My father Albert Houston Stegall was a plank holder on the Silversides. He was a Chief Radioman and was one of three that participated in the operation.
There is a sublime story to share about the Silversides which dates to November of 44.. As a kid we had an elder BS leader that told the story of the Thanksgiving meal on the boat went sideways with something wrong with the TD turkey went wrong. It all started with thee Senior Torpedo Mate and the ships Doc literally erupted with putrid gas from the meal which then swept the entire crew. These poor guys were literally choking on human exhaust... They had to day time surface even with enemy boats every where. But the kicker was the skipper was up all the night before he missed the meal when the break out began and did not eat a left over TD turkey sandwich that morning he left it where it was at still on a galley tray ready for him to eat. It was so bad for thee skipper he screamed Geezus H cripes surface before we all die in here. The stick/wheel operating Yeoman at the helm yelled back at thee captain you surface this damn thing I gotta hit the can now. The kid ran holding his hand on his butt. Being Navy myself I have heard more than one story like that personally. We had it happen on the Enterprise. We had fist fights over toilet stalls rotations when this stuff happened. In our most memorable case it was Ice cream of all things that caused it. Joe Biden wasn't on board to blame him.
I hope you've been to see the Silversides in Muskegon, Michigan. I'm sure they would love to meet you if you haven't and see your father's certificate, if it can still be found. It can also be seen in the movie "Below" which was filmed on board.
While in scouts with my boys I got to sleep aboard her twice. This is one of the things I will always remember. We even got to go up into the Captain's bridge. This was locked most of the time. You have to give those guys alot of credit.
I live less than a mile from her - never got into the Captain's Bridge. But I did get some scouts aboard. I had a friend who was a scout master in Lansing, and most years he would bring his boys out to my 27 foot sailboat for lessons in sailing, navigation, and water safety once or twice. Usually, we stayed on Muskegon Lake, but one day we went through the channel to the big lake, and as we approached Silversides I told him he could probably get his boys aboard for a sleep over.
I got to sleep overnight on the silversides back when I was a cub scout. Got to tail on with another boy scout group probably around 2007-2009 cant remember exactly. Very fun experience.
Clark Gable My hockey team slept on it a few weeks ago. It’s tiny, sleeping is brutal. Bathroom required you to leave the vessel and go into the museum. Sleeps 72 I believe
@@nonyadamnbusiness9887 Ah yes, the gamy tang of feet and assholes. There was always that one guy who refused to bathe, and his shipmates had to drag him into the shower with soap and a stiff-bristle brush and scrub him raw.
Come and see this magnificent boat in Muskegon, Michigan! I will take you sailing on Lake Michigan if you donate to the museum. I have a Catalina 27 and will even bring some beers.
DawnStar It hasn't changed much. The museum has added a couple of new exhibits, but the old girl is still docked in the Muskegon Channel and is open for visitors.
For the last few years I have put together a group of people from my church and personally lead them on a tour of the Silversides. Last year I took 22 people, this year I am hoping for a similar number. In addition to having a fun day with friends, I'm trying to boost their ticket sales. Silversides is one of my favorite places.
I like your attitude. City boy from Chicago. Used to go out on Lake Michigan on my Uncle's cabin cruiser. Complete with a hopped up 454 Chevy. His older brother served on Submarines in WW2. Mackerel SS204 and the Pilotfish SS 386. I retired an Army 1SG in 2002.
Saw the Silversides when it was docked at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois for display. Also heard of the story of the operation on the sailor by the Navy Manual and that the sailor survived the operation and WW II ! And Mayor Harold Washington ran the submarine out of town and now Chicago has only one submarine, the German submarine the U-505. Admiral Dan Gallery of Chicago captured the U-505 two days before D-Day ("Top Secret" until the end of WW II) Thank you for the video ! tjl
Short sightedness by Washington to force her out. Course Navy Pier at that time was hardly the tourist trap it is today and she would have been one hell of a beneficiary of the changes a decade later. Got to spend the night on her in the early 80s in the scouts while she was at Navy Pier. Was memorable. Back then you had to still enter her via the existing hatches, now they've added more visitor friendly access points.
