SUBMARINES Rescue P.O.W.s in WWII
(Edited from U.S. SUBMARINE OPERATIONS, WW-II, U.S. NAVAL
INSTITUTE)
In March 1944 the Japanese at Singapore were cheering the
completion of a railroad which had been built by the slave labor
of British, Australian and native Prisoners-of-War. This iron
trail had cost the lives of 22,000 POW's, abject victims of the
Tojo treatment which included a starvation diet, brutal
floggings and finger-snap medical care. The survivors of this
barbarous railroading were worked from March to September on the
docks at Singapore, while the Japs waited for ships, delayed by
the submarine menace, to transport them to Japan. There they
were to slave in the Emperor's factories and mines.
On September 6, a convoy of six ships with five escorts left
Singapore for Japan. Crammed aboard RAKUYO MARU were 1,350
English and Australian captives.
Some 750 of their fellows were stuffed like cattle into the
holds of another ship. Of the four other ships of the convoy,
one was a heavily-ladened transport, another was a large
freighter carrying rubber and rice, and the remaining two were
loaded oil tankers. Several days after sailing, this group was
joined by three passenger-cargomen and two more escorts from the
Philippines. On the night of September 11-12, the convoy was
proceeding northward in three columns, three ships to a column,
the DD SHIKINAMI leading the center column and three small
escort vessels riding herd on each flank.
This was the convoy that fell prey to the torpedoes of
"Ben's Busters":
GROWLER (CDR T.B. Oakley), PAMPANITO (LCDR P.E. Summers) and
SEALION-II (CDR E.T. Reich).
Between 0100 and 0130 on the 12th, all three submarines
contacted the convoy by radar some 300 miles off Hainan. The
submarines swung into action.
- At 0155 GROWLER attacked from the convoy's starboard side,
and put a torpedo into KIRADO, the leading escort vessel on
the starboard bow. This craft, a frigate, blew up amidships,
burst into flames and sank within a few minutes. The sky
began to flash, reflecting gunfire from the other escorts,
and Oakley's submarine withdrew to make an end-around and a
second attack.
- At 0524 Commander E.T. Reich drove SEALION-II into attack
on the convoy's starboard side. In two minutes' time, Reich
slammed two torpedoes in the passanger-cargoman NANKAI MARU
in the center of the formation, another torpedo into a large
transport leading the right column, and two more into RAKUYO
MARU. The Japanese aboard RAKUYO MARU immediately abandoned.
The unfortunate prisoners, left to fend for themselves,
somehow got free of the ship and into the water.
- At 0653 GROWLER attacked and sank the destroyer SHIKINAMI.
Then NANKAI MARU went down about an hour later and RAKUYO
MARU sank late in the afternoon.
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During the day, most of the Japanese were picked up by
escorts, while the prisoners in the water were held at bay by
rifles and pistols. By nightfall the miserable men, abandoned,
were swimming desperately, or clinging helplessly to mats of
wreckage. Nearly all were smeared from head to foot with the
crude oil which covered the water's surface.
After sundown the prospect of survival seemed slim indeed.
But these castaways were to have an unexpected deliverance.
Throughout the day PAMPANITO had tracked the convoy, but had
been unable to attack because GROWLER and SEALION-II were
attacking and because the convoy changed course and fled toward
Hong Kong. But PAMPANITO hung on doggedly as her captain
directed the chase.
- At 2240, the submarine was in position for as surface
attack. Summers fired nine torpedoes at the four remaining
merchantmen. Seven torpedoes hit home. One salvo sank the
tanker ZUIHO MARU and another sank the passenger-cargo
carrier KACHIDOKI MARU. Now more POW's struggled desperately
in the water as PAMPANITO evaded the escorts, and cleared
the vicinity, the submariners unaware, as were those aboard
GROWLER and SEALION-II, that allies were in dire need of
help.
On September 14 GROWLER departed the area. But SEALION-II and
PAMPANITO remained. On the afternoon of the 15th, PAMPANITO,
passing through the waters where she made her attack, discovered
a crude raft loaded with men. Summers sized up the situation at
once abd PAMPANITO began picking up survivors as fast as she
could locate them.
Her patrol reports tell the dramatic story:
"As men were received on board, we stripped them and
removed most of the heavy coating of oil and muck. We cleared
the after torpedo room and passed them below as quickly as
possible. Gave all men a piece of cloth moistened with water to
suck on. All of them were exhausted after four days on the raft
and three years' imprisonment. Many had lashed themselves to
their makeshift rafts which were slick with grease; and had
nothing but life belts with them.
All showed signs of pellagra, beri-beri, immersion, sal water
sores, ring-worm, malaria, etc. All were very thin and showed
the results of under-nourishment. Some were in very bad shape,
but with the excitement of rescue they came alongside with
cheers for the Yanks and many a curse for the Nips."
"It was quite a struggle to keep them on the raft while
we took them off one by one. They could not manage to secure a
line to the raft, so we sent men over the side who did the job.
The survivors came tumbling aboard and then collapsed with
strength almost gone. A pitiful sight none of us will ever
forget. All hands turned to with a will and the men were cared
for as rapidly as possible."
- At 1710 of the day (the 15th) PAMPANITO sent a message to
SEALION-II asking help. From that hour forward, the
submariners raced with darkness. SEALION-II gave a hand, and
the two submarines combed the area, picking up survivors.
- By 2000, no more men could be safely accommodated aboard
the overcrowded submarines. The two headed full-speed for
Saipan.
