Ear on Chicago; Unidentified

You're listening to muster of attack team two of the Naval Reserve submarine division 9 -225 of Chicago, Illinois. We're speaking to you from the United States Naval Reserve training center at the Naval Armory at the foot of Randolph Street on Lake Michigan in Chicago. We're going to do the story tonight of this submarine division 9 -225. Muster has just been completed and now some of the men will go to classes and we are going to do the story of two attack teams, attack team one and attack team four, who will go aboard the submarine USS Silver Size. Our guide on this program is going to be Lieutenant James E. Henry. At what time do they go to the submarine Lieutenant? Immediately after muster, the two teams that are designated for that evening go down and board the boat to perform the various functions of their training. And the classes they'll go now too. The others will go to the classrooms and will break up into the different classrooms for other types of instruction in rate training. Now we're talking about submarine USS Silver Size. Is that a real submarine?

Yes, it is. It's the SS236 of World War II fame. It actually has quite a combat record and maybe a few people will remember that it's the first submarine in which an appendectomy was performed submerged. Actually while I were off Japan somewhere by an enlisted hospital corpsman, it was considered quite a feat at the time it was done and later I believe it was duplicated by one or two other hospital corpsman. Well then this is a famous submarine that we're going to go aboard tonight. It is. It has a quite a world war record. Well let's follow attack teams one and four then you and I and go on down to the submarine. I see they're ready to leave. Oh, answer. Well the sound you're hearing now is that of attack teams one and four coming down into the submarine. We came down just about 15 or 20 seconds before them so that we could record actually the teams coming

down into the sub. Lieutenant Henry who is in charge of the submarine as I said is our guide and I want to ask him a few things about naval terminology. Now we came down from the naval armory. We walked actually outside and then down into the submarine. First of all Lieutenant what did we come down through there? We came down through the after battery hatch or the crew's quarters access hatch. That's the normal one for using in port. Now steps leading up to the outside of the submarine probably 15 steps or so and when they get down to all within six feet of the floor some of them just about drop all three or four steps down. Now what room are we in now? We are in the crew's mess and this is a room of about 10 feet by about 12 feet I guess something like that isn't it? I want to say something like that. Now to our left over here through a doorway what is that? That is the crew's quarters or where the crew's quarters would be in a normal submarine. We use it for a

classroom but in a you can see the size of that not would hold 36 bumps on an operating submarine. Further under that? Then in the engine rooms and the other operating rooms the maneuvering room where the electrical controls are and then the after torpedo room. That's the stern of the boat that way. Upway this way is a bow and we have the control room and the forward battery or the oscillars quarters and then the forward torpedo room. And above the control room is the conning tower where the battle stations controls are. Now what is the actual training period begin? Normally in the control room. Well let's go in there. You see there are three different groups on the boat right now and let's see there are four different groups on the boat right now. And the ones that are in different parts of their training will be in the different parts of the boat. I mean each group will not move from one group one on place on the boat to another place. They will stay in their own respective area for tonight's drill. Well we will actually simulate

going down. That's right. In the control room we will simulate diving. In the engine room we will actually light off an engine. Start the number one main engine which is a nine cylinder Fairbanks Morse diesel engine, 1600 horsepower. I might say that we're recording this at night. It's approximately seven o 'clock at night. And this sounds like it's going to be an exciting evening. So let's move ahead. Lieutenant Henry we have just passed through the control room up another hatch which contains about 15 or 16 steps and up to another deck. Now where are we now? We are now in the conning tower. That's where the controls are for running the attacks of the submarine. There are very few men in here during normal cruising operations but during battle stations they're anywhere up to around a dozen men in this small space. Now I understand that the attack crews are ready to go into a dive. Is that right? That is correct. We'll simulate a dive

from this position here and the men on the bridge ready to dive. We have an officer of the deck and two lookouts on the bridge who will come down and take the stations down below in the control room. Well now we'd like to listen in as the officers and the men give their orders and pass them back and forth. I'm quite sure that neither I nor the listening audience unless some of them were members of the submarine crew in the war or in peace time. We'll understand them completely but I think you can get from some of the things at least an idea of what the men are doing. So if it's all right with you I'd like to record your operation. Very well sir let's proceed then. Officer of the deck, dive when ready. Alright, where are the men? We'll be ready. Alright, get ready. Action, get your... Here. Greenboard pressure in the boat? Very well