Thanks for posting. I remember the theme song to this series, but could not remember the name of the show. I had been humming this song to myself for several days. More by accident than anything else I found your postings. I used to enjoy Men of Annapolis and the series Westpoint. To bad someone can't get those on you tube.
The Silversides had its propellers removed (in accordance with a treaty with Canada of all places) but other than that the sub is (in theory) fully functional. It was used as a functional training vessel but cant be self proplelled according to the treaty. Of course the public access entry points cut into the hull are not fully water tight
Our torpedos sucked for half the war... because the navy didn’t test them because they cost $10,000 + apiece..... there were a lot of hits with failure to detonate!!! Sadly to top brass refused to believe it until late into the war.....
The displays in the museum desceibe how the fixes to the torpedoes doubled the 1942 tonnage sunk count in 1943, and 1944 was double that if the 1943 total
This generation is almost all but forgotten with exception of a few Americans who understand the fortitude and crude conditions that were faced by all the servicemen in WW2. The fight in the Pacific was one of the most brutal battles of modern history and one that may come again as China continues to mass a foothold throughout Asia. The distraction of N. Korea is a pimple compared to the slow and deliberate dismantling of the US from within.
Powder River China massing? No no, what China is doing is beating the USA at its own game, and they are about to beat it in world reserve, thats what it is with China, USA doesnt like it, so if anything USA will start war over that, not China. And you better believe a war with China will be bad, its a war we will not win.
I THINK that this was filmed partly on a stage set and, in part, on the USS Sawfish. I have been aboard USS Ling (SS 297), USS Lionfish (SS 298) and USS Torsk (SS 423). There are no long, stand-up corridors -- as was depicted in the scene just before the surgery. The mess area shown in the video was larger than those which I saw, as well. Lionfish and Ling are Balao-class boats, while Torsk is a Tench-class and Sawfish is a Gato-class - so there might have been minor differences.
And to think 2 of these subs are still inservice with the Taiwanese Navy. Apparently the insides little changed from their WW2 beginnings. One is getting her pressure hull partly replaced.
A lot of "file footage" for sure . The shot of destroyers dropping depth charges is used for Japanese destroyers and US destroyers too. This show was produced on a "shoestring budget", but entertaining, none the less.
Spent the night on the Silversides in the early 80s when she was docked at Navy Pier in Chicago. Will never forget that experience. Compared to the U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, she was spacious.
Captain wonders what happened to his 6th torpedo...seems like refiring immediately was the proper course of action. .the torpedo crew should have known immediately that it had not cleared the open door.
I just got back from a summercamp where i slept in this up in michigan, it was rlly cool, and odly comfortable for thin cousions hanging on the walls, but maybe that was just bc i was sleeping in tents the the 5 nights before
This is a funny (strange) little 1950s morality play. The message is you have to have the right "attitude" or you are not a good soldier. The movies "From Here to Eternity" and "The Sand Pebbles" would set that notion aright somewhat by redefining what is individual courage in the face of the enemy and in the face of the "Friendly".
Well, anyone who knows their salt, will see immediately that the guys in whites sitting on the dock with their seabags, have their crows on the wrong arm. (most likely from a reverse "mirror" editing technique used to avoid copyright infringments, or perhaps, just overlooked). Love this series though!
Why did the chief need three volunteers? At 22:50 one guy pushes the firing button. Why couldn't the chief do that? And what did the other two guys do except stand there and watch?
I don't think she has propellers, I'm not sure if she can't dive, but I do know she can't surface if she does dive due to the holes made for easier tour entry.
REFIRING IN THIS EPISODE...PULLED BACK ON BOARD AND DISARMED IN ANOTHER EPISODE...STRANGE THAT THE PETO CAPTAIN DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 6TH TORPEDO? APPARENTLY THE WEAPON DOES NOT ARM ITSELF FOR 500 YARDS AFTER FIRING...REFIRING SEEMS TO BE A BETTER OPTION..ASSUMING THE DOOR WAS OPENED BY FRANK GORSHWIN.
