Charleston South Carolina First in Submarines first target sunk Housatonic, WWII Swamp Fox and USSVI Chapters

Transcription

1 Charleston South Carolina First in Submarines first target sunk Housatonic, 1864 WWII Swamp Fox and USSVI Chapters "DEDICATED TO OUR SHIPMATES WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN THE U.S. SUBMARINES DURING WORLD WAR II "CHARTERED BY THE U.S. CONGRESS - NOV 1981" U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II disbanded Sept. 7 in Norfolk, VA LEWIS ALLISON. STATE CDR. (843) ; GEORGE SCHARF PRESIDENT (843) MIGUEL EMERSON TREASURER (843) ; BILL ROBERTS, BASE SECRETARY (843) ; ROGER GIBSON, NEWSLETTER (843)

2 From your happy editor Gibb. You have probably noticed the lack of news letters, many of our WWII members have gone to Eternal patrol, our last was Pappy Henderson, and this leaves us eight WWII Submarine Veterans still with us with Stacy and Williams who all served in the War We will keep the letters going but at a bi yearly rate.. The Associates will keep the WWII Sub vets going until the last man. Reminder to associates, Robbie is collecting dues, 15 dollars, at all meetings we will pay the WWII Vets lunches, Our next meeting for WWII will be December 7 at the Immaculate Conception church, St James Street, in Goose Creek time is Maps will be available at our USSVI meeting this month. World War two members your ticket is covered by us the USSVI. For the mail out WWII Members, Mike Emerson found this walk in history about the US Submarines in Australia, they made a beautiful history tour of the subs that operated there during the second world war, they refurbished the old building and made it similar to our Cold War Memorial, the mail outs to WWII will be sent to our survivors and the will be sent out in stages or the best would be send a link I don t know I m not that computer savvy The address for the Christmas party Immaculate Conception Church, 510 St. James Avenue, Goose Creek, SC, cocktails First in Battle Last to leave and paid the highest price Never forget

3 Submariners Walk in Brisbane, Australia: (part 1) 1. P : The kerb-side start of the Submariners Walk Heritage Trail, on the original site of the WWII USN Submarine Operation & Maintenance Base (Repair Unit 134), along the banks of the Brisbane River. It sits close to the Brisbane city centre, in what was then known as Tenerife suburb but is now called New Farm. Officially opened 23rd March 2013, the "yellow submarine" seat, adjacent to the restored Wharf Office, forms the "gateway" to the Heritage Trail leading down to the river and along the boardwalk on the waterfront, complete with subshaped seats & historical plaques dedicated to the submarines & their crews. 2.P : The explanatory plaque beside the "Yellow Submarine" seat that marks the start of the Trail. The plaque notes that "Submariners never received the recognition they deserved" and also that The Australian Submarine Centenary is to be celebrated in 2014, and the Trail forms part of that dedicated focus.

4 3.P : The original Wharf Office of the WWII USN Submarine Base 134, now restored, marks the start of the Heritage Trail, with its "Honouring Submariners" plaque. This Sub Base 134 th operated from 15 April 1942 th 11 March 1945, at the New Farm Wharf. It was home port to Submarine Task Force 42 (later renamed Task Force 72), whose submarines were at the forefront of the war in the South West Pacific. Their initial task was to hold a defensive line against the rapidly advancing Japanese Forces, and so they operated in New Guinea, & Solomon Islands waters, but later patrols extended to the Philippines, against Japanese shipping, as well as supporting Coastwatchers and carrying out rescue, scouting & other clandestine missions. Submariners had the highest casualty rate of any American Armed Service, and 7 submarines based at New Farm were lost, five with all hands. In honour of these five boats, plaques have been placed on the main deck of the Heritage Trail. 4.P : The photo, shown in the top left corner of this plaque "Honouring Submariners" is of the WWII Sub Base 134 main entrance, with the actual Wharf Office, as it then looked, seen in the right hand side of the photo.

5 5.IMG0560: The original Wharf Office, now restored, & its plaque Honouring Submariners, as they are lit at night for evening walkers. 6.IMG0554: One of the Trail s river-side main deck's sub-shaped seats, this one dedicated to the Odin-Class subs, and lit at night. The steps lead from the main deck back up to the Trail's "gateway" on the street, and show in the background both the Wharf Office (back left) and the yellow submarine seat, (back right) and their plaques, lit up for the evening.

6 7.OMG0579: The Trail s main viewing deck, riverside & in front of the Wharf Office, with its sub-shaped seating & more history plaques; these 3 are plaques dedicated to the 5 lost USN submarines & their crews, who ported at the New Farm WWII Submarine Base IMG0581: Trail plaque dedicated to the Submariners Prayer, and also to USS Triton (SS-201), lost in 1943, with all 74 personnel.