175 feet. 175 feet, alright. 175 feet, 10 degree down. 175 feet, alright. 10 degree down above the line. Low negative? Low negative, alright. Here you are, sir. Here you are, alright. There's a good negative. Got a bad boy in the open safety. That bad boy in the open safety, alright. I'll have two -thirds. Alright. Rich cycle events? Cycle event, left. Reduction shut -eye. I'll have one -third. I'll have one -third. I'll have one -third. And I'll have one -third. Alright. I'm from auxiliary to see. I'm from auxiliary to

see. Permission reshare to lecture? Recirculate. I'm from auxiliary to see, sir. I'll tell you where you've been at the manifold. Stern planes take charge of your bubble. Take charge, I. Passing 170 feet, sir. Alright. 500 bombs, above auxiliary to see, sir. I report every 500 bombs. report every five hundred eye one seven five feet one thousand pounds pump mob zillers to say sir all right fifteen hundred pounds pump the bog zillers to say sir all right auxiliary betting at the matter both are all right secure auxiliary is a twenty five hundred secure auxiliary twenty five hundred eye sir secured funding auxiliary to say twenty five hundred pounds manful secure I shift your section of forward trim shift section of forward trim I

public floor premises sir mark your depth one seven six feet very well five hundred pounds pump four trim to see sir mission event negative graded then negative then negative all right one thousand pounds pump four trim to see sir secure at fifteen hundred secure at fifteen hundred eye eight adventure five one seven five feet trim satisfactory very well secure public floor trim to see fifteen hundred pounds officer all right that's about a good point to interrupt I think Lieutenant Henry we've recorded approximately five or six minutes I think of the operation of a dive one of the noises that we heard right after they sounded the diving signal was the loud clang of what I assume is a hatch is that right that is correct that's the hatch from the conning tower to the bridge

and that's the only hatch that is open prior to submerging the submarine now I saw three men come out of that hatch and go down through this hatch again and down to the deck just below us what were they doing up there uh... there were two enlisted lookouts and one officer of the deck that's the normal uh... compliment aboard a on the bridge of an operating submarine at sea now the officer of the deck actually went down stairs to issue the orders is that right uh... yes or he went down to take his station as the diving officer the officer of the deck will be the diving officer until uh... when battle stations are sounded then the engineer awesome normally the then engineer officer will uh... perform the functions of diving officer and then that officer whatever he may have been will take another station well now lieutenant uh... we are done at a hundred and seventy what was a hundred and seventy six feet hundred and seventy five feet we were simulating now uh... I understand you're about ready to bring it up what four are you going to come up to take a look around for contacts see if there's anything we can uh...

used to shoot at you you'll raise your periscope or raise uh... we use number one periscope and raise it and take a look around the all the way around the horizon and under battle conditions of course you'd be looking for enemy ships that's correct in this case you'll be looking for something else probably well there won't be uh... much else up there to look out for the Chicago skyline there'll be a do not know that the uh... Chicago skyline can be seen through a submarine periscope well that's an interesting uh... interesting item indeed well a few uh... few fellows are prepared to go through this uh... procedure we're ready to record it all right uh... mr. Warren plane up to a hunt to periscope depth ten degree up bubble periscope depth i ten degree up all the way passing one six zero feet one six zero feet very well passing one five zero feet one five zero feet ten degree up all

ten degree bubble passing one four zero feet one four zero feet very well passing one three zero feet passing one three zero feet mr. Cyclone Vector don't take a sweep around and report all contacts take a sweep around and report all contacts one two zero feet very well one two three flood auxuries from sea one two degrees from sea passing one zero zero feet one zero zero feet all right uh... all right uh... all right uh... five hundred flooded in sir that's all right uh... passing nine zero feet nine zero feet he's your bubble he's the bubble i one thousand flooded in sir secure flooding secure flooding i

all ahead one third all ahead one third passing secured passing eight zero feet eight zero feet very well passing all ahead one third very well passing seven zero feet i'm seven zero feet go lay the depth reading lay the reading time take charge your bubble take charge the bubble i periscope is clear very well periscope or make such a round no contact very well contact bearing mark well we have the periscope up in a very uh... interesting and exciting procedure lieutenant henry who is in charge of the submarine is now looking through the periscope and is going to aim it on one of the buildings along chicago skyline as we said

