COMMANDER SERVICE FORCE, u. s. AtlanticFleet, believes the best way to learn submarine salvage is by actually salvaging a submarin,e. But there was a slight problem: Where could a submarine in need of salvage be found? Sunken subs are admittedly difficult to come by but, in 1968, ComServForLantFlt rescued tbe hull of for- mer uss Hake (AGSS 256) from thescrap pile and, thefollowing year, it was ready for Subsalvex-69. (Actuallythere were plans to mak8e the exercise a yearly event but Subsalvex-70 had to lae canceled). Hake was sunk and raised,giving the Navy sal- Watchingasthe sub is brought to thesurface are Captain vagers the best practice of that nature since the 1939 BernardPeters, on-scene commander withwalkie-talkie; LCDR raising of uss Squalus. Here’s how it happened: Arnold F. Pyatt, Salvage Master, center;and Captain Walter D. The exercise was conducted in three phases - res- Chodwick,Commander Service Squadron Eight. cue, first lift and final lift. Its purpose was to provide practicalexperience to a cadre of men qualified in submarine salvage and more than 200 men from the Service Force participated. uss Petrel (ASR 14) was on hand for therescue phasewhile uss Preserver (ARS 8) and uss Hoist (ARS 40) were present for the salvage portion of the exercise. Men from Harbor Clearance Unit Two were aboard the Service Force diving barge (YRST 2) and Fleet Tug uss Kiowa (ATF 72) provided logistic sup- port. The exercise actually got underway when uss Hoist towed Hake toa site in theChesapeake Bay about three miles off Cape Charles. The sub‘s ballast tanks were vented and the boat sank into 100 feet of water. The nextmorning, rescue operations began. Petrel lowered a rescue chamber which would have brought Hake’s crewto the surface, had onebeen on board. After the simulated evacuation of th8e submarine, two officers entered to inspect the interior. Diversthen passed heavy wire and chainlifting slings under Hake’s bow and stern and attached four submarinesalvage pontoons (two ateach end). Whenthe pontoons were blown drywith com- pressed air, their buoyancy slowly moved Hake toward the surface. The first lift raisedthe submarine 40 feet,at whichpoint the upper or control pontoons surfaced. Hake was thentowed into relatively shallow water and grounded at a keel depth of about 60 feet. The pontoons were again flooded and moved to a position alongside the sub in preparation for the final lift. Twoand one-half weeks afterher sinking, Hake was back on the surface and under tow back to Nor- folk whereshe was toawait another rescue and sal- vage training exercise. *ONPURPOSE, FOR TRAINING “Photos by PH2 Hal Stoelzle AUGUST I970 5 HE NAVAL DESTROYER SCHOOL at Newport has been class began last year. Future COS and XOs are briefed T trainingprospective destroyermen for almost a on current destroyer operations, equipment and capa- decade. bilities, during a course of from one to four weeks. Class number one-38 handpicked, highly motivated Prospective department heads. career officers-began in January 1962 atwhat had Officers with these orders undergo an intensive, six- beenan afloat engineering andLDO indoctrination month course in weapons, operations, engineering and school. The DestroyerSchool continued the enlisted generalline subjects. About 400 officers graduate engineering curriculum of its predecessor, but its new fromthis program every year andare assignedto mission was broader-toprovide the destroyerforce destroyers in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. Included withprofessionally qualified, experienced leadership. in the curriculum is four weeks' practicalexperience To fulfillthis goal, the school's officer curriculum aboard an Atlantic Fleet destroyer. provides training in the following areas: Prospective chief engineers. Prospectivecommanding officers and executive Future engineering officers whose ships have 1200- officers. PSI (pounds per square inch) engineeringplants re- This is the newest program at the school; the first main atthe school foran additional four weeks to Naval Destroyer School, Newport, R. 1. 6 ALL HANDS learn the intricacies of operatingmodem steam pro- pulsionsystems. named after him. More than2000 destroyermen, commissioned and Backin 1960,Admiral Weakley, then Commander enlisted, use the school’s facilities every year. Destroyer Force Atlantic Fleet, proposed that a school SPRING the Destroyer School moved intoa for the training of destroyer department heads be set technical training building, which provides 17 up. After the plan had been approved, it was Admiral classrooms, three automatic combustion control labor- Weakley’s DestroyerForce that supplied officers and atories and a 300-seat auditorium that becomes three men, as well asa considerable portion of theinitial lecture halls when automatic sliding walls ar,e closed. funding,to make the school areality. ’ Thenew building was dedicated“Weakley Hall” The main address at the dedication ceremony was in honor of Vice AdmiralCharles E. Weakley, USN delivered by Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN (Ret). (Ret), who was presentat the ceremony last June. It was during Admiral Burke’s tenure as Chief of Naval The Destroyer School was established largely through Operations thatthe idea of adestroyer school was the efforts of Admiral Weakley, who thus became one approved.He was also the guestspeaker for the of thefew livingpersons to have a Navy building school’s first graduating class in 1962. 