer: Torpedoman, Electrician's Mate, and Machinist's Mate

All the ratings mentioned could be found on the typical WWII submarine, but the three most common ratings were Torpedoman, Electrician's Mate, and Machinist's Mate. The Torpedomen maintained and fired the submarine's 24 torpedoes; a large number of Electrician's Mates were needed to maintain the two large banks of batteries that powered the submarine when it was submerged; and Machinist's Mates maintained the large diesel engines that powered the boat when it operated on the surface, and also recharged the batteries. Each submarine carried a Hospital Corpsman or Pharmacist's Mate who acted as the boat's doctor, and sometimes a Photographer's Mate might be assigned if a reconnaissance mission was being conducted. Striking for one of the three most common ratings was a good way to achieve rapid promotion; the demand for these specialities was so great that a number of men were promoted to Chief Petty Officer in less than four years.

Answer: A patch to wear on your uniform

Then, as now, qualifying in submarines was a very difficult process. You would be required to learn about and memorize the layout of all systems on the boat, and the function of every valve and switch on the boat. You would be required to draw the major systems from memory. You would carry a "qual card," and when you thought you knew enough about a system, the ship's batteries, for example, you would be quizzed by a Chief or senior petty officer who worked with that system. If he was satisfied, he would sign off on your qual card. When your qual card had been completed with all the requisite signatures, you would be given a final examination by the Commanding Officer or Executive Officer. If you passed, you would be allowed to wear a patch in the form of a dolphin on the right sleeve of your uniform. Officers wore a gold badge in the form of two dolphins flanking the bow of a submarine. Today, enlisted men wear a silver version of the officers' insignia, but there were no silver dolphins during WWII.

Some men qualified on their first patrol; others took two patrols. If you had not qualified in submarines by the end of your second patrol, you would probably be "surfaced," i.e., ruled ineligible for submarine duty.

Answer: Aircraft

While traveling long distances, submarines usually operated on the surface, where they could make speeds of up to 21 knots, and also use one of their diesel engines to charge the boat's batteries. Submerged, a Balao-class submarine could make about 8 knots, but this rapidly depleted the batteries. Usually submerged submarines made only 2 to 3 knots; at that speed, a fully charged bank of batteries would last up to 48 hours.

The biggest threat to a submarine traveling on the surface was an air attack. Planes were difficult to spot, especially coming in from the direction of the sun. A single hit from a bomb could easily sink a sub. Although the submarines carried radar which was supposed to spot incoming planes, it was unreliable and broke down often. The submarine's best defense against an air attack was the sharp eyes of its crew.

Many U.S. submarines were lost to Japanese air attacks, and it wasn't only enemy planes that our submarines had to watch out for. American pilots were often trigger-happy and would attack anything that moved. They never seemed to have acquired the knack of distinguishing American submarines from those of the Japanese, and all too often ignored the "safety lanes" in which submarines going to and from their patrol areas were supposed to be able to operate without the risk of "friendly fire." Dozens of American submarines experienced attacks from American planes, some suffering major damage. At least one, the USS Dorado (SS-248), is believed to have been sunk by an American plane while en route from New London, Connecticut to the Panama Canal.

While enemy submarines were a threat, they would usually be detected by sonar before they could get close enough to launch an attack; in some areas, floating mines were also a hazard. But it was planes that submarines feared the most.

Answer: No

American submarines were bigger and bulkier than their German counterparts; this meant that it took them longer to dive. When an enemy aircraft was sighted, the lookouts and any other men topside would scramble down from their posts; the boat would begin its dive even before the last man was inside the boat. The last man down would slam the hatch shut and dog it tight. There was no time to step on the rungs of the ladder leading to the deck below; men would just grab the rails and basically fall to the deck. If you were too slow, the man following you might land on your shoulders and "ride you down." Many times crewmembers were injured during these dives, sustaining anything from cuts and bruises and sprained ankles to broken bones. A few times men failed to hear the diving alarm and were left topside when the submarine dove; they were usually recovered later, but some were lost in this manner.

Speed was of the essence. Putting several hundred feet of water between you and the enemy has always been a submarine's best defense. In 1943, a good dive time might be 40 to 45 seconds; later in the war, this was cut to around 35 seconds. Crash dives were always dangerous; if the crew dove too fast, or the dive planes jammed, the submarine might sink below its test depth. It took the coordinated efforts of dozens of men, all performing their duties perfectly, to execute the maneuver properly.