earlier uh... actually in battle procedure they would be searching the surface and the horizon for enemy ships uh... since this uh... submarine is on the surface of lake michigan of course there aren't any enemy ships around thank the good lord for that but we can see the skyline of chicago and i think that's friendly isn't it lieutenant yes sir it certainly is and we have the rigley believe in the scope there is in low power and then switch to high power we can actually uh... almost see the people working tonight over there tonight they might be working at wbbm i don't know the uh... sometimes they work at night and sometimes they don't work so hard at night let's take a look that's a little high for wbbm because we're on the uh... second and third floors yes now you can see it you're bringing it down a little bit well that's a good view of the rigley building a very good view indeed and i can see well tonight they're working because i can see a couple of boys over there

spinning some records well lieutenant uh... that's very interesting indeed i'm glad you uh... i'm glad you went through this procedure because uh... well it gave me a chance to look at this chicago skyline through a submarine periscope and as you said it's a it's something that uh... very few people really know can be done here in chicago now let me ask you just one or two questions about some of the terminology that i heard first of all what is this bubble they keep talking about down there uh... the bubble is uh... a term used to designate the angle either up or down it's uh... to a term used to keep the uh... to straighten out the term the difference between the uh... amount of planes that the planes when are using the planes move up and down in order to see keep uh... the confusion uh... from being uh... you know that the ball planes and saying uh... actually the order to the uh... bubble is to the stern planesman and in order to keep him uh... to tell him what angle he want to vote while you tell him the uh... how much up

bubble or how much down bubble he want rather than how much planes to use do you ever take this uh... submarine out to lake michigan uh... no we don't this submarine does not have any uh... propellers or we call them screws and they be and there has no screws aboard because uh... there is an agreement between canada in the united states that the uh... there will be no submarines operated on the lakes uh... during the war they built submarines up in manitouac in fact i served in the submarine it was built in manitouac and the uh... they used to test them up off there but they had some kind of uh... an agreement to to bypass the other agreement for for during during war time lieutenant uh... for people who may have joined this program late i want to explain that some of the procedures uh... that they've been hearing in the naval terminology is that of the united states naval training center here in chicago and uh... this is the naval armory and we're aboard uh... a submarine and actually going through the procedures that the navy goes through out on the ocean here is the commanding officer of the submarine division command lieutenant commander nickels well perhaps we can talk to uh... lieutenant

commander nickels i'll walk around the hatch here just a moment uh... may ask you sir uh... how often the uh... group meets here well we meet every Thursday night and you go through this type of procedure uh... every week or part of the crew does every week yes and i understand uh... some of the other crew are part of the uh... crew goes to classes is that right yes we have formal class study and uh... operational submarine training how many uh... members do you have in this crew or we average around a hundred and fifteen just exactly what is the uh... naval reserve well it's a body of mostly x navy people uh... i mean x active navy people have gone out uh... to an active duty and retained a reserve status and uh... it also embodies certain recruits into the reserve program will these boys be going into the navy after their training here yes they will they will put in uh... on the average of two years of active duty fine thank you very much

and by the way we want to thank you for allowing us to come down and uh... take a look at your operation well we're glad to have your board now back to our guide lieutenant henry lieutenant uh... here we are at periscope depth and i know that you're not giving us the exact exact depth of the submarine but uh... we'll say that it's under one hundred feet now the next thing is to surface when do we do that you're about ready to do surface uh... we're about ready to surface the boat now all right let's uh... let's listen to that procedure stand by the surface four main engines by the surface i prepared a surface four main engine prepared a surface four main engines with watertight doors on the latch goes the bulkhead flappers all vent sheds here and induction and power position sir i ran induction and power off and shut rate of service below very well surface pull the floor and grill a partial bite

blow the air through blow the floor again oh you're about working you're about working secure the air start the low pressure blower park your depth three zero feet two nine feet two eight feet two seven feet two six feet two six and holding very well crack the hatch hatch the hatch look out to the bridge run the low pressure blower for twelve minutes off through the deck to the bridge off to deck

the bridge take every flutter very well well we're back to uh... the point where we started the officer the deck is just come up through this hatch below us through this uh... conning tower and up the uh... hatch above us and out onto the deck so that's the complete uh... procedure the boat has uh... has gone down to 175 feet we actually went through uh... what would be uh... battle stations and uh... we almost uh... shot a torpedo off it at the rigly building now we're back up on the surface and it's been a very interesting procedure indeed now lieutenant Henry uh... there's a couple questions i'd like to ask you uh... about this surfacing first of all why do we surface why don't you continue to stay under water well up until the advent of the nautilus are the first uh... the world's first atomic power submarine all submarines had to come back on the surface to recharge their batteries uh... when they're submerged they run under batteries unless