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LCDR Reich expressed the feelings of the submariners as he
wrote,
"It was heartbreaking to leave so many dying men
behind."
PAMPANITO had rescued 73 and SEALION-II 54.
As soon as he received the word, ComSubPac ordered BARB and
QUEENFISH, then in Luzon Strait, to proceed to the rescue area
and hunt for survivors. By the afternoon of September 17, these
two submarines were combing the waters where the derelicts had
last been seen. BARB had sunk a Japanese escort carrier the day
before. But Fluckey was always ready for the sort of assignment
involving a rescue.
He wrote:
0100 (17th). Received orders from ComWolfPack to proceed to
survivor area.
"I heartily agree. As an after thought inserted here,
having seen the piteous plight of the 14 survivors we rescued, I
can say that I would forego the pleasure of an attack on a Jap
Task Force to rescue any one of them. There is little room for
sentiment in submarine warefare, but the measure of saving one
Allied life against sinking a Jap ship is one which leaves no
question, once experienced."
Rescue parties, consisting of crack swimmers,
hauling-out, delivery, and stripping parties, had immediately
been organized. BARB and QUEENFISH ran a race against the threat
of enemy attack, heavy seas, and wind which was whipping up to
typhoon velocity. Incredibly enough, survivors were found and
picked up. Swimmers took lines to those who could not be reached
from the deck or were too weak to hold fast. The hauling-out
parties hoisted the oil-coated, half-conscious men to the deck,
where the delivery and stripping parties peeled their wretched
clothes and led or carried them below. The search went forward
until the afternoon of September 18, when a 60-knot wind forced
the two submarines to discontinue and head for Saipan.
By that time, it was certain that no living survivors
remained.
When BARB and QUEENFISH completed their rescue mission, 32
more British and Australian survivors had been rescued.
Altogether, 159 were picked up by the four submarines, but seven
died before the submarines reached port.
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care given them, LCDR Summers of PAMPANITO wrote:
"The problem of habitability was an acute problem with
the seventy-three survivors aboard plus our complement of eighty
officers and men, but by careful planning and supervision the
situation was kept under control and all hands fared very well.
The survivors were long used to being in cramped space and even
the small space allotted them brought no complaints. The crew
was crowded too but cheerfully stood their regular watches and
"nurse-maid watch."
All survivors, except six of the more critical cases, were
berthed in the after-torpedo room. This required ingenuity in
devising bunks from torpedo racks and deck space, but with two
in each bunk and three or four in each torpedo rack most of them
made out better than you might imagine.
All men were infected to various extents with beri-beri,
scurvy, malaria, and other skin irritations. Strict segregation
from the crew was necessary. Two officers were assigned to
manage the problems and a two-man "nurse-maid watch"
was kept in the after torpedo room in addition to the
Pharmacist's Mate and two volunteer assistants (one Ship's Cook
and one Seaman) who were working continuously.
The first problem was getting the men on board. In their
weakened condition and due to the fact that they were covered
with heavy crude oil, the actual recovery was quite a task.
Many of the men could help themselves but the majority had to
be lifted bodily on board."
"The next problem was to make an attempt to clean some
of the oil off before sending them, below to treat their
immediate medical needs. Several required hypo shots but for the
most part a little oil wiped from their eyes and mouth, a wet
rag to cool their parched salt-sore lips and throats, and a
strong "Yankee" hand to help them get below were
sufficient.
"While still topside their clothes were cut away and
they were given a diesel oil sponge bath to remove most of the
heavy crude oil. Getting the weakened ones down the hatch was
quite a job until in the middle of one recovery operation, three
planes were sighted (turned out to be false contact).
You should have seen them run for the hatch when the words
"Jap planes" were passed. Once below, the main problem
was further examination to determine their injuries and
sicknesses. Water was their most acute need and they were given
plenty (in small amounts at first). Hot soup, tea and broth
followed, and they were soon sleeping the sound sleep of
thoroughly exhausted men."
BARB's CDR Fluckey, inimitable stylist, wrote:
"A word on the survivors. All were covered with a heavy
coating of oil received when they drifted through an oil slick
their second night on the rafts. This undoubtedly save their
lives. They were in the water or on their small wooden life
rafts for a period of five days before being picked up. This in
addition to 3-years of prision life under the Japs which
included bashings, beating, starvation (all survivors were 25-50
pounds under weight), malaria, dysentery, pellagra, sores,
ulcers, etc., had left them in terrible physical condition.
The at first dubious, then amazed, and finally hysterically
thankful look on their faces, from the time they sighted us
approaching them, is one we shall never forget. Several of them
were too weak to take the lines thrown them. These were rescued
by the valiant efforts of LCDR R.W. NcNitt, LTJG J.G. Lanier,
and Houston, G.S., MoMM2c who dove in after them.
Too much credit cannot be given to the crew for their superb
performance and willing efforts in the production-line we had
formed from the deck party who picked them up, stripped them and
passed them on to the transportation gang to get them below,
where they were received by the cleaners who removed the oil and
grease, then on to the doctors and nurses for treatment, thence
to the feeders, and finally to the sleepers who carried them off
and tucked them in their bunks."
"The appreciation of the survivors was unbounded. Even
those who couldn't talk expressed themselves tearfully through
their glazed, oil-soaked eyes.
We regret there were no more, for we had found it possible,
by taking over every square foot of space aboard ship, sleeping
three to a torpedo rack, etc., to accommodate a hundred."
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