General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: Japanese subs sunk off US coast in WWII
Posted by:
craig cline
()
Date: December 05, 2000 06:00PM
<HTML>I found this using google:
Bill Anderson\'s World War II Sunken Sub Odyssey
By RYAN MOLDE / Half Moon Bay Review / October 13, 2000
Late into the night, Bill Anderson fiddles with his remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in the hold of his boat in Pillar Point harbor. He\'s tantalizingly close to having the key piece of equipment with which to show there is, in fact, a mysterious World War II era sub off the coast of Half Moon Bay.
Still spry in his 70s, for months he has struggled with the ROV to get it into working condition. And he realizes that time is short before November storms drive him back home to the Pacific Northwest.
In a write-in auction through army surplus, Anderson miraculously procured his precious ROV for a fraction of its normal cost. It had been labeled as an underwater camera in the sale, so he got a bargain. Though Anderson has an incredible aptitude for everything mechanical, the ROV has him stumped, as it had stumped Army engineers prior to Anderson. But Anderson may be up to the task.
He\'s \"never played video games,\" said Lila Anderson, his wife. It will be an adjustment to work the joystick controls of the craft, more suited to individuals from the Nintendo set.
His quest stretches back to World War II, when he was in the Navy. As they shuttled back and forth on his destroyer, the Willard Keith, from San Diego up to San Francisco doing various training exercises before being sent to Japan, prop noise was picked up on passive sonar.
Today\'s sonar equipment is far more sensitive than it was in those days, and can decipher the country of the sub\'s origin by the precise sound signature. At that time, they lacked this capability, but nonetheless deduced a sub caused the noise. They \"sent a Morse code signal with the pinger,\" said Bill.
The sub didn\'t respond to the ultimatum. So, they gave the order to drop depth charges right offshore from Half Moon Bay. During that maneuver, only half the ship manned their battle stations. Since it wasn\'t required for Anderson to be in position, he stood on deck. Because the continental shelf extends out from Half Moon Bay past the Farallones, they dropped depth charges gauged for the shallows.
At such shallow depths, the concussion from the blast was such that it actually disabled some instruments inside the destroyer itself, with Anderson on deck.
He soon saw the sheen of oil floating from the surface, perhaps indicating a cracked hull on the unseen sub.
Soon, Anderson shipped off for Okinawa, and the heart of the war. Out of 10 ships in his squadron, only three or four returned home. Anderson himself had several close calls. Two consecutive kamikaze pilots dove toward the destroyer. They pulled up at the last minute, deciding against suicide. They had shelled the destroyer and hobbled it, and Anderson returned to the United States.
But through all these events, the submarine had been in the back of his mind, until a chance encounter at an armed forces surplus auction years later. Though no one knows the nationality of the purported submarine, the man at the auction claimed there was a German sub off San Francisco.
Like a lighting bolt, Bill remembered. The revelation certainly didn\'t stop speculation on the identity of the sub: Germany hadn\'t yet surrendered. Japan, of course, was closer.
Back in World War II, many insist that the Japanese had the capability to launch planes from a submarine platform. Apparently, they dropped fire brands in the Northwest with the intent of starting forest fires, though the event never hit the papers, notes Lila.
Lila cites this, as well as Japanese accounts released after the war, as evidence of a Japanese presence off the coast of the United States just before the waning days of the war.
Right now, Anderson has isolated seven sites, which have the potential to prove to be the submarine in question. These possible wrecks have been isolated in several ways, including surveys for mapping by the geological service, or common places where fishermen snag their nets, possibly on sharp metal. Anderson hones in on prospective locales with the aid of his GPS. Though sonar gives a good idea of the general shape, only photographic evidence is decisive.
In the past, they have sent divers onto a promising spot which has since been called \"site 13.\" It earned this moniker because of a seeming curse associated with it. The diver, with the scare of malfunctioning equipment, could only stay at the depth of roughly 200 feet for one minute. He reports seeing a rope and part of the deck. He believes this site to be a barge. Anderson\'s Echo Hunter boat almost stalled at the site, but was patched together to make it back to the harbor.
Previous loans of ROVs have been hampered by unfavorable weather.
There is what Anderson says may be a mini-sub five miles off Half Moon Bay. Or, it could be a larger sub further offshore. The operation of the ROV is critical so Anderson can put his questions to rest.
What lies beneath the waves? Right now, no one knows. Hopefully Bill Anderson\'s work will bring the answers to light.
At this crucial time, the Andersons could use assistance. Considering age, this may be one of, if not his last, season searching for the sub. Lila\'s newsletter typewriter is also missing a small y, so she must reword sentences constantly, and the word \"constantly\" is struck from her vocabulary because it has a \"y\". Please call (541)891-2755 to offer expertise or support this effort.
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Bill Anderson\'s World War II Sunken Sub Odyssey
By RYAN MOLDE / Half Moon Bay Review / October 13, 2000
Late into the night, Bill Anderson fiddles with his remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in the hold of his boat in Pillar Point harbor. He\'s tantalizingly close to having the key piece of equipment with which to show there is, in fact, a mysterious World War II era sub off the coast of Half Moon Bay.