7 9.IMG0582: Trail plaque dedicated to two New Farm ported submarines reported lost with all hands during WWII 1943: USS Amberjack (SS-219) with 71 personnel, and USS Argonaut (SS-166) with 105 personnel. 10. IMG0583: Plaque dedicated to two more New Farm ported submarines which were reported lost with all hands during WWII 1943: USS Seawolf (SS-197) with 99 personnel and also the USS Grampus (SS-207) with 71 personnel.

8 11.IMG0522: The Trail s main deck at night, showing another blue-lit seat dedicated to a sub class, & its history plaques informing of the Sub Base 134, & listing all the submarines which served from it. 12.IMG0535: Dedicated sub-shaped seat, blue-lit at night, on the Trail s main deck, & accompanied nearby with explanatory history plaques.

9 13.P : Trail plaque on the main river deck dedicated to the WWII USN Submarine Operation & Maintenance Base, known as USN Repair Unit 134. It operated th from 15 April 1942 to th 11 March 1945, although the last USN unit relocated from it to the Philippines on the th 30 March Established as a FOB by Captain Ralph Christie under General Douglas MacArthur, it was built on the riverside site of the old New Farm Wharf & Wool Stores at Tenerife, in the City of Brisbane, and it became one of the largest in the South West Pacific region, with up to 800 personnel & officers, and included barracks, stores, workshops, refrigeration, & medical/dental buildings. Its first sub tender was USS Griffin, followed by Fulton, & Sperry, which carried out maintenance & refits, although major repairs were done at the South Brisbane Dry Dock. 79 submarines operated from the base over its three years. Seven of these were built in Manitowoc, on Lake Michigan, & had to be barged down 2000km of the Mississippi River, before they could set out, non-stop to Brisbane; USS Peto was the first to arrive, and later sailed on 5 war patrols from this base. The Pacific conflict saw the base lose seven of its subs, five of them with all hands. 14.P : Trail plaque dedicated to the US Navy submarines & their crews, who ported at the Brisbane s WWII New Farm Submarine Base, Operation & Repair Unit 134, and from which they then conducted 181 war patrols from 1942 to 1945.

10 15.IMG0511: View from the Trail s main deck, showing the blue-lit dedicated submarineshaped seats and plaques, the restored original Wharf Office, and the riverside walkway fronting the New Farm apartment residences. 16. IMG0570: Plaque showing the Trail s Brisbane River waterfront history. The substantial wool store buildings were built over the wool booms of 1909, 1915, ,& mid1950 s. One, opened in 1927 by The Duke of York, was the largest wool showroom in Australia, & its top floor was converted to a magnificent ballroom for the occasion. The New Farm Wharf & Wool Stores, Show & Sales Rooms of Tenerife, were the major trading centre for wool, frozen meat, butter, grain, hides & tallow, before parts of it were taken over and converted to the USN Submarine Operations & Maintenance Base (Repair Unit 134) & Storage Depot ( ). Some sections of the vast store buildings remained operating, as cold-stores for butter, meat, & other businesses, until lanolin soaked timbers fuelled huge fires (1979, 1984 & 1990) that saw the area extensively damaged and finally give way to redevelopment for the current upmarket residential apartments & offices which now line the riverbank.

11 17.P514071: Plaque story of the USN Submarines of the WWII Sub Base, at New Farm, Brisbane. These submarines made a major contribution to the WWII Pacific Victory through sinking, by their torpedoes, 117 enemy ships totalling 500,000 tons, & other small craft by gunfire, as well as supporting Commandoes & Coastwatchers, conducting rescues & reconnaissance behind enemy lines, and training local antisubmarine units. On th 27 January 1945, the USS Pintado was the last American sub to leave the Brisbane Submarine Base on war patrol. 18.P : Plaque of photos of the USN Submarine Operation & Maintenance Base (Repair Unit 134); the ships, subs & personnel who were based at New Farm, Brisbane, for its three years of operation ( ). Shown are: S-42, one of the first subs in Brisbane; the tender USS Fulton, and her crew gathered before the entertainer Joey Brown; the sub USS Grouper as she returns after a successful war patrol mission; & sub USS Peto.

12 19.IMG0512: Views from the Heritage Trail's main viewing deck, along the riverfront board-walk, with more lit sub- seats & history plaques fronting the river and apartments, by night (Image 19) &, by day (Image 20 below). 20. P : View from the main deck, down the Trail, by day.

13 21.P : People walk, jog, cycle, do exercises, walk their dogs, or simply come to quietly sit and contemplate the Trail s history amid the busy modern Brisbane city s riverside scenery. 22.IMG0569: Along the pathway there are submarine-themed water bubblers for 2 & 4-legged users of the New Farm Submariners Walk Heritage Trail, beside the Brisbane River.