USS Thresher (SS 200)

Dust, Drought, Depression, and War No. 16

On December 7, 1941, USS Thresher (SS-200), carrying live torpedoes, was nearing the Hawaiian Islands, returning from a simulated war patrol when she received word of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese aircraft. A relatively new vessel, she had been launched only 20 months earlier.  She would go on to become the most decorated US Navy submarine of World War II.¹

New Submarine Is Launched

GROTON, Conn., March 27 (UP)—The Thresher, one of six submarines constructed under the Vinson act, was launched today at the Electric Boat Company yards. Mrs. Claud A. Jones, wife of a naval captain, was the sponsor. The Thresher is the seventeenth boat to be built by the company since 1933 and is 300 feet long. Its displacement is 1,745 tons, as defined by the London treaty for the limitation of armaments. Its mean draft at standard displacement is 15 feet, and its largest gun is three inches.

Thresher I (SS-200)²

While cruising on the surface nearing the end of the simulated war patrol, Thresher encountered heavy seas during which Seaman Second Class (equivalent to today’s seaman apprentice) William D. Grover was severely injured when he was thrown against supports for the periscopes. A junior medical officer and corpsman from the tender Pelias (AS-14) were sent to the USS Litchfield (DD-336) prior to its embarking to rendevous with Thresher where it was to escort Thresher lest she be mistaken for a hostile submarine.

Thresher received word at 0810 on 7 December 1941 that Pearl Harbor was under attack by Japanese planes. Litchfield promptly set off to join American light forces departing from the harbor, leaving Thresher alone to conduct her first real war patrol. However, the destroyer was ordered back to escort the submarine; radio contact between the two ships was established; and a rendezvous arranged.

At the pre-appointed time, Thresher poked up her periscope to have a look, and noticed a destroyer, similar to Litchfield, approaching, bows-on. The submarine’s commander and a signalman felt certain that the oncoming ship was Litchfield. Nevertheless, instead of a warm reception from friends, she got a hot reception from what proved to be the light minelayer Gamble (DM-15), which opened fire on the submarine as soon as her black conning tower broke the surface.

Quickly reappraising the situation, Thresher immediately went deep to avoid the attentions of “friendly forces.” She again tried to enter the harbor on the 8th, but was driven off by depth-bombs from a patrol plane, before the seaplane tender (destroyer) Thornton (AVD-11) finally arrived to provide safe-conduct for the submarine at midday on the 8th. Sadly, Seaman Grover steadily worsened and died before the boat reached port.

A World War II hero³

Battle-tested through 15 war patrols, Thresher was awarded 15 Battle Stars and a Navy Unit Commendation, making it the most decorated US submarine of World War II.  A Tambor-class, diesel-electric submarine, Thresher was built by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She had six bow torpedo tubes and four stern tubes.  Initially equipped with a 3-inch deck gun, the ship’s deck gun supports had been strengthened during construction to accommodate a 5-inch gun if experience warranted it. Less than a year after the Pearl Harbor attack, an encounter on Thresher’s fifth war patrol tested the capabilities of the 3-inch gun.

On patrol about 30 nautical miles to the west of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in the Makassar Strait, Thresher came across a small enemy tanker that had grounded on a reef.

October 31, 1942⁴

The need to use 26 rounds of 3 inch 50 caliber ammunition to sink a small grounded tanker showed that changing out to a 5-inch deck gun was warranted.  This was accomplished in Freemantle, Australia, during the refit period following the fifth patrol.

Besides war patrols in the Pacific, American submarines also participated in covert operations.  In July 1943, off Negros Island, Thresher delivered supplies and ammunition to Filipino guerillas resisting the occupation by the Japanese.⁶ “All of the cigarettes, matches, soap, razor blades, candy, etc. were voluntary contributions of the crew of the Thresher and attest their admiration for the Commandos and the work they are doing.” “A suitcase full of intelligence documents was brought aboard and will be forwarded to the proper channels.”⁷

__________

The ship was named for the thresher shark, solitary creatures that keep to themselves.  When hunting schools of fish, they are known to “whip” (thresh) the water, swatting smaller fish and stunning them before feeding.⁸

Thresher was the subject of two episodes of The Silent Service, a 1950s syndicated anthology series produced by Universal Television, once one of the most prolific US TV program producers.⁹

• Season 1, Episode 3; aired April 17, 1957, “The End of the Line;” The USS Thresher is caught at the end of a Japanese destroyer’s grappling hook and attempts to shake itself loose.^{10, 11}
  
• Season 2, Episode 6; aired April 11, 1958, “The Thresher Story;” Torpedo test goes wrong and fired with the outer door still closed. It has to be disarmed or boom. Thresher adds a 5″ gun for surface action in 42. US Torpedoes were bad at that time. The 5″ gun saved the Thresher in a duel with a Jap ship.^{12, 13}
  • A young Frank Gorshin plays the hapless Torpedoman 1st Class Larkin, who is at fault for the failed torpedo test and, later, saves the day as the gunner on the 5″ gun.

1. “USS Thresher (SS-200).” Wikipedia as of June 17, 2021 edit. Accessed September 9, 2021. https://en.wikipedia….Thresher_(SS-200).
2. “Thresher I (SS-200).” Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Accessed September 9, 2021. https://www.history.navy.mil….
3. Kerr, D. Allan. “Original Thresher Was World War II Hero.” Seacoastonline, February 18, 2013. Accessed September 9, 2021. https://www.seacoastonline.com….
4. “USS Thresher (SS-200),” Submarine Action Report. October 31, 1942. Accessed September 9, 2021. https://issuu.com…ss-200_thresher
5. verb
   gerund or present participle: kedging
   (with reference to a ship or boat) move by hauling in a hawser attached to a small anchor dropped at some distance.
6. Kerr
7. “USS Thresher (SS-200),” Special Mission Report (pdf). July 9, 1943. Accessed September 9, 2021.
8. “Thresher Shark.” Wikipedia, as of July 28, 2021edit. Accessed September 9, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org….
9. “USS Thresher (SS-200).” Wikipedia…
10. “‘The Silent Service’ The End of the Line.” IMDb, aired April 17, 1957. Accessed September 10, 2021. https://www.imdb.com….
11. “Silent Service S01 E03: The End of the Line.” YouTube, March 29, 2014. Accessed September 10, 2021. https://www.youtube.com….
12. “‘The Silent Service’ The Thresher Story.” IMDb, aired April 11, 1958. Accessed September 10, 2021. https://www.imdb.com….
13. “Silent Service S01 E03: The Thresher Story.” YouTube, aired April 27, 2014. Accessed September 10, 2021. https://www.youtube.com….