Pretty sure this is not accurate. Torpedoman Harbin was killed in April 1942, Silverside's first war patrol. The opening narration said Fall 1942 and Silversides was already a veteran submarine. First patrol April -June1942.
Yea, Harbin was killed in the first ever engagement, which was with a trawler, not a patrol boat. They messed around with the timeframes a bit probably for the plot elements to fit into the episode better.
Did anyone know if James P. Lane and the Chief exist or are they fictional characters, used in a historical story about the Silversides? I tried looking them up and I cannot find anything about them anywhere.
My father Albert Houston Stegall served on the Silversides and was a plank holder. He assisted in the operation. I have f2f our of the glass balls from when the Silversides got entangled in a Japanese fishing net,
I don't know about Lane, but I know Harbin was real, and silversides' only casualty, but was killed in an engagement with a trawler rather then a patrol boat.
@@jimskywaker4345 Yep I did look up that story. George Pladder's surgery story on the sub did happen. Maybe James P. Lane and the Chief are just fictional characters.
I always wondered what would have happened with speed, noise and duration if they made the subs streamlined ? looking at all the protrusions and holes, it seems like they waste a lot of energy pushing things through the water unnecessarily.
In the realms of peace. man is a bungeler,yet when he goes out to slay he carries a marvel of mechanism which lets go at the finger all the molecular energy's an leaves the blow pipe of his forefathers far behind.
There were no slackers portrayed here. None. Look again. Everybody was doing their job. It was their purported attitude that was questioned. Repressed, repressive dolt.
The people who made this little "movie" must not have had a technical advisor. No American sub sank another sub at periscope depth, and smoking was never allowed inside of a sub. 40 years ago, I spent the night on the Silversides, when it was docked in Chicago, with my 12 year old son. I was able to operate the 3" deck gun to raise and traverse it to point at one of the Chicago skyscrapers.
I have a book from the museum, and they did spot a periscope of a japanese sub and sink said sub. It doesn't say whether the sub changed depth or not though. Either way though Harbin was already dead before that engagement though.
Why? In Muskegon it actually floats, and a large amount of the systems still function. All 4 diesel engines run and I doubt they could do that in the museum of science & industry.
why do they have to ride his back because he thinks things are easy? It is the guys who are complaining about how hard they got it that need criticism. If a guy finds things easy, good for him.
The guys that say "it's easy" most of the time are the ones missing procedures, or not following specs. If the specs say "tighten with a torque wrench 30 turns," the guys that do it easy use a regular wrench 15 turns, and damage the piece.
I'm on Jimmy's side. You work as hard as needed.. No need to kiss ass! Easy come easy go... Also they shouldn't be celebrating people dying.. If they sink a sub that's part of war but If they take a hit and brag and dance it'll be hard to care... When they take one to the dome!
Strange little morality play. "Not only do you have to do your job, you have to be tense and act like everything is a struggle against Death itself. Or we won't like you."
People may think it's kinda fun to rub the belly of a little statue and pretent that it can help. But it's idolatry. Put your faith and trust in the only One Who can help in any situation, the Lord Jesus Christ. Good episode.
Love the Silent Service but I don't have much use for these 1950s morality lessons. It was a time of repression, guilt and paranoia. Thank God for the 1960s.
One of hundreds of 1950s little early TV morality plays along with the god-awful westerns that did the same. Small wonder the 1960s revolted and thru off the suppression, repression. It's not enough you do your job perfectly. You must also go around like a zombie. Life is a struggle against failure, doom and death. Clench your jaw and depress yourself.
Your cynical point of view is not appreciated. The men portrayed in these "morality plays" were truly the " Greatest Generation" that destroyed the real evil axis. (Nazi Germany & Imperial Japan)
If you like it, please keep watching and enjoy! If you don't, please notify us what you would like and I am sure someone can hook you up. Bottom line, life is too short. Do what you love and enjoy! Thank you.