1968 groundbreakingceremony, NAVDESCOL Tech- A portion of theTech. Training auditorium that can be convertedinto three nical Training Building Extension. 100-seat lecture halls. AUGUST 1970 7 “From the first volley at one another, modern naval history must date its birth.” MONITOR VS VIRGINIA(MERRIMACK) 9 MARCH 1862 U. S. NAVY, SERVICE DRESS, 1862-1863 Lieutenant Seaman Petty Officer “Domn the torpedoes, full speed oheod” then we gave her to the waves.” Above: In Center USS KEARSARGE VS CSS ALABAMA 19JUNE 1864 Bald and skilled Captain Raphael Semmes inCSS Ala- BATTLE OF MOBILEBAY bama had long been sought by the UnionNavy because 5 AUGUST1864 during the course of the Civil War hehad taken same 60 Exchangingshot at pointblank range with the Confederate prizes valued at close to $6 million. Alabama reached flagship, CSS Tennessee, isAdmiral David G. Farragut, Cherbourg, France, where Semmes hoped to obtain permis- shown in the rigging ofhis flagship, USS Hartford.After sion to have her overhauled, which was sadly needed after repeated rammings and incessant pounding by Union guns, a long cruise. However, when USS Kearsarge, Captain her rudder chains and smokestack shot away, many of her John Wilson, commanding, appeared off theharbor, Sem- gunports smashed, the ship filling with water and smoke, mes coaled ship and took up the challenge. After an Admiral Buchanan wounded, Tennessee surrendered. Deny- hour of steaming in acircle while firing continually, Kear- ing the use of the port facilities of Mobile to the Confed- sarge’s heavier and moreaccurate fire, better ammunition eracy, one of the last large ports open to Confederate and conditions took theirtoll. Alabama went downby the blockade runners, was of immense value to the Union stern.(Oil by XanthusSmith, Franklin D. Roosevelt Li- forces. (Oil by William H. Overend, Wadsworth Atheneum) brarv) AUGUST I970 13 ”Logistics is as vital to military SUCC~SI “We ore reody now.” as daily bread is to doily work.” RETURN OF THE MAYFLOWER 4 MAY 1917 A FAST CONVOY, WORLD WAR I After a rough passage, the first United States destroyer di- USS Allen (DD 66) escorts USS Leviathan (SP 1326) which vision under Commander Joseph K. Taussig, reached is carryingUnited States troops to Europe through the Queenstown, Ireland, when America joined the Allies in U-boat-infested Atlantic. Convoys such as this carried close WorldWar I. When asked by British Vice Admiral,Sir to 2 million men to Europe before the Armistice of Novem- LewisBayly, how long it would be before the division ber 1918. During the course of the war, Leviathan alone would be ready to deploy on antisubmarinepatrol, Taussig transported over 98,000 troops. On the effectivenessof replied, ”We areready now.” Seen steaming in column are the convoy system, British. Captain Frothingham stated: the flagship, USS Wadsworth (DD 60), USS Porter (DD 59). “This was the naval operation which hurleda decisive USS Davis (DD 65), USS Conyngham (DD 58), USS military force againsta victorious advancing enemy.” (Oil McDougal (DD 54), and USS Wainwright(DD 62). (Oil by by Burnell Poole, The NavalHistorical Foundation) Bernard Gribble, U. 5. Naval Academy Museum) IF YOU ARE INTERESTEDIN OBTAINING FULL-COLOR ENLARGEMENTS OF THESEPAINTINGS, SEE PAGE 57 AUGUST 1970 15 Above: Plone coptainrsupervise maintenance and hondling of propsand jets at Norfolk, ot CorpusChristi, and at sea oboordthe ottock sorrier USS Ranger (CVA 61). day at CorpusChristi, between 135 and 150 flights vice when you are surrounded by whirling propellers, leave the runways. At night, the number usually dwin- rotary wings and flaming jets. dles to no morethan 45. Where safety is concerned, experienced petty offi- Threehours after takeoff, when the aviators come cers spareno efforts in teaching the newcomer his home, the plane captains must also be on hand to run job. From the moment the student plane captain hits through the post-flight procedures, parking the planes the runwaysuntil theday his trainingends, he is andtying them down. Only then, is the day’swork taught to protect himselffrom the planes. ended. Some safety training periods are more intense than Theplane captains at CorpusChristi, of course, others. There is one, for example, when the new man don’t remain there for their entire enlistment. Nor do is constantly lectured on procedures to follow in case they necessarily continue as plane captains after they of engine fires. He is told the best way to avoid whirl- leave. ingpropellers, rotary wings and flaming jets, and is Whenthey moveon tofurther training, the erst- instructed in safety procedures and given demonstra- while Naval Air Stationplane captains become elec- tions on howto use firebottles and install chocks tronics technicians,mechanics or members of any of without exposing himself unnecessarily ‘to danger.