Still spry in his 70s, for months he has struggled with the ROV to get it into working condition. And he realizes that time is short before November storms drive him back home to the Pacific Northwest.
In a write-in auction through army surplus, Anderson miraculously procured his precious ROV for a fraction of its normal cost. It had been labeled as an underwater camera in the sale, so he got a bargain. Though Anderson has an incredible aptitude for everything mechanical, the ROV has him stumped, as it had stumped Army engineers prior to Anderson. But Anderson may be up to the task.
He\'s \"never played video games,\" said Lila Anderson, his wife. It will be an adjustment to work the joystick controls of the craft, more suited to individuals from the Nintendo set.
His quest stretches back to World War II, when he was in the Navy. As they shuttled back and forth on his destroyer, the Willard Keith, from San Diego up to San Francisco doing various training exercises before being sent to Japan, prop noise was picked up on passive sonar.
Today\'s sonar equipment is far more sensitive than it was in those days, and can decipher the country of the sub\'s origin by the precise sound signature. At that time, they lacked this capability, but nonetheless deduced a sub caused the noise. They \"sent a Morse code signal with the pinger,\" said Bill.
The sub didn\'t respond to the ultimatum. So, they gave the order to drop depth charges right offshore from Half Moon Bay. During that maneuver, only half the ship manned their battle stations. Since it wasn\'t required for Anderson to be in position, he stood on deck. Because the continental shelf extends out from Half Moon Bay past the Farallones, they dropped depth charges gauged for the shallows.
At such shallow depths, the concussion from the blast was such that it actually disabled some instruments inside the destroyer itself, with Anderson on deck.
He soon saw the sheen of oil floating from the surface, perhaps indicating a cracked hull on the unseen sub.
Soon, Anderson shipped off for Okinawa, and the heart of the war. Out of 10 ships in his squadron, only three or four returned home. Anderson himself had several close calls. Two consecutive kamikaze pilots dove toward the destroyer. They pulled up at the last minute, deciding against suicide. They had shelled the destroyer and hobbled it, and Anderson returned to the United States.
But through all these events, the submarine had been in the back of his mind, until a chance encounter at an armed forces surplus auction years later. Though no one knows the nationality of the purported submarine, the man at the auction claimed there was a German sub off San Francisco.
Like a lighting bolt, Bill remembered. The revelation certainly didn\'t stop speculation on the identity of the sub: Germany hadn\'t yet surrendered. Japan, of course, was closer.
Back in World War II, many insist that the Japanese had the capability to launch planes from a submarine platform. Apparently, they dropped fire brands in the Northwest with the intent of starting forest fires, though the event never hit the papers, notes Lila.
Lila cites this, as well as Japanese accounts released after the war, as evidence of a Japanese presence off the coast of the United States just before the waning days of the war.
Right now, Anderson has isolated seven sites, which have the potential to prove to be the submarine in question. These possible wrecks have been isolated in several ways, including surveys for mapping by the geological service, or common places where fishermen snag their nets, possibly on sharp metal. Anderson hones in on prospective locales with the aid of his GPS. Though sonar gives a good idea of the general shape, only photographic evidence is decisive.
In the past, they have sent divers onto a promising spot which has since been called \"site 13.\" It earned this moniker because of a seeming curse associated with it. The diver, with the scare of malfunctioning equipment, could only stay at the depth of roughly 200 feet for one minute. He reports seeing a rope and part of the deck. He believes this site to be a barge. Anderson\'s Echo Hunter boat almost stalled at the site, but was patched together to make it back to the harbor.
Previous loans of ROVs have been hampered by unfavorable weather.
There is what Anderson says may be a mini-sub five miles off Half Moon Bay. Or, it could be a larger sub further offshore. The operation of the ROV is critical so Anderson can put his questions to rest.
What lies beneath the waves? Right now, no one knows. Hopefully Bill Anderson\'s work will bring the answers to light.
At this crucial time, the Andersons could use assistance. Considering age, this may be one of, if not his last, season searching for the sub. Lila\'s newsletter typewriter is also missing a small y, so she must reword sentences constantly, and the word \"constantly\" is struck from her vocabulary because it has a \"y\". Please call (541)891-2755 to offer expertise or support this effort.
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| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Japanese subs sunk off US coast in WWII
|
craig cline | 12/04/2000 10:53PM |
|
RE: Japanese subs sunk off US coast in WWII
|
kurt | 12/05/2000 03:41AM |
|
RE: Japanese subs sunk off US coast in WWII
|
craig cline | 12/05/2000 06:00PM |
|
RE: Inconclusive evidence of sinking
|
AL Wellman | 12/05/2000 07:34PM |
|
RE: Japanese subs sunk off US coast in WWII
|
Anders Wingren | 12/05/2000 12:09PM |