Answer: Good food

Living conditions on WWII submarines were horrific. In the case of Seaman Smith, his bed, or rack, would be a thin, plastic covered mattress on a steel frame tucked up among the torpedo skids; there were often not enough beds to go around, so you might have to share yours with another crewmember, a practice known as "hot racking." If you were operating in the tropics, or if the air-conditioning was out, this could mean coming off watch to lie down in a hot pool of someone else's sweat. Submarines had distilling units to make fresh water, but the supply was limited. The top priority was the boat's batteries, followed by drinking water and cooking. There was little left for showers. You would wash your face each morning, and that was about it. If you were lucky, you might get a "Navy shower" once every couple of weeks. A Navy shower meant turning the shower on for a few seconds to get wet, soaping up, and turning it on again for another ten or fifteen seconds to rinse off. You might go a month or more without a shower. Any laundry was done in salt water; most crewmembers only washed their underwear (if that). There was no beer ration, although some skippers would smuggle alcohol onboard and give their men a shot of whiskey or brandy to celebrate sinking an enemy vessel, or to calm their nerves after a particularly close call. This was called "splicing the main-brace."

But one thing submariners did get was good food. Each boat had cooks and bakers and stewards who worked very hard to supply the officers and crew with the best food in the military. During a time when civilians were subject to rationing, submariners routinely dined on the best cuts of beef, freshly baked bread, ice cream, cake, and other delicacies. Despite this, cooks were often the subject of abuse by the rest of the crew. In his book, "The Wake of the Wahoo," Yeoman Forest Sterling tells of rescuing three Japanese sailors after sinking their ship. Assigned to guard them, the first thing he did was teach them to say "You bum cook" to his friend, Ship's Cook Jack Reynolds. At least that's what he wrote. The actual phrase was probably a bit more racy.

Answer: Yes

Most American submarines were armed with Mark XIV torpedoes; these were 20 feet, 6 inches (6.25 meters) long, and weighed 3,280 lbs. (1,490 kg). There were six torpedo tubes forward and four tubes aft. There were a total of 16 torpedoes carried forward, and ten torpedoes aft. As a Torpedoman, one of your main duties would have been the rapid reloading of the torpedo tubes during combat, no easy task considering their size and the cramped conditions in which you had to work. The torpedoes had a speed of 46 knots, and a range of 4500 yards. Each carried a warhead containing 643 lbs. of Torpex explosive. It was a devastating weapon - when it worked.

There were many problems with the Mark XIV torpedo. It tended to run deeper than the depth setting, and often broached and went off course. There were numerous examples of premature detonations. It also had a tendency to circle, and endanger the submarine that fired it. At least one boat, the USS Tullibee (SS-284), was sunk by a circular run of one of its Mark XIV torpedoes, and there may have been additional losses that were not documented because all hands were lost. But the worst problem was with the exploding mechanism.

The Mark XIV torpedo was armed with the Mark VI magnetic exploder, which simply did not work. Many skippers quietly replaced the magnetic exploders with contact exploders. But these often did not work, either.

On July 24, 1943 the USS Tinosa (SS-283) fired 15 torpedoes at the huge Japanese whale factory ship, Tonan Maru III, at point blank range. All hit the ship, but only two exploded. It was very frustrating for submarine skippers and crews to risk their lives attacking enemy shipping, only to have their torpedoes miss the target or fail to explode. The Navy's Bureau of Ordnance stubbornly denied there was any problem with the torpedoes, and blamed the submarine crews. It was not until the end of 1943 that most of the problems were fixed. When they were, the number of sinkings increased dramatically.

Answer: Finding a "thermal layer" to hide under

Submarines usually carried a single 3" or 5" gun - no match for a heavily armed destroyer. And their top speed of 21 knots would not allow them to outrun any but the smallest surface vessels. Lying motionless on the bottom was a tactic used only when the sub's batteries were nearly depleted; a moving target is harder to hit than a stationary one. What most skippers would try to do was find a layer of cooler water, and dive beneath it. Called "thermal layers," the colder water would reflect the sonar signals, and the attackers could not get a good fix on the submarine. But if you were leaking oil or air, the oil slick or bubbles would give away your position, thermal layer or no thermal layer. Some submarines survived incredible depth charge attacks. The USS Tambor (SS-198) survived a 17 hour attack in which dozens of depth charges were dropped on her. She somehow survived and limped home. Submariners expected to experience a depth charging after each attack.

