Submarine Trivia: Week 1

[MWALLEN]

Since there has been some discussion lately on the state of history education in this country, I ran this idea by Lance about a weekly submarine trivia question and I'll keep points and the winner gets some type of "prize" to be determined later.  Number in parentheses indicates points available.  I'll try to stay on top of it to reduce the number of posts...so if someone gets the first part, then try and and get the next part.

It's all for fun but will also help educate us (me to as I have to research the questions and answers).  So here goes...

Question:  The USS Batfish SS310 holds the record for most enemy submarines sunk by an American submarine.  What other submarine also holds this distinction? (1)

Bonus Points: Name the 3 enemy submarines sunk by this other submarine. (3)

Extra Points: Describe the discrepancy surrounding these sinkings. (5)

I'll post the answer (with references) next weekend along with next week's question.

Good Luck.

Mark

[MWALLEN]

OK...guess I started with a hard one.

Here's a hint.  It is a British submarine.

Now...give me some answers...and not everyone at once.

[Lance Dean]

Is it HMS Upholder?

[MWALLEN]

You are correct...

So who can answer the bonus and extra points questions? 

[Darrin]

Darn,
I was going to say that it was a WWII Jap submarine.....   that went by the name of "BONGO PETE"   which worked out of the "Bongo Straights" AKA Bongo Sudio

[Lance Dean]

The 3 subs sank were the Italian Tembien, Saint Bon, and Tricheco.

About Tembien:

"On August 2, 1941, the British cruiser HMS Hermione spotted and attacked an enemy submarine off Malta. The partrol zone was that of Tembien.
The cruiser rammed the submarine, that sank immediately: no man of the crew could be rescued. The Tembien was also claimed to be sunk in the same period by the British submarine HMS Upholder."

I can't find more discrepancies at this time.

[MWALLEN]

Clean Sweep by Lance.  I guess I'll post the next one early

Lance: 9 points

Everyone else: 0 points

I'll post links later.

Mark

[Lance Dean]

There's not more discrepancies?

[Darrin]

Awww come on Mark, ya mean that I don't get any credit for refering to the classic movie Run Silent Run Deep???

[MWALLEN]

There's not more discrepancies?

I sure there is, but you got what I was looking for.

Awww come on Mark, ya mean that I don't get any credit for refering to the classic movie Run Silent Run Deep???

Wasn't that a Jap destroyer?   

New total:

Lance: 9
Darrin: -1
Everyone else: 0

 

[Lance Dean]

"World War II United States Navy submarine Commander P.J. Richardson, (Clark Gable) has an obsession with the Japanese destroyer that sank his previous boat and three others. He convinces the navy board to give him a new sub command with the provision that his exec be someone who has just returned from active sea patrol. He is single-mindedly training the crew of his new boat, the USS Nerka, to return to the Bungo Straits and sink the destroyer, captained by the crafty ex-submariner, now destroyer captain, nicknamed Bungo Pete."

[Darrin]

Come on now IF you watch the whole movie you will remember that the Destroyer was sending MORSE Code to the Jap Submarine... Right before Clark Gable dies, he remembers hearing the sound of the morse code from when his first boat which was sunk and tells the Exec to "Crash Dive" the boat right before the torpedo was to hit and it passed behind the conning tower, had he not requested the crash dive it would have been the CO -2 and the Jap's laughing on the way out. And in the final fighting sequence of the movie the Nerka lines up on the enemy convoy and they start attacking the freighters and Burt Lancaster is asking advice from Clark Gable about hitting the next target which is a decoy (shallow draft)freigher when they see the submarine on the surface and fire underneath the decoy freighter sinking the Jap sub, in fact the last orders given by his character were to fire the tubes sinking the sub. That and they gave the Destroyer a "down the throat" shot a little earlier in the movie.

Go and rewatch the movie, it is a true classic... In the book written by Capt Ned Beach (which the movie was based on), Clark Gable's character does not die in the movie and the book series continued on into another book or two after the origional book was written.
Lance -2
Darrin +1

[MWALLEN]

The Answer:

The HMS Upholder was based in Malta (10th Flotilla) and operated 25 missions, sinking 2 destroyers, 3 submarines (the Italian Tembien, Saint Bon and Tricheco), 3 troop carriers (among them, the Italian liner Conte Rosso), 10 cargo ships (among them, the Italian Neptunia and Oceania in the same day), 2 tankers, 1 trawler, totalling 128000 tons.  Source: http://www.sportesport.it/wrecksLB006.htm

Additional Info:

On March 18, 1942, the Tricheco was cruising off the coast of Brindisi, coming from Augusta (Sicily), when she was attacked by the British submarine HMS Upholder. The Tricheco was hit by a torpedo and sank rapidly.  Source: http://www.sportesport.it/wrecksPU007.htm

On January 2, 1942, the Italian submarine Saint Bon sailed from the base of Taranto heading to Tripoli (Lybia) via Northern Sicily, carrying a dangerous cargo of more than 150 tons of ammonitions and gasoline.  On January 5, the Saint Bon was intercepted and torpedoed off Capo Milazzo by the British submarine HMS Upholder.  A torpedo hit the starboard side of the Saint Bon, and the gasoline cargo exploded, devastating the Italian submarine, that sank rapidly. Just three survivors could be rescued by the British crew.  Source: http://www.sportesport.it/wrecksSI045.htm

On August 2, 1941, the British cruiser HMS Hermione spotted and attacked an enemy submarine off Malta. The partrol zone was that of Tembien. The cruiser rammed the submarine, that sank immediately: no man of the crew could be rescued.The Tembien was also claimed to be sunk in the same period by the British submarine HMS Upholder.   Source: http://www.sportesport.it/wrecksMA013.htm

To add to the controversy, the book Hero of the Upholder By Jim Allaway indicates that the HMS Upholder sank 2 U-boats and damaged another:

Descripton: This is the story of the Royal Navy's top submarine ace. In the 16 months that HMS Upholder operated in the Mediterrean, Wanklyn sank two U-boats and damaged another, damaged a cruiser and a destroyer, and sank or damaged 19 supply ships totalling 11,000 tons. Upholder was lost with all hands off Tripoli in April 1942 after a brilliant career. Source: http://www.uboat.net/books/item/2179

There is your week one history/trivia answer.

Mark