uh... they're running under snorkel which means they're still using air they're practically on the surface they're leaving a big uh... uh... bulb of uh... for the uh... snorkel intake up there in order to take air to the diesel engines so uh... for a lot of it it does and for most in -purpose you might as well i'd be on the surface so actually uh... prior to the snorkel all we should be on the surface and to charge in batteries with the engines well now lieutenant there's one thing that you said that i think i ought to repeat uh... in our earlier conversation that is extremely interesting to me is the fact that at full speed this submarine could not stay below the surface more than a half an hour is that right that is uh... world war two submarine a full speed is it couldn't stay below more than a half hour and the nautilus can stay below at full speed indefinitely indefinitely that is the that is the beauty of the nautilus not the fact that she can make such high speed because we even have submarines that can go faster than she can when you may have the submarine service certainly have something to look forward to i think the uh... submarine services

i'd give the uh... the young men of today the finest chance to get into a brand new field that there is can be had anywhere in the world when i looked at it we have surface what would be the next procedure that you'd go through uh... once on a surface down we've got to shift from the electrical power to the uh... diesel engines and let's go back in the forward engine room and actually light off the diesel engine to show how that's done all right fine let's go lieutenant Henry and i have come back now to the engine room and uh... we're going to listen as one of the engines has started up lieutenant what goes on back here or uh... the quite a number of operations go on back here the uh... right now you hear the uh... the uh... ventilation motors and uh... this man on the engines will um... start his all his pumps and make check his uh... water pressures and uh... then roll the engine and then start the engine with air how does he get his signal to roll that engine uh... he's he's already got the signal uh... he gets it from electrical switch actually from the light that tell them that

he's going to light off that that engine this is number one main engine and we've heard the command for all for a number for four main engines so he's standing by to start the engine from that command all right now just a moment ago i saw the uh... red lights light up and uh... as he called it a little while ago looks like a christmas tree light uh... why don't we talk to this gentleman here now this is uh... Charles Suza junior engineman first class us navy who is uh... one of the shipkeepers he's in charge of the engine Charles what i'd like to do now that we have the uh... red lights on is to actually go ahead and go through the procedure now what what do you do first first uh... we open up uh... for engine room induction so we can get into the engines so we can assume that you've done that right now uh... second we take and roll the engine over to see that it's free that there's no water in it and that you will not jam go ahead did it three times we did it three times just to take a good check on it be positive of it then

we start up a fuel transfer pump to get pressure fuel pressure to our engine you push the button on there and again a red light goes on that's correct that tells that the pump is started that sound i hear is the pump i guess is it what are you doing down there try and we open up a valve so fuel can get to our engine from a detached pump right now we have approximately 34 pounds of fuel pressure to the engine all right now our engine is ready to start so we start it we check the gauges to see that they are reading normal pressures and temperatures and the correct rpm so that you check see that it doesn't run away now the engine is ready to give it over to the maneuver drone we're taking cut in the trip and switch bring up the motor on telegram the radio

now the maneuver drone has control of the engine what was the bell for that was a stop bell from maneuvering room telling me to stop the engine we're all done with now i don't know whether we recorded what you were saying while the engine was running because it was very loud so it was only brief so why don't you tell us briefly what you said well what i said after the engine started you take a check at all your gauges to see the temperatures and pressures was normal and your rpm so correct then you put in the generator trip in switch so the maneuvering room can cut cut the engine in on the line then you ring up maneuvering to tell them that they have control of the engine that is that is how we're operating they have control of it now they have control of it now of course it's off now but uh thank you very much Charles for talking to us and explaining that

all right thank you very much well that said we've taken a dive aboard the USS Silver Sides it's been a very exciting experience indeed for Iran Chicago to go through this dive on one of the United States Navy submarines actually as you as you know we did not go down we stayed on the surface of Lake Michigan and simulated a dive to 175 feet and then back up to the surface lieutenant Henry we want to thank you very very much for taking us on this tour of the submarine and be sure and pass along our thanks to all the boys for their cooperation it certainly has been a pleasure we'd be glad to have you anytime and that's the story of United States Naval Reserve submarine division 9 -225 this is Hugh Hill speaking