It wasn't just the explosions that made being depth charged a horrific event. All non-essential equipment, including air-conditioners and ventilation fans had to be turned off. Temperatures would often soar to 120 degrees (49C) or more. All non-essential personnel would be ordered to their racks to reduce noise; the slightest sound could give away the sub's position. Sailors who lived through prolonged attacks tell of oxygen levels being so depleted that matches would not light, and cigarettes would not stay lit. Light bulbs would explode, valves spring leaks, and deck plates buckle. Men would pass out from the heat and oxygen deprivation, and the submarine would be pushed up, down, and sideways as the crew struggled to maintain depth control. It must have been truly horrifying.

Answer: You will be awarded the Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia

The Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia was a prized decoration for American submariners. It was silver in color, and in the shape of a Gato-class submarine, with a scroll beneath it. It was awarded to those who had engaged in a successful patrol, which usually meant one in which an enemy ship had been sunk or damaged.

A patrol might sometimes be considered successful even if no enemy vessels were attacked, if a special mission like laying mines or landing troops on an enemy-held island was accomplished.

The pin itself served as the first award; subsequent awards were noted by gold or silver stars placed on the scroll beneath the submarine. Enlisted men usually wore their Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia above the ribbons on their dress uniforms; officers wore theirs below the ribbons.

The SSBN Deterrent Patrol Pin is the modern-day equivalent of the Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia, and is awarded to submariners who complete a patrol on a ballistic missile submarine.

Answer: It was much higher than most other sailors'

In addition to their regular pay, submariners received a 50% increase for submarine duty, and a 20% increase for sea duty, making them among the highest paid American servicemen. Married men would often have most of their pay sent home to their families, but single men would have what seemed like a fortune waiting for them when they came back from patrol. The Navy also recognized the need for submariners to unwind after the long and arduous combat patrols, and rented hotels where they could stay for a few cents a day while they recovered; in Hawaii, the famous Royal Hawaiian Hotel was taken over and reserved for submariners.

The Navy was probably the rowdiest of all the branches of the Armed Services, and submariners were the rowdiest branch of the Navy. It was not uncommon for men coming back from patrol to spend their pay drinking and seeking the company of ladies of the evening. They seldom got into serious trouble, however, because submarine skippers were legendary for looking after their men; no skipper was going to lose the services of a valuable member of his crew just because he punched out a member of the Shore Patrol, or "borrowed" an automobile to go joyriding. And many of the skippers actually managed to set a "bad example" for their crews!

While waiting for their boat to be "refitted," or made ready for its next patrol, submariners were allowed to do pretty much what they wanted and were not required to work or stand watches. The favorite place to spend a refit period was Fremantle, Australia, which was a submariner's idea of paradise. Many WWII veterans' memoirs reveal fond memories of time spent there. The worst was Midway Island; there was nothing to do there but drink warm beer and swim. Where you were sent for refit was pretty much the luck of the draw. Pearl Harbor was somewhere in between; it was nice, there was a lot to do, but (as opposed to Australia) there were very few women, as most had been evacuated when the war began.

Answer: She is missing and presumed lost

A submariner never says that a boat has been sunk or a shipmate has died; they are on "eternal patrol." And a great many submariners during WWII did go on eternal patrol. The Navy lost 52 boats and 3,505 officers and enlisted men, over 21% of all those who made a war patrol. When you realize that probably half of the men included in this group made only one or two patrols near the end of the war, when most of the Japanese fleet had already been sunk, you can get some idea of just how dangerous submarine duty was. Submariners made up only 1.6% of the U.S. Navy, but sank 55% of the Japanese merchant fleet; had they been given effective torpedoes at the beginning of the war, this figure would be even higher. They also sank 214 Japanese warships, ranging from battleships and aircraft carriers to small patrol craft. And they sank 23 Japanese submarines; only one American submarine, the USS Corvina (SS-226), was sunk by a Japanese submarine; the Japanese captain reported that prior to his boat sinking Corvina, the Japanese boat had been struck by a torpedo that failed to explode.

The story of American submarines during WWII is one of the most inspiring in the history of modern warfare. In the words of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was Commander in Chief of for the United States and Allied Forces in the Pacific during World War II: "It was to the Submarine Force that I looked to carry the load until our great industrial activity could produce the weapons we so sorely needed to carry the war to the enemy. It is to the everlasting honor and glory of our submarine personnel that they never failed us in our days of peril."

Pompano was lost in September, 1943 while on her seventh war patrol. She had previously sunk ten Japanese ships and damaged four others. Her 82 officers and men remain on eternal patrol.